Between Holidays - French Toast Muffins with Clementine Maple Icing

I always really like the week between Christmas and New Years. Don't you?  I love the way things slow down and everyone's okay with it. The Christmas lights and decorations are still up, but the grand hoo-ha is mostly over.  A new fresh year is on the horizon with lots of plans, but not quite here yet, so just relax and wait till it arrives. It's a good week.

On Christmas day I made a late brunch for the mister and me.  At the last minute I had a brainstorm to make a new dish that I kind of made up right then.  It turned out great and I wanted to share it with you.

I'm calling them French Toast Muffins, but they might be more of a Bread Pudding. I don't really know. Basically I took some of the delicious gluten-free Challah Rolls that I got at the local Gluten Free Bakery here in town called New Cascadia Traditional. In case you don't know, Challah bread is a traditional Jewish egg bread. I've always wanted to make great french toast with it, but I didn't think I could because they only had the rolls. But, this recipe made it work.

So, back to the recipe. I took the rolls and broke them up in pieces and put them in the muffin tin (previously sprayed with Coconut Oil). Then I beat a few eggs with some half and half, vanilla, cinnamon and a little maple sugar (the granulated kind, I got mine here). I poured this mixture over the bread, sometimes smashing the bread a bit so it absorbed it all.  I then baked for about 30 minutes on 350°. See, how scientific I am? It's all abouts and kind-ofs. But, what do you expect for a last minute made-up recipe.

Then - and this is the best part - I juiced 2 clementines and mixed the juice up with a lot of powdered sugar and a smidge and a splash of more granulated maple sugar until it looked like I wanted it to look.  Once the muffins were cooled down a bit I drizzled it all over.  You could also skip the icing and just put syrup over them.

These were delicious hot or cold, They were great that day and just as good two days later. The icing even seemed to get a stronger taste of clementine as it got older and thickened. Having only juice and sugar in them, I just left the icing out. These were super easy and there are so many variations you could do. They'd be great for a potluck or picnic breakfast. 

I hope you enjoy this quiet week and have a great New Year. Thanks for keeping up with me.

Whatever Watermelon Salad and my Kitchen Confession

I am the kind of person who doesn't read instructions much. I like to get in there and just figure it out. Sometimes this works great. Lots of times it doesn't.  I'm kind of like that with cooking, too. With baking I'm more careful (but not by much). I have a bit of a devil-may-care attitude about cooking - especially if it's just for myself. I collect recipes on Pinterest and have many cookbooks and yet, when it comes down to it I usually just make something up.

So, yesterday I got the idea to make a watermelon salad. I looked up some recipes on Pinterest, but none of them were really what I wanted to do. So, I just kind of did my own thing. I made a watermelon salad with cucumbers, blueberries and mint. I added some things to make a dressing and the result was really good. Here is a sort of roughed out idea of what I did (what, me measure?) so you can use it as a guide for your own whatever watermelon salad.

My version of Whatever Watermelon Salad

About 4 cups cut watermelon
1 cucumber, peeled and cut up
About 1/2 cup blueberries
Mint leaves, roughly chopped up (I used Lavender Mint from my garden)

Dressing

1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Lavender Lemongrass Vinegar.
( I know not everyone has this sitting around. But, I recommend trying something that would give it just a little bit of some unique little tang. This vinegar is perfect as a secret ingredient in things. It adds so much, but you can't quite put your finger on it.)
a pinch of salt and a little bit of pepper if that's your thing.
Whisk together and gently toss with the fruit salad

You can eat right away, but it's better if it sits for a bit. The second picture is the salad the next day.

Are you a perfect cook and stick to recipes or are you like me?  I'll call it creative (but I have also called it half-assed).

Strawberries Stuffed with Black Pepper Lavender Cream Cheese

Last week I was invited to a delicious brunch by my friend and charming blogger Sarah from New Wave Domesticity.  I am recently having to eat Gluten Free because of an auto immune disease I had just found out about. Sarah happily took on the challenge of a Gluten Free Brunch which was so awesome. It was delicious! Check her blog for the recipes she made.

I wanted to bring something, but I've been sort of stumped about what to make with the whole gluten thing  being an issue. I had strawberries and cream cheese in my fridge and I remembered seeing a recipe on Pinterest with cream cheese stuffed strawberries. But, I wanted it to be more interesting than that.

