Mayo-Free Asparagus and Potato Salad

I love mayo.  I slather it on sandwiches like it's going out of style.  But some of the other members of the household aren't a big fan of the stuff.  So, in an effort to appease them, I found a recipe for a summery potato salad that's completely void of mayonnaise.  And you know what?  Even a mayo-lover like me didn't miss the thick white gloop.

Mayo-Free Asparagus and Potato Salad (serves 6) Adapted from Generation Y Foodie

-1 lb small potatoes
-3 strips of bacon
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1 lb asparagus, chopped into 1-inch pieces
-2 T fresh chives, chopped
-1 T dijon mustard
-1 T white wine vinegar
-1 T olive oil
-salt and pepper

Chop the potatoes into smaller chunks.  (I used multi-colored potatoes, but you can use whatever small spud you'd like.)

Boil the potatoes until they're fork-tender.  (Approximately 10 minutes.)  Be careful they don't get too mushy.  Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.

In a large frying pan, saute the garlic with the bacon for 5 minutes on medium heat.

Add the asparagus and saute for another 2-3 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the chives, mustard, vinegar and oil.

Crumble the bacon into smaller pieces.

In a large bowl, mix the potatoes, asparagus, bacon and dressing mixture.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes or eat warm.

Midwestern Red Beans and Rice

Long time no blog, eh?

I've been too busy enjoying my California semi-vacation to sit down and write.

But I'm back, baby.  With a vengeance.  And today I have not one, but two delicious recipes for you.

The first one isn't necessarily super-healthy, but it's become a staple in the Loren-Karis household.  I started making red beans and rice during our "poor post-grads" phase.  I'd make a huge pot of it in the beginning of the week, and we'd eat leftovers until Friday.

Red beans and rice with fennel slaw and toasted whole grain bread

My in-laws and I enjoyed our meal this week with a big old jar of sun tea.  (If you've never made it before, it's super-easy.  Just throw some tea bags into a giant container, fill it with cold water and leave it out in the sun for about 4 hours.  I used half green tea and half Tazo passion tea, and it was delicious.  Plus, it's kinda cool to harness the power of the sun to brew your own tea.)

Sunshine in a jar!

Red Beans and Rice (serves 4)
-1.5 cups brown rice
-3 cups water
-1 T olive oil
-1 clove of garlic
-onion
-green pepper
-1/2 package of Andouille sausage (optional -- you can also use other types of sausage or none at all)
-1.5 T cumin
-pinch of cayenne
-salt and pepper
-1 can (about 1.5 cups) kidney beans

Toppings (mix and match whatever you like)
-black olives
-shredded cheddar cheese
-sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
-hot sauce

Prepare your rice.  In a medium saucepan, bring the brown rice and water to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, and then cover with a lid.

Once the rice is about halfway done, mince your garlic and chop the onion and green pepper.   (Note: I'm not a huge onion or green pepper fan, so I usually only use about half of each vegetable and place the rest in a plastic bag for later.)

Heat a large frying pan with oil and saute the garlic, onion and green pepper for 4 minutes.

Chop the sausage into 1/4 inch slices and add into the frying pan.  Add the cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper.  Saute for another 4 minutes.

Rinse and drain the kidney beans and add them into the frying pan.  Cook for 4 minutes.

Sausage and bean mixture

Once the rice is completely cooked, mix it together with the red beans and serve.

Mark is proud of his geraniums and knew this was the only way to get his flowers featured in this blog

You can top your red beans and rice with black olives, sour cream, cheese and/or hot sauce.  Really, whatever floats your boat.  Loren likes to roll it all up into a tortilla and coat it with Tabasco.  You can easily customize the recipe for other types of rice, too.  I've done black beans and rice with spicy turkey sausage, corn, peppers and avocado.  You could also make black-eyed peas and rice with mixed veggies.  The possibilities are pretty endless.

More Mountain-Climbing

Sorry, no recipes this post.  But I can offer you mountain-top photos.  Like this one:

Or this:

My in-laws, several of their friends and I climbed Mokelumne Peak this Saturday.  (You want to feel physically inadequate?  Hike with a bunch of really, really athletic 40-50 year olds.)  

It's about a 16 miles round-trip.  You hike down into the Tanglefoot Canyon, ascend, and you then climb up the mountain.  And then there's a 300-foot pile of boulders that greets you at the top.

Overall, it's about a 3,800 feet change in elevation.  Not bad for a Midwestern flat-lander like myself.

The weather was warm, so we didn't have to fight through much snow.  The trail is a little rough in some areas, especially climbing out of the canyon.  I don't think anyone has really been doing much maintenance with the trails lately.  And, if the roster at the top of the peak is correct, we were the first people up at the top of the mountain in 2012. 

I tried using my new MotoActv GPS to track the hike, but I didn't have much luck.  I either kept hitting the pause button or the workout automatically paused -- I'm not sure what happened.  At the end of the hike, it said that we had only gone about 10 miles.  (I tend to side more with my father in-law's Garmin data.  Every website that I've looked at says the hike is about 16 miles.)  The heart rate monitor seemed to work fine, so I think I'll give the MotoActv another chance before I give a full review.  I'll take it on a shorter run and see how it works.

Overall, not a bad little hike!  I'm getting spoiled living out here in the mountains.

Yummus

My husband Loren is the hummus king. I've never met a person so obsessed with garbanzo beans. So I feel a little bit guilty making hummus while he's alone in Japan. (But then I take a bite of bean dip and feel no remorse.)

Today I made not one but THREE different varieties of hummus. The traditional chickpea version is probably still my favorite, but edamame and black bean hummuses (hummi?) are delicious as well. You can eat them with raw veggies, crackers, toasted pita bread, etc.

ORIGINAL HUMMUS

-2 cloves garlic
-2 T tahini*
-1/4 cup water
-3 T lemon juice
-1/2 t tamari**
-1/2 t cumin
-1/4 t coriander
-pinch of cayenne
-chopped parsley

Add all ingredients into a food processor. Mix until smooth and creamy. Top with whatever you like. I added some chopped olives and sunflower seeds. But you could also add pine nuts, sundried tomatoes, roasted red peppers or whatever else is in your cabinet.

BLACK BEAN HUMMUS
This version has more of a Mexican feel to it. Feel free to add some cayenne or red pepper flakes.

-Can of drained black beans
-2 cloves of garlic
-2 T tahini
-1 t cumin
-2 T water
-2 t tamari
-2 t lemon juice

Add all ingredients into a food processor. Mix until smooth and creamy.

EDAMAME HUMMUS
I love soybeans. They're incredibly versatile. This hummus was a little drier than the others, so I added several tablespoons of water, on at a time, until the hummus was the right consistency.

-1 cup cooked, shelled edamame
-2 cloves garlic
-2 T lemon juice
-2 T tahini
-1 t cumin
-1 t sesame oil
-salt
-sesame seeds (optional)

Add all ingredients into a food processor. Mix until smooth, adding water if necessary.

*Tahini is essentially ground-up sesame seeds. You can usually find it in the grocery store near the peanut butter. If it's not there, check the Asian or health foods aisles. Tahini can be a little pricey, but once you've got a can, it'll last quite a while. Making homemade hummus is waaaaay cheaper than buying the stuff at the store.
**You can find tamari in the Asian foods section of the grocery store. You can also substitute soy sauce or regular old salt.

Happy eating! We're headed on a 17-mile hike up to Mokelumne Peak tomorrow, and I can't think of better fuel for the journey than a big batch of hummus and some crackers.