Recipes, Sides, Vegetables

SRC: Pesto Potato Salad

Sarah

Another Secret Recipe Club Monday! If you’ve missed past SRC posts, the premise is this: you’re assigned a different member’s blog every month. You visit their blog, choose any recipe you want, then make it and share it on your blog. Everyone else posts about their secret blog the same day. It’s fabulously fun to try out new blogs. If you have a blog, definitely check it out and consider joining! I highly recommend it.

For the month of August, I was assigned Cooking Rookie, who blogs over at Cook Book of Trial and Error. This blog is full of enticing recipes and beautiful photography so definitely check it out if you have a chance. I had a hard time deciding what recipe to try, but when I saw this scrumptious Pesto Potato Salad, I was sold. My herbs on the balcony are growing out of control, and this seemed like a delightful way to use some of them up. And let me tell you… it was as delicious as it was delightful!

Cooking Rookie’s original pesto was composed of cilantro, walnut, and lemon… but I decided to use some of my abundant pineapple sage instead of cilantro. I kept everything else the same, though… including the unique addition of plain yogurt to make this pesto potato salad both creamy and fresh. I usually make my potato salad with mayo, but might have to rethink that, because plain yogurt definitely produces a refreshing tang like mayo while being a little healthier. This isn’t to say in my normal potato salad I’ll replace the mayo entirely, but I can see a little half-and-half combo going on.

I was happy that I doubled the original recipe [which is reflected below], because Ben and I devoured this stuff in about 0.2 seconds. not quite a Phelps-inspired 1/100ths of a second but pretty darn close! [Yes, we’ve been watching the Olympics non-stop here… have you?] This Pesto Potato Salad is light, lemony fresh, and creamy. It was a fabulous choice for the August edition of the Secret Recipe Club, if I do say so myself, and I will be forever grateful to Cooking Rookie for the inspiration! I’ll definitely have to try the cilantro version one day. 🙂

Pesto Potato Salad [adapted from Cook Book of Trial and Error]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds new potatoes, chopped in quarters/eighths
  • 1 1/2 cups loosely chopped sage
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 6 ounces plain yogurt
  • freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then add potatoes. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, place sage, walnuts, lemon zest and juice [or 1/2 a lemon if you’re lazy like me], and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until everything is well combined, then add yogurt, as well as freshly ground black pepper to taste.

After potatoes are prepared, place in a bowl. Toss pesto with potatoes and serve warm or cold.

Time: 30 minutes.

Yield: 4-6 servings.

Enjoy your day by checking out other great SRC recipes! 🙂 I know I will be!



Breakfast, Muffins, Recipes

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Sarah

Need another Chocolate Zucchini recipe? Probably not, but I just had to share these muffins. I’ve tried many, many combinations of zucchini with chocolate… and this is my absolute favorite.

Truth be told, these muffins are probably my favorite thanks to the doubled up chocolate–cocoa powder and chocolate chips–as well as the slightly indulgent, rich buttermilk. You could definitely substitute another kind of milk or use lemon juice/vinegar with milk [which I personally do most of the time] but I think using the real stuff makes these muffins creamier, tangier, and lighter than they would otherwise be.

Fortunately for me [and others who aren’t quite fans of the true taste of zucchini or other squashes]… all that chocolate along with warm spices masks the veggie component… and that same veggie component conveniently makes these muffins healthy and the perfect addition to your breakfast. Right? 🙂

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins [slightly adapted from Coconut and Lime]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 2 cups shredded zucchini, squeezed and drained
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners and set aside.

Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and oil. Next, in a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking pwoder, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then add zucchini and chocolate chips. Stir until just incorporated.

Fill each muffin liner 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool fully.

Time: 45 minutes [10 minutes active].

Yield: 12 muffins.

Cupcakes, Desserts, One Tablespoon Testosterone, Recipes

Man Cupcakes

Sarah

Hello! Ben is back with his guest post column entitled One Tablespoon Testosterone, or OTT for short. Enjoy!

———

The dog days of summer are the worst.  It’s not the heat or the constant reminder that I’m getting old because I don’t get a summer break; it’s the fact that football season is tantalizingly close, yet still outside my grasp.  So in order to build anticipation for the slew of meaty and manly foods I’ll be making for those thrilling fall weekends, I decided to make a manly dessert.

Now it’s fair to say that cupcakes are hardly manly.  They’re delicious and I would never turn one down, but they’re often decorated with icing flowers and other colorful and aesthetically pleasing designs.  So I set out to make cupcakes that were none of those things.  There’s nothing froofy about these cupcakes.  They’re not aesthetically pleasing, unless you consider a strip of bacon to be beautiful (and I do).  But they are delicious and can be appreciated by anyone (except maybe small children).  They make a great dessert for a Super Bowl party, or any old time.