The Capricorn Cocktail 

It came to me immediately how to jazz it up, because just the day before I had been at The Observatory here in Portland for the first time and had two fabulous Strawberry Black Pepper Cocktails (strawberry puree, vodka, black peppercorn syrup with a salt and pink peppercorn rim - so good!). But, to make it even more interesting I used the  Lavender and Black Peppercorns in my grinder and then added even more pepper.

I don't have an exact recipe, but used about 3/4 cup cream cheese, 2 tablespoons honey, and just ground the pepper and lavender combo & then the black pepper until it looked like how I wanted. I then mixed it all together and put it in a pastry bag (and like an idiot forgot the nozzle, so that's why these are not as pretty as they could be - can you tell I don't use my pastry bags that often?). I then did a little sprinkle over them with the Lavender Pepper.

These were pretty darn delicious - refreshing and creamy, but then they had this complexity with the pepper and the subtle lavender flavor. I recommend the combo. Also, I made them the day ahead and then covered and put them in the fridge and they were just the same a day later as they were when I made them. Just remember to kind of let the strawberries dry a bit or pat dry after rinsing. I love strawberry season!

You're Invited to an Herb Themed Tea

The Menu

Peppermint Tea
Lavender Pepper Scones
Dill and Goat Cheese Sandwiches with Lemon Delight Herb Vinegar
Goat Cheese Brie and Spinach in Nasturtium Vinegar Sandwiches
Mandarin Quinoa Salad Parfaits
Rose Apple Tarts

I had a wonderful time a couple of weeks ago setting up a fancy tea for my friend Sarah of the blog New Wave Domesticity. I've been doing some website work for the delightful Blue Heron Herbary on Sauvie Island and they had set me up with some delicious herb blends and vinegars that I wanted to try out in some recipes. So, an herbal theme tea party seemed like the perfect fit for our tea-for-two meeting.

The first thing I was inspired to make were the Lavender Pepper Scones or Biscuits. From the first time I smelled the herb blend that they make at Blue Heron Herb Nursery from their scores of lavender fields (they farm and sell over 100 varieties of lavender) I knew I wanted to make scones with it. I love a savory scone - with butter of course.

The Lavender Pepper Herb Blend is the most popular of Blue Heron's blends. I am not a huge lavender flavored girl, but I was encouraged to at least give it a smell. After that I was hooked.  It isn't super lavendery, but just enough that it give it this really interesting savory taste. I used a mixture of the Lavender Pepper Blend (which also includes some other ingredients) and the pure Lavender and Rainbow Peppercorns option that I put in my own spice grinder.

The result was delicious! I chose to make them biscuit shaped, but they were more scone like. I could have made them a little thicker and more biscuity, but they were great as is. Kind of dry and  flaky and so ready to have some butter on them. Just how I like my savory scones. I just loved all the pepper in them and the lavender made the taste so unique and full.

Lavender Pepper Scones (Biscuit) Recipe
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup salted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1/4 cup milk
1.5 teaspoons Lavender Pepper Blend
2 tablespoons Lavender Rainbow Peppercorns
1/4 tsp baking soda


1.Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). In a large
bowl, mix flour, baking powder, lavender pepper

blend and lavender peppercorns. Working quickly, add cold butter, blending with fingertips until evenly distributed.
2.In a large bowl, mix yogurt, milk and baking soda. Pour over dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until dough just holds together. Do not overwork. Pat or roll into a 1/2- to 3/4-in. (1 to 2 cm) thick disk.
3.Using a 3-in. (8 cm) round cutter (or a floured jar lid or glass), cut dough into 9 or 10 rounds (gathering scraps to re-roll and cut to use up dough). Bake on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet for about 15 min. or until lightly browned. 

I adapted this recipe to use for the scones.  It called for 3/4 cup buttermilk, but I didn't have any so I used the yogurt and milk combo. I found the sub online somewhere and it worked great.  Also, the amount of Lavender Rainbow Peppercorns I used is a guesstimate since I just kind of kept grinding it in till it looked good. Add as much as you want. I also sprinkled them with some more Lavender Peppercorns on the top, but I can't remember if I did it before or after.

These are so good, I am still craving them and they are long gone.

Dill, Goat Cheese and Lemon Delight Vinegar Sandwiches

Also on the menu that day were some delicious tea sandwiches inspired by the Herb Infused Vinegars from Blue Heron's Three Bird Vinegar and Dressings.

