Italian Potato Salad

Sweet baby jesus you guys. I finally, finally got DISQUS (the comment platform) to work on my new site. I seriously teared up with joy when I saw it was finally working. This has been a giant source of frustration over the last week and I am so, so, so incredibly elated it's finally working. Now I can share posts! Gah! Why did I switch hosts again?? 

Now to the good stuff. If there's one thing that sings "Summer!" for me, it might just have to be...potato salad. Is that weird? My dad had the rare ability to make the most rockin' potato salad around (for some reason I only recall it's existence around warmer temperatures) and I feel like I might have (fingers crossed) inherited said gift from him.

Some people might be all like, "It's potato salad, big whoop. Anyone can whip up a potato salad!" I beg to differ. And in a few short words, I'll tell you why. Most potato salad is either soaking in way too much liquid or is as dry as a bone. Sometimes it's completely lacking in flavor. More often than not, it's mostly just a whole lotta mayonnaise with some mushy potatoes and a little veggies thrown in just so you know you're not just consuming a potato and mayonnaise smoothie...yep, in my experience most potato salad straight-up sucks. 

I won't even discuss store-bought potato salad. I just won't. 

Stop eating potato and mayonnaise smoothies. I've come to save you from the potato salads that haunt your dreams. I'd like to start off by noting that  this salad is completely mayo-free. Instead, it's dressed in a beautiful herbed olive oil and fresh lemon juice dressing. Tender baby red potatoes, crunchy celery, tart capers, salty Kalamata olives, and juicy cherry tomatoes mingle with fresh basil and parsley to make the truly simplest and most lovely potato salad you've ever had. 

Italian Potato Salad

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• Salad:
• 3 lbs. baby red potatoes, unpeeled and quartered or halved
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 6 celery stalks, sliced
• 3 Tbsp. capers, drained
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 16 pitted Kalamata olives, halved
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chiffonade
• Dressing:
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large lemon, juiced
• 1 tsp. dried Italian herb seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Instructions:

Start by bringing a very large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile wash and scrub the potatoes of any dirt. If the potatoes are on the larger side, cut or quarter them. Once the water reaches a rapid boil, add the potatoes. Boil for about 20 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork. Strain and set aside.

While the potatoes boil, prep the remaining salad ingredients. Add them all to a very large serving bowl and combine.

To make the dressing, simply combine all the ingredients in small bowl or measuring cup and whisk well. 

Add the boiled potatoes to the large serving bowl and combine with the tomato/celery/olive mixture. Pour the dressing over it all and mix again, until well coated. 

Serve warm or cold!

It seems I've been caught picking out of the bowl!

Someone was all ready for the big cabin trip last week!

We saw MGMT in concert yesterday. Can you believe they came all the way up to Alaska?! I'll share a video on Instagram! I am not a concert person and never, ever will be. It's just not my bag. I like my personal space...and not being smoked on. Someone threw up right next to me and if I want to go to a bathroom so disgusting I have to hover-pee, I'll go to the state fair. *shudder* I just chanted, "Go to your happy place...go to your happy place..." all night. Why am I such an old, grumpy lady?!

German Word of The Day:

Potato --> Kartoffel (pronounced: car-toffel) I know I've shared this one before but for some strange reason, it's one of my favorite German words!

Good Deed of The Day:

Simply wish everyone you come in contact to happiness (in your head, don't want people thinking you're crazy). Smile, and be happy! 

Produce On Parade Has Moved!

Yep, we packed up our things and moved from “produceonparade.com” to “www.produceonparade.com”, pretty intense huh? That’s not all…we moved platforms too! POP lives on Squarespace now and we’re pretty excited. Don’t worry, you shouldn’t have to do much of anything while we get it all sorted out. Please be patient as there might be a few bugs in the next week or two.

And don’t forget that “www” infront of “produceonparade.com“! How you like the new ‘do?

All our love!

- Katie @ Produce On Parade

Creamy Chard Pasta with Porcinis and Peas

Poor chard. Everyone is all about kale right now. I get the hype, but sometimes we need to pay our respects to the classical beauty that is...chard.

Yep, this green darling is absolutely magical sauteed. Plus, it comes in so many beautiful forms. Red chard, swiss chard, rainbow chard!? When sauteed, this leafy gal transforms into a silky and deliciate green that's perfect for eating alone, or blending into a sauce. 

A silky chard sauce saturates shell pasta studded with sliced, hearty porcini mushrooms and tender sweet peas. 

Creamy Chard Pasta with Porcinis and Peas

Serves 6

• 8 oz. dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted
• 16 oz. dry pasta shells
• 1/2 cup frozen peas (6 oz.)
• Saute:
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 large brown onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large bunch of chard, de-stemmed and chopped
• Sauce:
• 12 oz. silken firm tofu (Mori-Nu)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• splash of lemon juice
• dash of black pepper
• dash of salt
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of sugar

Directions:

Start by reconstituting the porcinis. Place the in a bowl and submerge completely with boiling water. Allow to rest until ready to use or about 20-30 minutes. 

Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.

In a large rimmed frying pan, heat oil over medium-low. Add onion and garlic and saute a few minutes until the onions begin to soften. Add the chard and saute 5-8 minutes, until quite wilted.

In a blender, combine all the sauce ingredients and add the sauteed chard mixture. Blend on high until very creamy and smooth. 

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until just al dente. Drain. 

Transfer the sauce back to the frying pan along with the peas. Remove the mushrooms from their water with a slotted spoon and slice. Add to the sauce and heat over low until the pasta is ready.

Add the drained pasta to the sauce and stir well to coat. 

Serve hot. 

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German Word of The Day:

Chard --> Mangold (pronounced: mangold)

Good Deed of The Day:

Tell Donna Wieting, Director, Office of Protected Resources, to Protect Critical Habitat for North Atlantic Right Whales!

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