Oh, long weekend, we will miss you dearly!
It rained yesterday on and off but we still managed to get some work done outside. Eric finished installing the railing posts and he started the fascia boards along the edge. It gives a lovely polished effect!
Meanwhile, I tended to the garden beds while the worms tended to my soil. ;)
We also put together my new compost bin that was a birthday gift from my in-laws.
She’s a beauty, isn’t she? I believe my transition into a tree-huggin, hippy, vegan is now complete. ;)
A compost bin can cut your waste by over 25%, according to the manual. I would guess that our compost is at least 50% of our ‘waste’…vegans go through a lot of compost materials in a week! Our area has a separate compost collection in addition to blue bin and garbage pick-up, but I’d rather use it for the garden anyday.
Thankfully, the rain stopped and the sun came out just in time for the BBQ. While Eric worked his magic, I prepared a lovely asparagus and potato salad.
I adapted the recipe from a pamphlet by Foodland Ontario. I picked it up when I bought the local asparagus and I had my eye on the recipe all weekend long!
The directions said to steam the potatoes and asparagus, but I decided to roast the potatoes in a bit of olive oil, salt, minced garlic, and pepper. They are just fantastic prepared this way and their flavour really pops.
Meanwhile, I made the dressing and I was able to cut down the oil by 80% with a few minor adjustments.
I used some fresh chives from the garden…along with fresh dill, green onion, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, garlic, etc. The dressing has a great kick to it!
I also sautéed the asparagus in a little olive oil and Herbamare just before the potatoes were finished baking.
Then, all you do is mix everything together and you have yourself a delicious warm asparagus and potato salad to enjoy with a BBQ.
We also debated grilling the potatoes and asparagus on the BBQ, but we ran out of space because our BBQ is small and has a flame coming through on one side….don’t ask. Our friend gave it to us for free. ;)
The burgers:
These Amy’s burgers are good, but they are their best when grilled on the BBQ. They are an ‘omnivore-friendly’ veggie burger and everyone always seems to enjoy them. Sometimes Eric also BBQ’s beef or chicken, but he was out and the stores were closed for the holiday.
My first shot…
(notice all the empty space in the photo)
My last shot…
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The potato salad was divine. This was my first vegan potato salad and I was really impressed. Normally, I’m not a big potato salad fan, but this recipe changed my mind. Probably because it wasn’t drenched in mayonnaise and served cold. :)
If you are looking for a fun & delicious warm potato salad I definitely recommend this one.
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Asparagus and Potato Salad
Adapted from Foodland Ontario.
Yield: about 4-5 servings
Roasted Potatoes:
- 2 lbs potatoes (I used organic Russet), washed & chopped into 1” pieces
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
Dressing:
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1.5 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp water
- 1/2 tsp maple syrup (see note below)
- 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 bunch green onion, finely chopped
Sautéed Asparagus
- 1 bunch asparagus, ends broken off and chopped into 1” pieces
- extra virgin olive oil + 1/4 tsp Herbamare (or salt), for sautéing
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425F. In a large bowl, mix together the potatoes and seasonings. Lay on a baking sheet lined with parchment or non-stick mat. Roast for 30 minutes, tossing once half-way through baking. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the dressing by mixing all the dressing ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.
3. Sautee the asparagus in a little oil and salt over low-medium heat for about 8 minutes, until tender and crisp.
4. Mix the potatoes, asparagus, and dressing together in a large mixing bowl and season to taste. Serve immediately, warm. Makes about 4-5 servings.
Note: I used just a touch of maple syrup to balance out the dressing. You could also use a touch of sugar or other sweetener. Or simply do not use it at all. I thought it balanced it out really well and you couldn’t detect the maple.
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Off to tackle the work week. Happy Tuesday!
This is the ultimate of eating season. I can not wait to try this. My neighbour just gave me some of his homemade Asparagus and I have local grown jersey baby potatoes.Yum
My parents own that same composter! It looks like something from star trek heeheheh.
Your potato salad looks so fresh and healthy!