Goat Cheese Brie and Nasturtium Vinegar Spinach sandwiches

I made these Dill and Goat Cheese Sandwiches by using a soft spreadable goat cheese and cutting up a bunch of fresh dill. Mmm. So good.  I used about a tablespoon or two of the Lemon Delight Vinegar, which is a combo of lemon basil, lemon thyme, lemon verbena and lemon peel in a white wine vinegar. This is my favorite vinegar so far. I tasted the sandwiches before and after the vinegar was added and it made such a difference and yet it wasn't obvious what it was. It really brightened the filling. They were super good. I love this vinegar for asparagus and all vegetable steaming, too.

I also used the very interesting Nasturtium Vinegar from Three Bird. Nasturtium flowers have a peppery summery taste. I tossed some spinach in them and then added them to some Goat Cheese Brie. It made a nice sandwich that had a good amount of veggies in it, unlike the other offerings. The Nasturtium Vinegar added a unique and layered taste to the simple sandwich.

The tea was rounded out by a favorite easy dish of mine that I found on Pinterest - Mandarin Quinoa Salad Parfaits. I added some of Three Bird Vinegar's Bouquet of Roses Vinegar to this sweet and nutty tasting salad. It added an extra depth to it and mixed well with the fruity flavor.

Sarah brought with her these darling Apple Pie Cinnamon Bites that looked very impressive and were delicious.

It was so fun to do a tea party like this again. Thanks to Blue Heron Herbary for the inspiration. I am a new devotee to Herb Vinegars and Lavender Pepper. Oh, and Blue Heron Herbary is having a 20% off deal through May 1st on all products on their Etsy shop. Check it out and get some herbal inspiration, too.

winter treats

Winter is the kind of thing most people don't like. Especially after the holidays are over. I like the quiet months of Janurary and Feburary - the bare trees, the grey skies, the need for cozy socks and warm foods. Although there is less produce at this time than during the summer, there are still some great things in season (though not local perhaps) that are a nice treat at this time.

Lately, I've been really into grapefruit, kiwi, meyer lemons, oranges and avocados. These are all in season somewhere and really inexpensive at the stores right now.

I made a lemon meyer bundt cake the other day. I used this recipe on Pinterest. I started a Pinterest of tested recipes. It shows the recipes I've actually done and my comments on them.

The last few days my lunch has been an open face avocado sandwich. Avocados are so good right now and cheap. This sandwich is super good. It satisfies the Southern California girl inside me who grew up eating avocados all the time and stealing lemons off of nearby trees. 

Let me break it down, in case you wanna create it yourself. 

Mestemacher 3 Grain Bread

Vegenaise Horseradish Mayo

Yellow Mustard

Artichoke Antipasto from Trader Joe's

Avocado

This Rosemary Garlic Pepper 

little salt

Delicious! 

no pressure mini apple pies

I have always been intimidated to make pie crust. If I make a pie I usually buy the pre-made pie crusts. But, the other night I made two mini apple pies for me and the mister. I didn't even think about the fact that I had made pie crust until it was done. I think the fact that they were little and I could just patch it together made it a lot less intimidating.

I used this recipe. But, instead of making them in muffin tins I used ramekins, which are bigger. I then halved the recipe (because I was only using 2 ramekins). It turned out real good, but I needed to pack more apples in. They cooked down and we definitely needed more ( I used 2 medium and one small). The baking time was a bit longer in the ramekins.

I had a hard time getting the pie crust to not break up. Let me know if you have any tips on that. In general this was a really easy recipe and pretty fast - and no pie crust pressure! 

There are so many apple recipes on Pinterest right now! If you are wondering what to make this weekend or for Thanksgiving, check them out. You can start on my Food and Drink Board, which has a lot of them listed, including the one I used here.

raspberry jam

Today is a rainy day in Portland. Even though it's the middle of July, I don't mind. I like having some sun and then some cooler days.

Last weekend was a perfect summer weekend. On Saturday I went out to Sauvie Island and got a flat of raspberries. Kruger Farms had just posted the day before that the raspberries were in and showed a picture of buckets of raspberries. That was enough to get me there. I love any reason to go out to Sauvie Island. Below is a phone picture from inside Krugers looking out over their fields.

There were lots of people there, but plenty of raspberries and other great produce. I got a flat and some other items and then went out to the Blue Heron Herbary - one of my favorite places on the island.

The next day I went to my Mom's and we made Raspderry Jam with some of the berries. I've always been intimidated to make jam. Something about the special jars, sterilizing and pectin just seemed like a lot of work, especially when I can get super great and local jam pretty much anywhere. But, I found a recipe for Raspberry Jam that required no pectin and no special jar sterilizing and I wanted to try it.

