By Popular Demand

I just want to apologize for being a slacker on the potato salad recipe, or being a slacker period. I know I've had many ask for it the last two months and I haven't posted. Sorry I didn't do it in time for the Fourth of July, but hopefully you can use it for Pioneer Day? This salad is very special in my family. Mike will not eat potato salad except for this one, and it’s all of our favorites. I have never measured the ingredients out since it's all in my head (same reason I haven't posted the recipe for empanadas), but this is my best guess. Read the whole recipe before you begin.

Lily's (my mom) Potato Salad

6-7 cups of salted cooked peeled potatoes (boil them whole, peel first to avoid headache)
1 ½ (about) cups of peeled chopped steamed carrots (I use four carrots and steam the whole)
¾ cup chopped green onions
¾ cups of chopped celery
6 hard boiled eggs quartered or cut in six parts lengthwise
1 cup mayonnaise (you could add more if you like)
3-4 Tblsp. mustard (I use regular and brown together)
2 cans of black olives drained
¼ - ½ cup of vinegar
Salt to taste

Boil peeled potatoes in salted water until fork penetrates, but they are still firm. Steam carrots (I steam them in the same pot above the boiling potatoes). Start hard boiled eggs at this time. When finish, I drain the potatoes and eggs, and put them all (carrots too) in the freezer until cooled. I get the other ingredients ready while the potatoes, carrots and eggs are cooling. Chop up green onions and take the whites of the onions (and green if you like) and soak in the vinegar for about 10 minutes or more. This is so the onion taste isn’t so strong and it also gives it a tangy taste. In a large bowl add potatoes (quartered lengthwise chopped in ½ inch pieces) and chopped carrots and mix with mayonnaise and mustard and salt to taste. Add green onions (with vinegar and green parts), celery, olives and mix. Add hard boiled eggs, I usually cut them smaller than quartered lengthwise). If it still seems too dry add more mayonnaise or a little milk (sometimes I use the juice from olive can). Enjoy now or later!

It might start to mush, some of the potatoes will be too soft, it's okay it's supposed to be able to clump up a little bit. It will keep for only four to five days because of the hardboiled eggs. If you have a little more or less than what the recipe calls for, don’t worry. I never make the same salad twice! You just kind of have to guess how many potatoes will make six to seven cups and I always end up with more; it still tastes fabulous. Let me know if you have any questions.

We had some soup weather, will it come back?

Potato Soup from Becky Mortimer

1 1/2 c. sliced leeks or green onions
1/4 c. of water
5 c. of cubed potatoes
3/4 c. chopped celery
1 1/3 c. cubed carrots
1 tsp. salt
2 c. water
1/4 c. butter or margarine
1/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
4 c. skim milk
2 chicken bouillon cubes

Sauté leeks or green onions in 1/4 c. water in large kettle until tender. Add potatoes, celery, carrots, salt and 2 c. water. Cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, melt butter or margarine in a medium saucepan. Add flour, pepper and one teaspoon salt; Cook until smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk and bouillon cubes. Cook and stir until mixture thickens. Stir into vegetables. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Garnish with some green onions. Then enjoy!

Sometimes I find bread bowls at Ralphs for 59 cents. I don't get the sourdough ones (they are expensive) but they have them. Vons lets you special order them for 99 cents each. I cut the top, angled downward into the bowl. Then instead of removing any part of the inside I just push it out to the sides and bottom, just to make it sturdy. I take the tops and cover them with olive oil, butter and cheddar cheese and broil them. I also put the bowls in the oven to warm them and harden them a bit. This soup doesn't need fancy bread bowls though, it's yummy.

Spooky Things

So I have to post some of the fun things we did at the party so that you can try them too. We had a scary mad scientist lab with some crazy looking things to look at and eat.

I just can’t get enough of ghoulish things on Halloween and here they are:

Water with food coloring was used for most of these things, the picture takes away the eerie effect of the colored water, it looks so much better in person.