Man Cupcakes [cupcake recipe from Betty Crocker, idea inspired by a newspaper clipping from my mother-in-law]
click to print

Ingredients:

for cupcakes

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 12 ounce dark beer, like Guinness
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 large eggs

for frosting

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2-4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1-2 ounces whiskey

toppings

  • chocolate chips
  • crispy bacon
  • salted peanuts

Directions:

We need to start by making the cupcakes.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all those delicious cake ingredients together in a bowl, starting on low and then increasing to high until smooth.  When choosing your beer, I recommend Guinness Extra Stout as it blends wonderfully with the cocoa.  I can imagine that any chocolate stout variety would also be fantastic.  Pour the very devilish food cake batter into your cupcake papers (it should make two dozen-ish) and bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  While these are baking, lick the beaters and bowl.

Once the cupcakes are baked, remove from oven and allow to cool.  Now let’s make the frosting.  Combine the ingredients in another bowl and mix together until smooth.  Add more powdered sugar if it’s too thin (or more whiskey if it’s too thick!).  1-2 ounces of whiskey is enough to flavor it, but feel free to add more if you want your cupcakes to burn a bit going down (yum!).

When the cupcakes have cooled frost them and add toppings.  Peanuts and chocolate chips are good options; but sticking with the manly theme, we should add some bacon.  Cook a few strips, cut/tear them into pieces, and add it to the top of your cupcakes.  Now stand back, admire your work, and hold back the tears of joy that will inevitably want to come; there’s no room for crying in manly cooking.

Time: 1 hour active [plus cooling].

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Menu Plans

Menu Plan

Sarah

Week of July 30

Monday: teryaki meatballs [didn’t make last week]
Tuesday: coconut curry
Wednesday: frittata & potato salad
Thursday: baked rigatoni with bechamel sauce
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: breakfast for dinner
Sunday: appetizers & desserts at church

Breakfast, Granola, Recipes

Mango Coconut Granola

Sarah

Quiz time… what do I love but never buy?

GRANOLA!

Okay, that might have been a wee bit obvious judging from the title of this post, but alas… no permanent harm done.

Seriously though, I just don’t understand how companies that sell 10-12 ounce bags of granola for SIX to EIGHT dollars apiece each stay in business. [Please excuse my internet shouting. I get worked up about overpriced items. I’m cheap frugal.] I get why they have to charge those prices… many of the granola brands I’m thinking of are organic, have a variety of nuts or special sweeteners or dried fruit, etc. And the company has to pay its employees and stay in business too, of course. That’s all well and good, and these pricy granolas are mighty tasty. But for the time being, I can’t justify paying that much moolah for one portion of my breakfast that will be finished in a week, tops. Yup, grad student speaking here. So what do I do? Make my own!

I’ve actually been making quite a few different versions of granola that I haven’t blogged about over the past threeish months… mainly because I have so many recipes in the queue that are frankly more exciting. This time though, nothing is holding me back! This Mango Coconut Granola is a tropical treat. It is officially my favorite granola of all time, a prestigious title to be sure.

So what makes this granola so great? Well, let’s see. Quiz time again.

Is it:

a) the triple punch of coconut [oil, flakes, extract]?
b) the use of almonds, the greatest nut ever?
c) the use of very expensive dried mango that my grandpa bought me at Costco?
d) all of the above.

If you picked d, you are very, very smart.

Coconut times three plus almonds plus dried mangoes just cannot be beat, even though I realize that if I added up the cost of the ingredients for this granola they might rival the expensive brands. No bother though–making things at home is part of the fun, and if you can have homemade, crunchy, flavorful granola… why wouldn’t you?

So far, my favorite way to eat this awesome granola has been with Mango Chobani and blueberries, but it’s also great with any other fruit/yogurt combo.

By the way, in case you’re interested, I’ve recently started playing with instagram a lot. 🙂 I’ve had it since I got my iPhone but never really used it til this summer. If you want to follow me, I’m @thepajamachef. Be sure to leave your username in the comments too so I can follow you back! Thanks and happy Friday!

Mango Coconut Granola [from Megan’s Cookin’]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup almonds, sliced or chopped
  • 1 1/3 cups sweetened coconut flakes, divided [could use unsweetened]
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar [if using unsweetened coconut, could increase to 1/2 cup brown sugar]
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon coconut extract
  • 1/3 cup dried mango, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine oats, almonds, 1 cup coconut, and brown sugar. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together coconut oil, honey, and cinnamon, then add vanilla and coconut extracts. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and mix well.

Press mixture evenly into baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, then stir, press again, and bake for another 15 minutes. Cool completely, then add dried mango and remaining 1/3 cup coconut flakes. Store in an airtight container.

Time: 45 minutes [15 minutes active]

Yield: about 9 cups.