More Bunny Pics and Potato Salad Guidelines
Back by popular demand, more bunny pictures!
I have more pictures of Thor and Freya on my phone and camera than any other subject.
She goes nuts on her dandelion leaves. They like to sit near each other when they graze. No one gets chased off or anything. They do get along well.
Sometimes Thor does decide Freya has the better leaf and will rip it out of her mouth so he can eat it. She doesn't seem to care, and just moves on to another leaf. She's more accustomed to being around the other buns.
They do like to follow each other. Sometimes he follows her, other times she will run after him. Bunny buddies.
Freya is FAST! She can make it through the 6' tube so quickly. I can hardly believe it.
There's my blue bun. He's so handsome.
Freya eating in fuzzy ball form.
The best time to get her picture involves her eating. Otherwise she rarely is still.
Thor does like her. He is content with her eating right next to him.
Thor cleaning Freya. The beginning of mutual grooming. :) He really isn't eating her brain. I took a bunch of pictures of this, and they all look like he's a zombie. I wish I had managed to get a shot that showed him in mid lick.
I have a second blower bunny now.
Thor started grooming her, but stopped when the camera came out. I do believe they get along.
Freya washing her face.
I love my little fuzzballs! Can you tell?
Today I had a late start, thanks to late night potato salad, so I didn't end up going canning yet. I am heading out around 7 to do jellies and jam! It will be fabulous!
I have a moose roast going in the oven with a bunch of delicious and fabulous fresh veggies from the farmer's market. (Moose roast thanks to Ramon being super generous last summer.) I even threw some brussel sprouts in with everything else. I even chopped up a bunch of fresh herbs for awesome added flavor. It smells fabulous, and only has another hour and a bit to go. That will be nice for the week.
The potato salad did turn out amazing! Chris likes it too. He popped over around noon and is relaxing with me today.
I don't make it really measured out or anything, but I'll try and sum up the whole recipe. As for measurements, really go by looks and flavor, and how many potatoes you want to use.
Potato Salad
Potatoes - I like using purple (sometimes called blue). They taste the same, but the purple looks neat. I had a good deal of potatoes in the bag, can't remember the measurement.
Red Onion - two small ones (locally grown were small)
White Onion - half of a big local one, not a sweet one. Usually I do the Vidalia or some sweet variety.
Green Onion - maybe two-ish?
Leak - one small one or so
Celery - leaves and all should get diced up. Leaves are awesome for flavor.
Bacon - I cooked up the whole thing, probably only needed half or so. (needed the grease for the moose roast today.)
Hard Boiled Egg - 4 (could have gone with less, but I wanted to use them up)
Dill Pickle - Just Claussen Kosher Dill. Two whole pickles. I have used home canned stuff, chow chow, or other random canned yummy things to give a different flavor in the past. It's fun- experiment!
Garlic - Two whole heads, but the local ones are super tiny. Maybe the equivalent of half of a big grocery store one.
Herbs:
Fresh dill, tarragon, little bit of Beau Monde, some of this Potato Seasoning that my mom sent me, this other Camp Blend, pepper, sea salt, fresh thyme, fresh parsley, chives, a tiny bit of paprika (I prefer Hungarian), Executive Chef... I think that's about it.
Sauce:
Equal parts Mayo and Miracle Whip. A bit of sour cream (this time it was Mexican style), splash of white vinegar - to make sure it isn't too thick. I don't tell Chris about the Miracle Whip. He hates that stuff. Added in here it really adds to the flavor.
Directions:
Slice potatoes in cubes the size you want for the salad. Drop them in boiling water and cook until they are still very slightly stiff when stabbed with a fork. Drain and cool.
Dice everything listed for veggies. Get creative. Add other stuff. I omit peppers since I dislike them. I have added other stuff in the past, such as shelled peas, fresh beans, corn, etc. It's very good. (Obviously don't dice peas or corn. Beans get chopped into smaller pieces).
Cook the bacon and give it enough time to cool. Ditto on hard boiling the eggs. Best way to do that: cover eggs with about 1" of water in pot put a splash of white vinegar and a sprinkle of salt to help them cook. Put it on the stove and bring it to a boil on high while covered. When it hits a rolling boil, turn the burner off. Let it sit for about 15 minutes or so COVERED. Remove eggs from hot water and put in a bowl of ice cold water to cool. When eggs are cool, peel them and slice them. You will get properly cooked eggs without any of that green funky stuff around the yolk from over cooking.
Toss into a big bowl or tupperwear/gladwear/rubbermaid thing and mix well. When potatoes are cool, dump in with veggies and mix.
Now start adding the creamy stuff for the sauce. I NEVER pre-mix since I have zero ability to judge how much is needed. I usually do a scoop of Mayo, and a scoop of Miracle Whip and see how it looks. Mix in between each set of scoops. When the salad looks chunky-ish, add in a couple of spoons of sour cream. Mix well. It should look a little extra thick, add in a splash of white vinegar. It should end up looking thick, but not as chunky as when it was just the mayo.