Poly Juice Potion – water, milk and coloring
Bat Wings – Beef Jerky
Gnome Brains – Cauliflower in red water
Troll Toe Nails – Shaved Coconut
Swamp Creature Fingers – Pickles
Your Brain – Cabbage cut to brain shape in grayish water
Bunny Tails – Craft Fuzz Balls
Phoenix Feathers – white feathers
Peeled Mummy Skin – long shredded pieces of paper towel in eerie colored water
Chocolate Covered Ants – chocolate sprinkles
Vampire Heart – Fennel in red dyed water
Werewolf Liver – natural sponge in dyed water
Alien Baby – baked salt dough shaped like an alien fetus looking thing with pieces of paper towel coming out like an umbilical cord in dyed greenish-bluish water
Goblin Boogers – green raisins
Human Blood – red dyed water
Swamp Water Juice – Naked Juice Super Food Green Machine, so tasty, so nasty looking must drink in clear cups

Some other ideas
Toasted Lizard Brains – pecan halves
Fried Dried Worms – chinese chicken salad noodles
Dwarf Ears – Dried Apricots

Are you grossed out yet? Have some fun, you probably have some of this stuff already in your fridge and cupboards. There are so many possibilities. We also displayed some red apples, red poisoned apples of course! Obviously not all of this stuff was for tasting, some was just for looking.

Yes that's a brain shaped Birthday Cake!

Mummy Dogs - Hot Dogs wrapped in canned croissant dough, I tear one triangle of dough into three pieces and then I wrap them around like a mummy suit. Bake in oven until golden brown. Mustard dots for the eyes and ketchup dot for the mouth. These are delicious, make sure you make enough for the adults. If your kids eat like birds, cut the hot dogs in half length wise and then wrap them. Enjoy!

Yummy Food

So I haven't posted in a while, mostly because we are down to one computer and I'm so busy with school. I realized that I needed to post this fabulous recipe I came accross:

Salmon Wrapped in Fig Leaves

I want to make sure and share it while fig leaves can still be found on the trees.

What you need:

Salmon

Olive Oil

Black Pepper

Salt (I used Sea Salt)

Fig Leaves (washed and dried)

Preheat oven to 400˚C. Cut Salmon to approx. 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inch rectangles. Place one in the middle of a fig leaf. Brush with Olive Oil, sprinkle Salt and Pepper, flip and repeat. Then take the Fig Leaf and wrap it up. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 18 minutes. I always pull one out and check it (I like mine a little juicy just barely cooked, before it turns into a flaky brick) :) The leaves get papery dry on the top.

This turns out so delicious, it just melts in your mouth. It acquires the surprising taste of coconut, with a more earthy flavor and is a great alternative to cooking it on a plank. Just writing about it makes my mouth water. It's perfect to serve with mushroom cous cous or wild rice. If you need fig leaves come over and get some! This is our own version of Lembas Bread.

p.s. I also tried this recipe with chicken breasts and grape leaves. I used marinaded chicken (italian dressing starting the day before if you can), and you have an option to eat the grape leaves, it was also very good.

the great taste of summer

I was so excited as we left Costco with this big pack of strawberries. You probably can't tell by looking but I had already eaten about eight or nine giant ones before we got home. Mike insisted that I needed to wash them, but I didn't listen. "I don't need to wash them," I thought to myself, "I was born in a third world country and there's no way this can hurt me." I was right nothing happened to me, plus the line at Costco for gas was much too long to wait. I washed them when I got home so I could have them whenever I want. They didn't last very long, if we didn't have vanilla ice cream they would have lasted longer.

would you like some ice cream or cereal with your strawberries?

My friend Krisha served me Vanilla ice cream with strawberries and it made it taste homemade and delicious, and now I have to have them in my ice cream. Did anyone else notice that the ice cream portions are shrinking? I noticed with the brands that we buy the most often, Dreyer's and Breyer's. The Dreyer's one was the most noticible, they look so shrinky dink. And yes that's right, they didn't lower the prices. This last time I opted not to buy them and got the store brand instead, that's just my way of protesting for now, I might have to give in. 1.75 quarts to 1.5 ...stinky

Another taste of summer is homemade salsa. I owe this particular recipe to my friend Jami, thanks babe! All you need are these ingredients: cucumber, tomatoes, diced green chiles and a little onion, cilantro is optional (I went without it because I took too much out of my herb pot and killed it, woops!). Then I use Lawry's seasoning, but you could use regular salt. You cut up the cucumber to small cubes and the tomatoes (they usually fall apart; I don't use that many because Mike is semi allergic, but use as many as you want). I also dice up some onion, I use only a tiny bit if the onion is strong. Pour in your can of chiles, seasoning and there you have it!