Yay, you are a real hippy vegan now complete with a yoga practice and a compost bin!!!! Wooo! I have a little countertop compost bin I bough at my co-op (how hippy is that?), but I know they have them online. They are really helpful for putting scraps in so you don’t have to run to the compost bin after every meal (although in the beginning I really loved to do that! Not so much in the winter though). I also just found out you can put dryer lint into the compost as a dry material. How cool!?!?
I don’t like cold potato salad either, but anything with roasted potatoes and I’m in. Yay for composting!
I LOVE potato salads!! especially these kinds, with bunches of herbs and mustard :)
I just purchased a composting tumbler and I have to admit I love saving all my compost materials and adding it to the compost – I really feel like I am doing my part :)
I bet that would be amazing with sweet potatoes!
Ahhh this sounds so good!!! I would love to grill some asparagus for this:) I hope you enjoyed your long weekend, mine is just beginning! :)
I have a daughter who lives on the Amy’s Texas burgers. We will be trying them on the grill along with today’s salad. :)
After Ryan built our compost bin we went from a “normal” amount of household waste (perhaps about 2 kitchen bags per week) to 1 bag every 2-3 weeks!!! LOVE the compost almost as much as the garden and bears do… ha!!!
I was wondering if those burgers were good. I’ve tried the “Le Sol” Original brand and really like those. They are better grilled or sauteed though I agree.
Potato salad is one of my favorite summer foods :) I love that you’ve lightened yours up and thrown in veggies…yum!
What a perfect dinner! And you are such an amazing food photographer; I always look forward to seeing the photos here :)
Mmmmm…I’ve been all about the asparagus lately too. I can’t get enough! Also, I remember last year you were all about the garlic scapes. Have you tried green garlic/garlic greens yet? Amazing!
Ooooh..and one other thing. If you don’t already have one, you might want to pick up a kitchen compost crock to accumulate all your food scraps and such. It’s so helpful–right from the cutting board to the crock to the compost bin.
I have one like this:http://www.gardeners.com/Kitchen-Compost-Crock/13006,default,pd.html
Great looking recipe. Love that the oil is cut down so much! Thanks!!!!
If i wasn’t married to my meat eating husband (blah!) i would propose to you!! You are so amazing!! everything you make is soooooo yummy!! thanks so much for sharing your life and recipes with us <3 oh and i cant wait to try this recipe ;)
haha ;)
salad looks delicious!! and congrats on the composting bin, that is something I have always wanted…haha, wait that doesn’t really sound good
Hi there! I love your blog, it’s so inspiring! I am in college and I am have been yoyo dieting for almost half my life. I am a typical meat eater, but I have really wanted to cut that out of my diet. I want to go vegan, and I have found so many great products that I LOVE (such as gardien) but I am having major issues trying to find a vegan yogurt option here in Canada! All I have found is soyo and it tastes awul! I was wondering if you have any suggestion for yogurt, because I do love yogurt, and I would hate to have to give it up! Sorry for the long comment, I just didn’t know where else I could write this! Thank you for all the great recipes! They help out so much! Good luck in your future!:)
I havent found one I like yet either!
I’ve never been a big potato salad fan either, but this recipe may change my mind! There’s nothing like fresh herbs straight from the garden. :D
I love that our area has a green bin. It’s great to see so much waste being diverted from the landfills, since so many people are too lazy to keep a compost of their own.
What a delicious looking salad! I have some fresh chives that I wasn’t sure what to do with, so this might be my answer. :-)
another lovely salad! GOt this one bookmarked!
This looks amazing – I’ve never liked regular potato salad (mayonnaise triggers my gag reflex – always has – blech!!), but this sounds right up my alley!
PS can’t wait for your (new recipe!) granola!! :)
I have the same compost bin! I grew up composting so it was already a habit for me when I grew up and moved out on my own. My husband and I only take out our trash every 2 weeks because so much of our waste is simply composted! Love it.
Your salad looks soooo delicious.
Potato deliciousness!!! I have been wanting to get a compost bin. It’s a must now that I’m shopping at the farmer’s market more.