Raspberries have natural pectin in them, so it isn't really needed when you are making raspberry jam. I learned this from the cookbook Foods to Live By, which is written by the folks who run Earthbound Farms.

I really like this cookbook and so did my mom, so I left it with her so she could try some things. Because of this, I don't have the exact recipe with me, but it was really easy and I read it over many times, so I'm pretty sure I have it committed to memory.

Basically it was this:

16 cups raspberries
8 cups sugar

Put in heavy bottom pot, bring to boil, then simmer for about 50 minutes. Spoon into any sterilized jars right away or wait to cool and put into jars.

We simmered for longer than 50 minutes because it didn't look like it was thickening. It looked more like a sauce. But, after it cooled down it did thicken up quite good, especially the ones with the seeds left in. We did some seedless and some with seeds. For seedless we put the jam through a sieve and then a strainer.

Let me tell you, it's delicious. Not too sweet and so fresh tasting.

I guess I better get back to working on my zine now. Zine Sympoisum is in a few weeks.....well, maybe I'll have a snack of toast and jam first.

Hope your all enjoying the summer!

tastes

I made Colcannon for St Patrick's Day on Thursday. Colcannon is a traditional Irish meal which is basically mashed potatoes mixed with cabbage (or kale). It was quite good.

When I was a kid my mother used to make Corned Beef and Cabbage most years for St. Patrick's Day. She would always love to put scoops of horseradish sauce on her plate to eat with her cabbage and meat. It seemed so gross to me - as gross as the cabbage.

I got the idea to make Colcannon from this blog (picture courtesy of said blog) but really just used the recipe as inspiration - in the end I just kind of made it up as I went along. I boiled about 5 medium potatoes while I steamed half of a sliced cabbage. After it was done I added some milk, butter, green onions and then also some sharp white cheddar (from Ireland, of course) along with salt and pepper.

It makes a great easy comfort meal. It was especially good once I added the horseradish. That totally made it for me. I found myself making the same kind of satisfied sounds my mother used to as I reached in for more horseradish sauce.

It's weird how your tastes grow up and change. When I was younger her favorite foods were things like spinach, cabbage, horseradish sauce, pickled things, Tabasco, brussel sprouts - all things that totally grossed me out, but that I love now. I even tried some cole slaw the other day and liked it for the first time in my life!

What things do you like now that you didn't used to? I wonder if it'something I've been avoiding. I'm in the mood to try some new things....but I really don't think I will ever like black licorice, I don't care what you all say.

sickly

I'm feeling a bit under the weather today. Think I've caught that cold that's going around. So, just a quick pop in to tell you about my new favorite food item. Don't you love it when you find some perfect meal that is easy, healthy and you want to eat everyday? For me, in the summer it is always a salad with salmon and fruit and whatever else there is. But, in winter I want warm veggies.

The other day when shopping at Trader Joe's, I saw this guy reach out for this package near me and grab a few. So, of course, I wondered what it was. It was Tuna in Green Curry Sauce. Since I am a pescatarian and pretty much only eat Tuna and Salmon, I was of course interested. I got past the fact that it isn't refrigerated - which always kind of makes me wonder - and got a package.

I went back the other night and got 6 packages. This stuff is awesome and so easy to use. I saute up some onions and other veggies like mushrooms, red peppers, whatever I have and then add on lots of greens like chard, spinach or kale and then just put this on top and saute all together. It is so very good. I am making some right now for lunch.

The red curry is good, too.

Also, on my Trader Joe's hit list right now is their Black Vanilla and Cinnamon tea. It is delish. I recommend it.

So, I'm off to have some of both of these and watch a Christmas movie. Hope you all are having a good weekend.

essentials and extras

There are a number of things I like to have a good supply of in the house. Just knowing they are there makes me feel better and more secure. If I have an extra extra amount in the house I feel downright wealthy. Some of these are constants in life like postage stamps, shampoo and soaps and quarters for laundry.

Some have been around for quite a while and are approaching life status - like Chipotle Tabasco Sauce and Annie's Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette.

Some are seasonal, like this summer I felt nervous if I didn't have strawberries in my fridge for the last few months. Now that has transferred to just summer fruit in general and fresh lettuce. Also it looks like I am just starting to get over a strange 3 month obsession with chocolate pudding.

