SereneCooking

In German class in the ninth grade, we had a German-foods potluck. The teacher, Mrs. Knapp (at least I think that was her name), handed out recipes and assigned us each a dish to cook and bring in. I got German potato salad. I had never HAD German potato salad. It was an epiphany! Such a perfect blend of flavors, and I wish I still had that recipe today.

These days, I call any vinegar-based (as opposed to mayo-based) potato salad "German potato salad", even when most people wouldn't really think of it as German potato salad, so keep that in mind if you make this recipe. It's very good, very easy, and VERY cheap, but it's not authentic in any way.

What I made:



German-ish Potato Salad

Dressing ingredients:

1 tsp dried minced onion
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp celery seed
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 tsp mustard powder

2 pounds russet potatoes, boiled, cooled, peeled, and cubed
1 roasted red pepper (I used one from a jar), diced

Place potatoes in a medium bowl. Place dressing ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir for a few seconds, then pour dressing over potatoes and mix well. Add peppers and mix. Chill until cold and serve.

Cost per serving:

4 servings. 20 cents a pound for the potatoes, 17 cents for the pepper (I bought a jar of 6 for 99 cents), and some tiny amount of money for the spices. Total per serving: 15 cents or so.

How we liked it:

someotherguy: "I liked it a lot. I'm not a super-huge fan of German-style potato salad, but it was pretty good."
serene: I would have preferred fresh onions and celery, but I didn't HAVE fresh onions and celery. This was really good for a pantry salad.

What I ended up eating yesterday (it went nothing like as planned, but I
managed pretty well even with eating out for most of the day):

Breakfast: toast with ginger spread
Lunch: sushi (vegan, no added fat) and miso soup at a restaurant
Dinner: went to a new Thai place with a whole separate vegetarian menu,
yay! I picked the lowest-fat stuff on the vegetarian menu -- tom yum
soup and fresh veggie spring rolls and cucumber salad. Delicious!
Snacks: popcorn, root beer at a concert, half a lemon bar (the one
non-vegan thing -- shared it with my partner at the concert)

Today:

Breakfast: oatmeal and raisins
Lunch: split pea soup, fat-free pasta salad (elbow macaroni, fava
beans, chopped onion, fat-free vinaigrette)
Dinner: seitan, rice, mustard greens
Snacks: dry-roasted soynuts, trail mix, popcorn, baked potato chips

Today is my blood test in preparation for my medical checkup next week (I have medical insurance now, yay!). I decided to use today as an opportunity to do my own mini-McDougall-program-ish experiment. I'm gonna do the ffv thing (I don't restrict nuts/olives/avocados/soy, though I know they're high in fat; I'm talking no-added-fat) for 6 weeks or so and get another blood workup, just to see what it does to my numbers. I'm a food geek, and it'll be fun.

However, it might not be quite as fun for you all, because now you get to hear about my food every day. ;-)

Today:

Breakfast: Farina, an apple
Lunch: Bean soft tacos: Corn tortillas, black beans, tomatoes, onions, avocado, hot sauce
Dinner: Boiled potatoes and chickpea gravy (leaving out the oil in the recipe); fresh peas
Snacks: Fruit, popcorn (going to see how popcorn does in my stirring popper without oil)