Category Archives: Vegetable Side Dishes

Mustard Potato Salad

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I know that potato salad does not sound overly exciting, but to me, this recipe makes it exciting. I love the idea of potato salad, but I’m just not in love with traditional mayo-based versions. This one is everything I’d want in a potato salad and satisfies that craving – it’s full of tangy, mustardy flavor and is still creamy but with no mayo. Here’s what makes it so great:

The potatoes
The potatoes are roasted for this dish rather than boiled like a lot of other potato salads. Roasted potatoes are sturdy and slightly crispy so they make a great base, and they just take potato salad to a whole new level. To add even more flavor to this dish, the potatoes are tossed with a bit of oil, salt, pepper and fresh rosemary before roasting. I used a combination of mini purple and gold potatoes for this, but you could really use any potatoes that you would like.

The dressing
The dressing is a simple but flavorful mixture of grainy Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, lemon and a bit of salt, pepper and oil. Everything is added to a jar and shaken until well combined. I used this mustard and think it worked just perfectly.

The extras
We decided to add hard boiled eggs and thinly sliced red onions to our potato salad and could not have been happier with that combination. The eggs add great flavor and almost a creaminess to the potato salad once everything is mixed together. The red onions – if sliced thin enough – add amazing flavor and just a bit of crunch. 






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Mustard Potato Salad

Ingredients

Potatoes

  • 2 pounds potatoes, diced
  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil, or oil of your choice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 4-5 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped

Dressing

  • 1/4 cup avocado oil, or oil of your choice
  • 2 tablespoons grainy Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

For the salad

  • 5 hard boiled eggs, chopped
  • 1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

  2. Toss potatoes with avocado oil, salt, pepper and fresh rosemary.

  3. Arrange potatoes on baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes, or until soft on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside.

  4. For the dressing, combine avocado oil, mustard, lemon, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper in a jar and shake until well combined.

  5. Once potatoes are roasted, let cool slightly. Toss potatoes with chopped hard boiled eggs, sliced red onion and dressing.

  6. Enjoy warm, at room temperature or cold.

Smoked Gouda Tomato Soup

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Here’s a little, simple recipe for you today. For me, easing back into the recipe sharing. For you, an almost effortless dinner idea.

Smoked Gouda tomato soup. Nothing revolutionary here, nothing crazy. Simple, classic tomato soup with a (smoked) twist.  This is just a standard tomato soup recipe, one that I have been making for months, with a handful of smoked Gouda cheese thrown in. All blended up to creamy perfection. A way to liven up tomato soup without too much effort. Not that tomato soup needs much livenin’ – I love the classic – but for something just a little bit different, this is it. I reccomend serving with extra shredded Gouda on top and slices of hearty bread – it’s hard to not enjoy.

If I have to do winter, this is how I want to to do it – hot soup in mugs and cozy evenings in. Cheers!

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Smoked Gouda Tomato Soup
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Ingredients
  1. 2 tablespoons olive oil
  2. 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  3. 4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
  4. 1 large garlic clove, minced
  5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  6. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  7. Heaping 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  8. 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  9. (2) 28 ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes
  10. 2 cups veggie broth
  11. (1) 8 ounce block smoked Gouda, shredded*
Instructions
  1. Add the olive oil to a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the chopped onions and carrots. Let cook, stirring several times, for about 10 minutes, or until veggies are just slightly browned and soft.
  2. Add the minced garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, and balsamic vinegar and stir. Add the two cans of tomatoes and veggie broth and stir once more. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down, cover the pot and let simmer 20-25 minutes, stirring once or twice to begin to break up the tomatoes. Soup is done simmering when tomatoes are soft and beginning to fall apart.
  3. Add two cups shredded Gouda to the pot and stir. Using an immersion blender (what I did) or regular blender, blend the soup until smooth. If using a regular blender, blend in batches.
  4. Ladle into bowls (or mugs!) and top each with additional shredded Gouda if desired.
  5. Enjoy!
Notes
  1. * I used one 8 ounce block of smoked Gouda and shredded the entire block. I put two cups of the shredded Gouda into the soup and reserved the tiny bit that was left for topping the finished soup.
The Dreaming Foodie https://www.thedreamingfoodie.com/

Peach + Blueberry Pico de Gallo

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This is a dish that Greg and I make frequently. We stand together, each chopping away at a vegetable or fruit, and create this bowl of beautiful tastes and colors. We top it onto chips as we make the rest of our meal, and then we enjoy it as a topping on veggie or fish tacos. Every single time we make this, we each take our first crunchy bite and declare it as our favorite food ever. And every single time we make this, we get into a conversation about just how good real food tastes and how lucky we are to eat food this good and healthy for us. I hope we do that forever.

