Yum

All right, so I realize I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus, but in all fairness life has been an insane whirlwind lately.  From finishing university classes to buying a new house, selling the old one… very quickly I might add…. and moving… NUTS … I tell you.  That being said, I’m thrilled to be in my new kitchen and have been cooking up a storm, though not necessarily things that I’ve been photographing or new things, I’ve been sticking to old faithfuls… making my favourite Jack Daniels Ribs…. and feeding people who were kind enough to help me move.  Yes, I’m guilty of making burgers and dogs… easy peasy kinds of stuff for lots of wonderful folks.

I’ve also taken some cake decorating courses… so though I really should have taken pictures of some of my creations, I have to say, the time has just not been right.  I promise I’ll be better.  At an rate…. my new house…. the most beautiful place on just under 2 acres…. a hideaway I tell you…. and yes… I am grateful!

And kitchen……

I know the kitchen really is a dream and it’s almost all unpacked… so life will start feeling a little normal… at least as normal as it can in this amazing place!

And so today I give you potato salad…. one of the things I made in bulk to feed the hungry friends who were kind enough to help lug boxes and boxes of books and all sorts of heavy stuff over and over again it seemed.  This isn’t your normal potato salad, you don’t bit into the big chunks of cold potato… which is something I really hate…. but this is a Czech version.

Boil a half dozen potatoes, 3-4 Carrots  and 3-4 Stalks of Celery the day before…. whole, unpeeled and let sit overnight.  The next day hard boil about 4-5 eggs and peel and cut the potatoes into small say, 1/2 inch cubes… or thereabouts… remember smaller is better, do the same with the eggs.  Also peel the carrots and dice both the carrots and the celery.  Throw this all into a large bowl.  Then add a finely diced raw onion, a few (2-3) finely diced pickles.

In a separate smaller bowl, mix a small container of sour cream and about the same amount of mayonnaise and mix in a squirt of mustard…. a little lemon juice for good measure and a splash of some of the pickle juice… yes straight from the jar!  Mix together and taste… should be yummy and nice and tart.  salt and pepper to taste and then mix into the potatoes and celery and carrots and onions and pickles.

This salad is really best when it sits overnight… which is perfect when you’re making it ahead for an occasion like moving.  You can also throw in some parsley and garnish with cut radishes… beautiful and easy and a true summer salad.  The true(er) Czech version also includes diced ham, but alas we typically stay away from ham, I often don’t have it on hand and the salad really doesn’t need it … at least in my humble opinion.

Enjoy!