About a month and a half ago the mister showed up at my door with 5 bottles of my precious Homade Chili Sauce. I had mentioned to him how Safeway stopped carrying it, so now only Zupan's was left. He had been there and brought me 5 jars! I felt rich! I felt like a bootleggers wife! I thought it would last me forever.

Well several weeks later and I am halfway through the jars. I pretty much only use it on breakfast items, but I use it almost every morning.

Homade Chili Sauce is something that is made in Southern California and we always had it in the house during my tween and teen years (I grew up in Southern California). Homade was there for many omelet and scrambled egg mornings. Also, we probably used it on hamburgers, too. I seldom found it later in adult life (by then in Northern California) and kind of forgot about it until I moved up here and saw some in my mom's fridge. She picked me up a bottle once and I was hooked again and then I finally found it at Safeway.

Maybe some of what I like about the condiment has to do with childhood memories. A high school friend of mine said once that she loved making sandwiches at our house because we always had such "interesting" things to put on them. My mother does like her condiments and so do I.

Homade Chili Sauce is not hot at all and really more like a dressed up ketchup. But, no high fructose corn syrup. I think people would like it for shrimp, too. There is very little on the internet about it, but I did find this page that had recipes for the chili sauce.

What kinds of things do you feel better having a good supply of in the house?...or is it just me?

sweet magazine

I spent a good amount of time this weekend weeding out some magazines. It was hard. I love magazines. Especially lifestyle ones. You know the ones that have articles on better ways to eat and decorate and live. Reading them makes me feel like I am already doing these things they are recommending. I am already living better just because I am flipping the pages. Oh, and I get inspired to do so much: travel, clean, cook, craft - but later, right now I am looking at this beautiful magazine. And beauty is another thing that I love about a good magazine. The beauty of the objects, the layout, the design, even good advertising thrills me. Reading a beautiful magazine is truly edifying for me.

And there is a new magazine out now that is the ultimate. Sweet Paul is a food and prop stylist and crafter. He has a very successful blog that I have been reading for some time. This month he launched the first issue of his online magazine, Sweet Paul.

This magazine is beautiful, totally. It is filled with recipes and craft ideas that look wonderful and are also not overwhelming. I felt like I could do the crafts and recipes in his magazine pretty easily and I really liked that. The only thing I didn't like about Sweet Paul was that I couldn't hold it in my hand. But, after seeing a portion of how many magazines I can't get rid of this weekend, I think that might be for the best. I printed out some pages today and they looked great.

Take a look at Sweet Paul. I think you will really love it. I am excited for the next issue.

	look inside
Spring 2010

weekend cooking

I have been wanting to actually use my cookbooks lately. I tend to make the same things or just make up stuff. I think I was inspired by this post on the Not Martha Blog. She and a group of friends have a cookbook club and the feast they had from the book they chose this time not only made me want to use my cookbooks, but also encouraged me to buy yet another cookbook. So, I thought I better start using all these recipes I have been collecting! Isn't a cookbook club a great idea? I loved that post and all the food looked so good!

Lat weekend I was invited to a brunch potluck. I decided to make the Cheddar and Black Pepper Biscuits I saw on the blog Joy the Baker a couple months ago. I made them smaller than regular biscuits since I knew there would be lots of food and people may not want a large biscuit.

They were really good, more like scones I thought. With butter, they were the best, but also good plain, too.


Last night I made something that was called Farmers Market Spinach Cannelloni from the cookbook Foods to Live By published by the people behind Earthbound Farms (they have lots of recipes on the website, but not this one). It had lots of steps, but was still pretty easy. I easily get intimidated by recipes, so if I did it you can bet it wasn't too complicated.

The recipe didn't call for cannelloni shells, but just rolled up lasagna noodles. It was quite tasty and something you can easily make in advance or freeze for later.



It was fun to put together while the mister and I watched a old movie. I am excited to make some more new things. Do you use your cookbooks or just collect them. They are entrancing aren't they?

autumn activities

Fall always goes way too fast for me. There are so many wonderful things to do and so many ways I want to be out and about seeing the trees and enjoying the weather and also inside baking and drinking tea - but when you only have two days off a week to do those things, plus, you must also do projects and errands and chores....it is just not enough time and bam, the saeson is over. I would happily give up a month of summer for another of fall.

So far my autumnal activities have been small, but very enjoyable and I thought I would share them with you.


This is my fall display, so far. I love this little cabinet for my seasonal displays. I bought this wreath last spring when from thelittleprints. I was looking forward to bringing it out this fall. I love it. She does beautiful work.