We are lucky to eat food this good, especially this time of the year, using seasonal and local ingredients. For this batch of pico, we brought home most ingredients from Three Springs Fruit Farm and we’ve actually made it twice this week. Once for fish tacos and another time, sweet potato tacos. 

With just nine total ingredients, this dish is so easy to prepare and is also so versatile. The base of tomato, red onion, jalapeno and cilantro works so well for switching up the fruit seasonally. We often make it with mango and have done it with just peach, too. But for this batch I added blueberries and loved it. This pico adds just the right freshness, crunch and sweetness to a taco and is great with just chips, too. 

The color, smell and taste of this is truly special and I have a hard time believing that you wouldn’t declare this as your favorite food ever on your first bite either. Make it while we are lucky enough to have fresh summer fruits and veggies, enjoy every bite, and be reminded of just how good real food tastes!

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Peach + Blueberry Pico de Gallo
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Ingredients
  1. 1 generous cup cherry or grape tomatoes
  2. 1 large peach
  3. 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
  4. 1 small red onion (or about 1/2 cup)
  5. 1 small jalapeno
  6. Handful of fresh cilantro
  7. 1 tablespoon olive oil
  8. 1/4 teaspoon salt
  9. 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
  1. Evenly dice the tomatoes and peach. Finely dice the onion and jalapeno. Roughly chop the cilantro. Combine everything in a bowl, along with the whole blueberries, with olive oil, salt and pepper and stir until combined. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
Notes
  1. *My tomatoes were multi-colored mini heirlooms but any cherry or grape tomato will work fine.
  2. * I used a yellow peach but a white one would work great as well.
The Dreaming Foodie https://www.thedreamingfoodie.com/

Everyday Oven Fries

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Dreaming Foodie readers, let me introduce you to one of my all-time favorite side dishes. One that Greg and I consume multiple times, every single week. One that we never get sick of and that is always as good as the last time. Healthy, oven-baked french fries. Fries that you can feel good about eating all the time!

This recipe has been years in the making. I have been trying for so long to get the right recipe for homemade fries, made in the oven, and this is it. This will be it for me, forever and ever. For a basic, everyday oven fry recipe, this one wins for me in texture, taste and technique. These fries are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. They taste salty and peppery and have a gentle kick from a touch of paprika. They are simple to make, with just a handful of ingredients and a bit of preparation. You need to try these fries – you will love them!

First let’s talk texture. These fries get their crispiness from a quick boil before they are baked. I simply cut up the potatoes, place them in a large pot with water, bring it to a boil and boil for just 5 minutes. This exact method evolved from many other methods I’ve tried over the years. This is the one that works for me and that I’ll continue to do. It’s easy and takes very little time. The 5-minute boil is imperative to this exact recipe. I made many fries in the past that I did not boil and they have not come out as well or nearly as crispy. The boiling changes everything.

The taste of these fries is incredible. I took everything I like about different fries and put them into one. They are salty (who doesn’t love salty fries?), they are peppery, a tiny bit garlic-y and onion-y (from garlic powder and onion powder), a tiny bit spicy (from paprika) and herb-y (from parsley). This is a combination that I just love – nothing fancy or exotic, just yummy basic fries, made with ingredients that are always stocked in my pantry. 

The technique is simple. Cut potatoes, boil, drain + rinse, brush with olive oil + sprinkle with seasoning, bake 40-45 minutes. It’s that easy. I show in two photos below how I cut my potatoes. I used to cut oven fries thin, but found out that thin fries will break with the boiling step. For this recipe, the fries need to be sliced thick, like very large steak fries. They need to be able to withstand the boiling. From start to finish, the fries will shrink, so if you think they look large once they are cut, don’t worry, you won’t think that once you are eating a crispy, delicious fry! 

A few more notes on this recipe – for Greg and I, I usually use 3-4 medium to large russet potatoes. That makes a ton of fries – two full baking sheets, so for lighter eaters, I would plan for 1 medium-large potato per person. They do make good leftovers, and are awesome reheated in the oven. The seasoning amounts I provide will be good for 3-4 medium-large potatoes. If you’re feeding a crowd, double or triple the amounts as needed!

