Potato Salad -- a lighter version, always a crowd pleaser

We have been trying our best to enjoy the last bit of New England summer lately -- having one or two cookouts plus game nights every week, occasional trips to the vineyards, or just hanging out and have dinner on the porch. Group gatherings usually involves sharing food, and potato salad has always been a safe and welcomed dish to bring along with us for sharing.

Not long ago, I acquired a great bag of potatoes from the farmer's market, and turned parts of it into a delicious potato salad to go with an end-of-the-summer grill.

The recipe was adapted from the food network, with a bit of a twist to make it slightly lighter and healthier.

A New Discovery -- CitySeed Farmer's Market in Wooster Square

If you are a pizza fan, you'd probably heard of the little Italy in New Haven -- rumor has it that pizza originated from here. However, unless you are in tune with natural/local/healthy living, you probably is not aware that it also hosts one of the best farmer's market in town. As a new comer to the scene, I was disappointed that last week was the end of the seasonal Uncommon Farmer's Market at Yale, so I did a little research online, and stumbled upon this awesome weekly event.

I was able to find about a dozen reviews, but nothing very recent. Overall, it seems high end, good quality and a little bit on the expensive side. Well, I was very intrigued. It is less than a 20-minute-walk away, and the weather has been gorgeous  -- really, there is no reason NOT to check it out.

And I am glad I did.

Seared Ahi Tuna

I am currently reading reading "The New Optimum Nutrition Bible" by Patrick Holford, which I find quite informative and up-to-date. Apparently it is one of the standard textbooks for nutritionists. The general advice from the book is to reduce meat intake, and eat more vegetable based protein instead. Additionally, it is recommended to eat omega 3&6 rich fish twice a week. Obviously the targeted audience is from the west, where seafood is far less popular and tends to be more expensive. I remember the days when I used to eat seafood every day, and twice a week seems like a punishment. However reflecting back on the past ten years living in the US, my regular seafood consumption dropped to below once a month! And most of them come from Sushi restaurants! Recently I am back on a seafood/vegetable rich diet, and I feel so much better. It turns out that it is far more affordable than I expected. One example is our recent dinner of Ahi tuna.

We were lucky to catch a promotion at our grocery store and purchased a whole pound of wild caught Ahi tuna steaks (officially called yellowfin, note: several years ago, an NYTimes article pointed out that the mercury level in bluefin tuna was alarmingly high, compared to the yellowfin and albacore).

I have had multiple experience of going to a restaurant and found out the Ahi tuna on their menu was not available at the time of ordering. Now I can finally just make my own!

Grocery Roundup -- Week 2, Farmer's Market + Going (more) Organic at the Grocery Store

Last week we bought a ton of food, and splurged a little on lobsters and frog legs, so this week we went easy on ourselves. Farmer's market is again, a must-visit. Although essentially non of the produce has an organic label, I believe the high cost to obtain the label is the issue.

The rainbow chard and the beets (which turned into some yummy veggie burgers later) were a huge hit last Friday. They looked so fresh that people were asking around for cooking instructions, on the spot. I'm a big fan for both, same goes with the arugula. We had basil and mushroom left in the fridge at that time, so both were skipped. The cauliflower and the potatoes were new addition, and both turned out amazing tasty. It is a pity that this farmer's market is summer-only. I hope that there will be another one this week! The total cost for this visit was $13. What a sweet deal!

Carrot Salad for Our Labor Day Cookout

Our labor day was over shadowed by a POTENTIAL thunderstorm in the late afternoon, which complete threw us off our track for a BBQ outside...In hope that the weather would hold up, I made some carrot raisin salad, potato salad and veggie burgers. 

My college cafe got me hooked on their carrot raisin salad, besides delicious zucchini bread and smoked salmon crepes. After graduation, on those melancholy days, I would spend "tremendous" effort and spend a whole 10 minutes to make this salad. I know, I know, it is super easy to make. (and cheap too!)

Game Night

Last Thursday some friends come over to have dinner and play Crack the Case. Completely opposite to D, I am no fan for computer games, as I tend to get frustrated very easily. Board games, on the other hand, are addictive. The two of us can easily lose a Saturday afternoon or a week night to a single round of game!

To feed 4-5 people other than ourselves, our menu included garden salad with homemade croutons, with a raspberry-basil  vinaigrette dressing, a beef & sweet potato curry, brown rice, and coconut brownies. And you have probably already seen the snacks: a huge bowl of very spicy guacamole and some homemade whole wheat tortilla chips.

Whiting (Fish) en Papillote

From my cooking class in France, I learned that"en papillote" (in parchment) is the best way to cook fish, as every single drop of juice is sealed in a little packet made of parchment (hence the name) or aluminium foil (modern adaption). The New York Times has an excellent article on this technique if you are interested.