This is my mother's dining room table. My nephew and I went over there for an early dinner a week ago. This is how she decorates the house just for everyday. Maybe you can see now why I get obsessed with my small decorating details. She is a master, though. She really should have been an interior decorator.


These are some lovely flowers I received from the mister. It was our 6 year anniversary. Fall is always extra special because it reminds me of our first couple of months together and the many trips we have taken around this time. This is our favorite season and we usually go somewhere in October or November. In a few weeks we will be at a river cabin in Mount Hood.


This is an incredibly good Sour Cream Apple Pie that I made for our anniversary. The pic may not look too appetizing, but trust me. It is delish and very easy. I got the recipe from the Posy Gets Cozy.
Yesterday we went to the Antique Paper and Postcard show out at the Armory, which is near the airport. Since I wasn't driving it was the first time I got to just stare at the trees. It was beautiful. I got this pic of a lovely autumnal road right as a big old plane came in. You can see it at the top.

Here's to more fall activities! What do you like to do for this season?

iced tea concentrate

Here is another post with an idea inspired from a blog post by fellow Portlander Amy Karol. I wanted to share with you "The Iced Tea Plan" that has been very successful this summer.

We moved offices this summer at my day job and we did not have any hot water for tea for the longest time. Add to that the hot summer we have had and you can imagine why I have been drinking iced tea almost exclusively. However, since I cannot have caffeine later in the day, but I did indeed want it in the morning I needed two jugs of tea going at a time. As Amy also mentioned in her post, finding the space for it in your fridge is difficult.

So, after reading her post I began making very very concentrated jars of tea. My jars are kind of small. I use about 3-4 tea bags in them. I don't cold brew as she does, but use hot water, let it steep and then take out bags and put in fridge.

Sometimes I just use a little for a glass, sometimes I use half for a small pitcher. When I take it to work I put about half in a liter bottle and then fill the rest up with water.

Most of the summer I have had a jar of caf tea and a jar of decaf tea in the fridge. I have really been into using the Harneys and Sons Midsummers Peach Tea for the decaf. A flavored tea like that really benefits from some sweetner. It brings out the flavor in the tea. Otherwise, I often feel like I am smelling it, but not tasting it. It was a perfect happenstance that I recently noticed that Trader Joes carries an inexpensive simple syrup. It is perfect for adding to tea, either by the cup or the jug.

Keeping tea concentrates in jars helps you save room in the fridge and makes it a lot easier to make a quick glass of iced tea. Hope you are having a good summer. I am off to a swim party.

A fella's birthday

Last weekend was Steve's birthday. I made a cake very much like the one I made last year, per his request, complete with the same great cake decorations from Bake it Pretty.



I also gave him the most adorable card that you can see here. I think I found it on Etsy, unused. I just love it.

His choice for whatever dinner he wanted was dinner at home of warm German Potato Salad & Tofurky Kielbasa Sausages. We also had brussels sprouts and rolls.

Have you had real warm German Potato Salad? I never had before Steve introduced it to me. Usually it is served with bacon crumbled in it, but since I am a pescatarian, I passed that up. But, I have found this vegetarian Bacon Salt at the local German Store and it is very good. I recommend it. (Wow, I just found out, when looking for that link that this stuff is made in Portland and can be found all over. They have lots of options, too. Neat.)

Anyway, I have tried a few different German Potato Salad recipes for the crock-pot and have made some tweaks to it. Now, I am pretty happy with my recipe. German Potato salad is vegan (if you don't add the bacon, of course) and is basically just potatoes and vinegar. It is much better than it sounds or looks. It is a great thing to make when you have lots of potatoes.

I am sure it can be made without a crock pot, but I have only made it this way.

Here is my version of Crock Pot Warm German Potato Salad:

5 to 6 cups sliced potatoes, about 1.5 to 2 pounds
3/4 cups chopped onions
1/2 cup sliced celery (optional, you could take the onions down a 1/4 cup if you do the celery)
1/2 cup vinegar ( apple cider vinegar is good. I also use a german one with herbs in it, but any would work)
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon sugar (use more if you like more sweetness)
Chopped parsely (optional. I seldom have any, so I don't use it)
Slice bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)

Combine all ingredients except parsley and bacon

Add salt and pepper to taste

Stir and cook on low for 5 - 7 hours in crockpot (sometimes I do it for 3 hours on high)
Garnish with bacon and parsely.