Slice the eggs (egg slicers are awesome, especially the kind where the egg will sit both ways so you get little strips instead of just rounds) and toss in with everything once the sauce is in. I find this helps prevent the potatoes taking on too much of a sulfur-eggie flavor. Also dice up the bacon and start adding it in now. Don't go too crazy, you are going to add herbs and spices too and things can get salty super fast.
Start adding in the herbs of your choice. Be sure to TASTE as you go along. You can always add more, but compensating for too much of one flavor (ie salt) is a pain. Go lightly on mixes that contain salt, you want FLAVOR not like eating a salt shaker. I try to use fresh herbs if at all possible. They are deliciously potent, particularly fresh parsley. It's AMAZING in stuff. Sometimes if the flavor doesn't seem just right, add in some more celery leaves. They are fabulous.
If you like a flavor in a potato salad, add it in. Some people put ranch in- substitute dressing for the sour cream, or a sprinkling of a packet but that will make everything SUPER salty if you don't keep tasting. I've done one with some mustard (ground or seeds are both good), done some with more of an oil than creamy sauce and added feta cheese... mmmm. I keep wanting to try a blue cheese version, but Chris isn't a huge fan of blue and I know I don't need to eat something like that all by myself.
Really, if something sounds cool, toss it in! I find carrots tend to need a little bit of a par-boil, don't make them soft, but make them a little less of a surprise in the salad.
There you go! If you try it, I hope you have as much fun as I did.
The roast smells fabulous. I tried a new recipe that involved using bacon grease on the roast (moose is super low fat, so you need something or it gets tougher than shit). I did modify the recipe a bit and added more herbs and stuff as well as the veggies. I nearly added some beef stock instead of water to cook in, but I didn't want it to be too salty with the bacon grease. I will have to keep everyone updated. I might make a moose stew with the next roast. I'm kind of dying to do that beef stew recipe again and it is cold enough to make a soup. I love making soup.
The Kids love getting the bun-friendly scraps. Thor loves different herbs. I am keeping Freya on the more neutral carrot ends and greens for now. She's getting there. I let her have a tiny bit of kale earlier. She seems fine too.
I think I kept them up too late last night. Thor has been dozing in front of the blower, and Freya doesn't want to come out of her castle, it looks like she is dozing. They will come into it soon I am sure.
I have more pictures of Thor and Freya on my phone and camera than any other subject.
She goes nuts on her dandelion leaves. They like to sit near each other when they graze. No one gets chased off or anything. They do get along well.
Sometimes Thor does decide Freya has the better leaf and will rip it out of her mouth so he can eat it. She doesn't seem to care, and just moves on to another leaf. She's more accustomed to being around the other buns.
They do like to follow each other. Sometimes he follows her, other times she will run after him. Bunny buddies.
Freya is FAST! She can make it through the 6' tube so quickly. I can hardly believe it.
There's my blue bun. He's so handsome.
Freya eating in fuzzy ball form.
The best time to get her picture involves her eating. Otherwise she rarely is still.
Thor does like her. He is content with her eating right next to him.
Thor cleaning Freya. The beginning of mutual grooming. :) He really isn't eating her brain. I took a bunch of pictures of this, and they all look like he's a zombie. I wish I had managed to get a shot that showed him in mid lick.
I have a second blower bunny now.
Thor started grooming her, but stopped when the camera came out. I do believe they get along.
Freya washing her face.
I love my little fuzzballs! Can you tell?
Today I had a late start, thanks to late night potato salad, so I didn't end up going canning yet. I am heading out around 7 to do jellies and jam! It will be fabulous!
I have a moose roast going in the oven with a bunch of delicious and fabulous fresh veggies from the farmer's market. (Moose roast thanks to Ramon being super generous last summer.) I even threw some brussel sprouts in with everything else. I even chopped up a bunch of fresh herbs for awesome added flavor. It smells fabulous, and only has another hour and a bit to go. That will be nice for the week.
The potato salad did turn out amazing! Chris likes it too. He popped over around noon and is relaxing with me today.
I don't make it really measured out or anything, but I'll try and sum up the whole recipe. As for measurements, really go by looks and flavor, and how many potatoes you want to use.
Potato Salad
Potatoes - I like using purple (sometimes called blue). They taste the same, but the purple looks neat. I had a good deal of potatoes in the bag, can't remember the measurement.
Red Onion - two small ones (locally grown were small)
White Onion - half of a big local one, not a sweet one. Usually I do the Vidalia or some sweet variety.
Green Onion - maybe two-ish?
Leak - one small one or so
Celery - leaves and all should get diced up. Leaves are awesome for flavor.