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Everyday Oven Fries
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Ingredients
  1. 3-4 medium potatoes (I like russet)
  2. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  3. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  4. 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  5. 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt or powder
  6. 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  7. 1 heaping teaspoon dried parsley
  8. 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400*.
  2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  3. In a small bowl, mix together all spices. Set aside.
  4. Rinse potatoes. Cut into very thick slices. I usually get 10-12 slices, or fries, per potato.
  5. Place sliced potatoes into large pot and fill with water. Bring to a boil. Boil exactly 5 minutes.
  6. Drain and rinse with cold water. Let potatoes cool slightly, just to the point that you can easily handle them.
  7. Arrange evenly on baking sheets, so that no potatoes are touching.
  8. Brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle evenly with spice mix.
  9. Bake for 40-45 minutes in oven, or until crispy and golden brown.
  10. Enjoy!
Notes
  1. 3-4 medium to large potatoes with make two full baking sheets of fries. As part of a meal, I would plan for 1 large potato per person.
The Dreaming Foodie https://www.thedreamingfoodie.com/

Shiitake Mushroom + Green Garlic (or Spring Onion) Parmesan Quiche

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It’s no surprise that I love quiche. Evidence: smoked salmon quiche, Brussels sprouts quiche, tomato + pesto quiche and asparagus + mushroom quiche. Today I’m adding a new one to the list – shiitake mushroom + green garlic (or spring onion) Parmesan quiche.

This is my newest creation and it’s all thanks to the return of Headhouse Farmers’ Market. I’ve told you before that Greg and I work  at a farmers market in the city on Sundays for his family’s farm, Three Springs Fruit Farm. After a winter hiatus, the market is back up and running and I couldn’t be happier to be back at it again. Each week we get to come home with fresh and local produce that is always, truly the best.

Anyway, let me tell you about green garlic. Our next door neighbor at market always has the best vegetables. Greg and I get mushrooms from him every single week, but a few weeks ago decided to pick up some spring onions as well, or so we thought. We went home with the mushrooms and spring onions and I made a quiche for dinner. It was so excellent with the veggies, plus some fresh thyme I had in the fridge and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. It wasn’t until the next week at market I discovered that the spring onions were in fact, not spring onions, but actually something called green garlic. I loved the previous weeks quiche so much, that home I went with more green garlic.

After some research, here’s what I found: “Green garlic is simply immature garlic and looks like a slightly overgrown scallion or green onion,” about.com told me. For more info, click here. Huh, how about that. Either way, I’m glad to have tasted something I never had before and to learn something new.

Don’t be scared though, this quiche is not overly garlic-tasting at all. You could continue to tell me I’m using spring onions and I would believe you. I do think spring onions would produce a similar taste in this quiche, so that’s why I included them in the title. If you use spring onions, make sure they are plump and full looking, and preferably locally grown (always the best!). But, if you are at a market this weekend and see green garlic, pick it up and give something new a try!

A few more notes on the quiche – the thyme is essential. It gives a taste that is subtle but makes a big difference. Use fresh or dried, whatever you have on hand – see the recipe for specific amounts. And, the Parmesan in this is amazing. It adds just the right salty/buttery taste without being heavy or overpowering. Enjoy this springtime quiche!

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Shiitake Mushroom + Green Garlic (or Spring Onion) Parmesan Quiche
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Ingredients
  1. 1 prepared pie crust
  2. 2 tablespoons olive oil
  3. 2 cups (or more!) shiitake mushrooms, chopped
  4. 5 stalks green garlic (or spring onions), sliced
  5. 2 garlic cloves, minced
  6. Several sprigs of fresh thyme, lightly chopped (or 1/4 teaspoon dried, ground thyme)
  7. 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  8. 5-7 eggs (depending on the size of your crust)
  9. 1 cup whole milk (or half & half)
  10. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  11. Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400*.
  2. Roll pie crust out into pie pan.
  3. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a medium pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the mushrooms and green garlic. Saute for several minutes, until the veggies have softened and are slightly golden. Add the garlic cloves and stir. Remove from heat.
  4. Beat together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper using a mixer or a whisk. Mix well, until eggs seem very light and aerated.
  5. Add the veggies to the bottom of the pie crust, then sprinkle on the Parmesan. Pour the egg mixture into the crust.
  6. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes**, or until quiche is just set, but cooked through.
  7. Enjoy!
Notes
  1. I used green garlic, but spring onions will work as well.
  2. **Quiche can be tricky as ovens vary. Quiche cooks differently in different ovens so sometimes it takes some experimenting to find the right baking temperature and time for your oven. Mine takes exactly 20 minutes in a 400* oven, but keep in mind that you may need to adjust the temperature/time to accommodate your oven.**
The Dreaming Foodie https://www.thedreamingfoodie.com/