Everything looks so beautiful as usual! i’m currently perusing your recipes to get some inspiration for tomorrow. Wish me luck! haha
I am not a fan of potato salad or macaroni salad. But I like your version! Your recipe has a different twist to it than your average potato or macaroni salad. Plus, I like asparagus!
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
Thank you! This is right up my alley.
oooh this looks and sounds wonderful!
I really love potato salad and this recipe looks amazing. I gotta try it asap! Thanks for posting!
What a fantastic recipe!! I made this for dinner last night and it was GREAT!!!!!
You just took my breath away…
Those burgers are good, aren’t they? You are going to LOVE your compost. I miss mine like crazy.
That potato salad looks great!
We made your delicious potato and asparagus salad last night. Thank you so much. What a great way to start the picnic season. I imagine we will make it a lot this summer and might try it with other greens like beans and broccolli once the asparagus is gone locally. Thanks.
Made this salad last night – but substituted sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes! So yummy! Love the dressing :)
Hi! Just found your blog and I LOVE it! I live in southern Ontario as well so I love that I always know what you’re talking about and have access to the same resources. I stumbled across your site when google brought up the post you made in regards to Raw Aura… love that place!
So far I’ve tried your cookie dough blizzard, mac and cheese, oat parfait, parsnip fries, pesto and roast veg pizza and tonight I plan on the echiladas! ALL… read… ALLLLLL of them were so freaking fabulous I just had to let you know what I thought! Hands down impressed! Thanks for keeping my pregnant tummy happy and full of nutritious goodies, Im 25 weeks today! Yay!
Thanks again!
Thank you! Congrats on your pregnancy!!
Congrats on the compost!
We also have city green bin pick up, but I would rather it go back into our gardens too. As we aren’t vegan, the city gets all the meat scraps and bones. Our compost gets all the “good stuff”.
Just made this. YUMMY! I think I can seriously eat the whole bowl!
Made this tonight, it’s even better than it looks. I steamed the potatoes instead of roasting and it was awesome, they soak up all of the dressing. DELICIOUS:) BTW I love your blog, I’ve made a lot of your recipes and they are all delicious, especially the overnight oats!
hello hello. I made this last night with PURPLE asparagus and it was YUMMMM.
OK, so I normally just lurk around your site… reading it everyday as it pops up in my inbox…. BUT last night I made this asparagus and potato salad and it was seriously the best potato salad I have ever had. I had to comment!!!
Like the reader above, I also live in southern Ontario and LOVE your blog because you often refer to products and places I can actually get/visit! Also, I have had great luck with all the recipes I have tried.
Just wanted to de-lurk and let you know what a fantastic job you are doing :)
thanks so much! :)
YUM! This sounds amazing! I wish we still had asparagus in our garden! Would love for you to link this up to my Vegetarian Recipes Blog Hop today to celebrate National Vegetarian Week! :)
Tried this recipe last tonight – it was fantastic and that is from a person who doesn’t typically love potatoes! But with this recipe and your salt and vinegar chips I have started to like them more and more. I servied it with almond curry tilapia!
I made the potato salad for a Memorial Day barbeque today and it was a HUGE hit!! Everyone loved it! Thanks so much for sharing and I love your blog!
I have 2 of those compost bins! Our city sells them at a reduced rate for $35. We bought 2 so that when the first one fills up we can use the 2nd one while the first one is decomposing. Now, if you have eavestroughing, you need to get yourself a rain barrel! We have the “Fiskars Salsa Rain Barrel” from Canadian Tire. It’s neat because it attaches directly to your eavestrough, the water will fill the barrel, once the barrel is full the water will just pour down the evestrough again. The attachment has a filter to catch leaves and stuff. You’ll have to look it up on the Fiskars website!
Thank you! I am debating getting another compost too….I go thru so much. Our city also sells at a reduced rate . :)
Yummy!!! This salad was absolutely delicious!!!!!
Glad u liked it!
This is fantastic- just made it for supper but I used red skin potatoes. Incredible, I will definitely be making it again!
Made this tonight and it is so yum! I used white potatoes cause they were on sale this week. I will definitely make this again. Adding it to my list of dishes that will please even non-vegans.