Bacon - I cooked up the whole thing, probably only needed half or so. (needed the grease for the moose roast today.)
Hard Boiled Egg - 4 (could have gone with less, but I wanted to use them up)
Dill Pickle - Just Claussen Kosher Dill. Two whole pickles. I have used home canned stuff, chow chow, or other random canned yummy things to give a different flavor in the past. It's fun- experiment!
Garlic - Two whole heads, but the local ones are super tiny. Maybe the equivalent of half of a big grocery store one.
Herbs:
Fresh dill, tarragon, little bit of Beau Monde, some of this Potato Seasoning that my mom sent me, this other Camp Blend, pepper, sea salt, fresh thyme, fresh parsley, chives, a tiny bit of paprika (I prefer Hungarian), Executive Chef... I think that's about it.
Sauce:
Equal parts Mayo and Miracle Whip. A bit of sour cream (this time it was Mexican style), splash of white vinegar - to make sure it isn't too thick. I don't tell Chris about the Miracle Whip. He hates that stuff. Added in here it really adds to the flavor.
Directions:
Slice potatoes in cubes the size you want for the salad. Drop them in boiling water and cook until they are still very slightly stiff when stabbed with a fork. Drain and cool.
Dice everything listed for veggies. Get creative. Add other stuff. I omit peppers since I dislike them. I have added other stuff in the past, such as shelled peas, fresh beans, corn, etc. It's very good. (Obviously don't dice peas or corn. Beans get chopped into smaller pieces).
Cook the bacon and give it enough time to cool. Ditto on hard boiling the eggs. Best way to do that: cover eggs with about 1" of water in pot put a splash of white vinegar and a sprinkle of salt to help them cook. Put it on the stove and bring it to a boil on high while covered. When it hits a rolling boil, turn the burner off. Let it sit for about 15 minutes or so COVERED. Remove eggs from hot water and put in a bowl of ice cold water to cool. When eggs are cool, peel them and slice them. You will get properly cooked eggs without any of that green funky stuff around the yolk from over cooking.
Toss into a big bowl or tupperwear/gladwear/rubbermaid thing and mix well. When potatoes are cool, dump in with veggies and mix.
Now start adding the creamy stuff for the sauce. I NEVER pre-mix since I have zero ability to judge how much is needed. I usually do a scoop of Mayo, and a scoop of Miracle Whip and see how it looks. Mix in between each set of scoops. When the salad looks chunky-ish, add in a couple of spoons of sour cream. Mix well. It should look a little extra thick, add in a splash of white vinegar. It should end up looking thick, but not as chunky as when it was just the mayo.
Slice the eggs (egg slicers are awesome, especially the kind where the egg will sit both ways so you get little strips instead of just rounds) and toss in with everything once the sauce is in. I find this helps prevent the potatoes taking on too much of a sulfur-eggie flavor. Also dice up the bacon and start adding it in now. Don't go too crazy, you are going to add herbs and spices too and things can get salty super fast.
Start adding in the herbs of your choice. Be sure to TASTE as you go along. You can always add more, but compensating for too much of one flavor (ie salt) is a pain. Go lightly on mixes that contain salt, you want FLAVOR not like eating a salt shaker. I try to use fresh herbs if at all possible. They are deliciously potent, particularly fresh parsley. It's AMAZING in stuff. Sometimes if the flavor doesn't seem just right, add in some more celery leaves. They are fabulous.
If you like a flavor in a potato salad, add it in. Some people put ranch in- substitute dressing for the sour cream, or a sprinkling of a packet but that will make everything SUPER salty if you don't keep tasting. I've done one with some mustard (ground or seeds are both good), done some with more of an oil than creamy sauce and added feta cheese... mmmm. I keep wanting to try a blue cheese version, but Chris isn't a huge fan of blue and I know I don't need to eat something like that all by myself.
Really, if something sounds cool, toss it in! I find carrots tend to need a little bit of a par-boil, don't make them soft, but make them a little less of a surprise in the salad.
There you go! If you try it, I hope you have as much fun as I did.
The roast smells fabulous. I tried a new recipe that involved using bacon grease on the roast (moose is super low fat, so you need something or it gets tougher than shit). I did modify the recipe a bit and added more herbs and stuff as well as the veggies. I nearly added some beef stock instead of water to cook in, but I didn't want it to be too salty with the bacon grease. I will have to keep everyone updated. I might make a moose stew with the next roast. I'm kind of dying to do that beef stew recipe again and it is cold enough to make a soup. I love making soup.
The Kids love getting the bun-friendly scraps. Thor loves different herbs. I am keeping Freya on the more neutral carrot ends and greens for now. She's getting there. I let her have a tiny bit of kale earlier. She seems fine too.
I think I kept them up too late last night. Thor has been dozing in front of the blower, and Freya doesn't want to come out of her castle, it looks like she is dozing. They will come into it soon I am sure.