Avocado Potato Salad for a Virtual Potluck

Today is an official holiday here in Canada for Victoria Day, and it's also the unofficial start to the summer!  With summer comes the start of patio season, BBQ season, and enjoying meals outdoors in the company of friends and family.

So today seems like the perfect day to have a potluck with some of the wonderful people I've met through blogging!  Since we can't all be together in person, Courtney of The Fig Tree blog came up with the idea of having a virtual potluck - that way we can share all of our dishes with each other and with our readers!

The rules were pretty simple - we each had to come up with at least one vegan or vegetarian dish that we would "bring" to the potluck, focusing on a spring/summer theme. Each of us will post our recipe on our blogs today, and link up to the other participating blogs.

For my dish, I decided to bring a traditional potluck item - potato salad, but with an updated and more interesting twist!

If you've ever been to a potluck, chances are that somebody brought a potato salad.  While there are some good potato salads out there, the majority are not vegetarian or vegan-friendly, since they often contain bacon or sausage and are covered in a heavy mayonnaise or sour cream dressing. In my opinion, the worst offenders are those containers of gloop from the grocery store deli section - I'm sure there are some people who love those potato salads and I've eaten them in the past too, but to me it's not a real potato salad if you can't even distinguish the pieces of actual potato in it!

For my potato salad, I used mini red potatoes that I boiled and diced into bite-sized pieces.  I tossed the potatoes with bright red cherry tomatoes and garlic, and lots of fresh lemon juice and dill to brighten it up.  Finally, I mashed a ripe avocado and mixed that into the salad so that everything became coated in a thick  layer of avocado dressing.

I loved how creamy and filling the potato salad was with the mashed avocado, and the flavours all went so well together!  This would be a great dish to make in the summer for those backyard BBQs or potlucks, and I'm sure your guests would be excited to try a new take on the old potato salad!

Avocado Potato Salad
Inspired by this recipe from Gourmet

12 oz mini red potatoes

1.5-2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp lemon zest

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

3 tbsp fresh dill, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

About 10 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

1 ripe avocado

Salt and pepper

Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover  with water. Bring to a boil and add a dash of salt to the water, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are tender.  Remove from heat and drain.

Once they are cool enough to handle, cut potatoes into quarters and place in a bowl. Toss with the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, dill, and garlic.  Add cherry tomatoes to the bowl and stir to combine.  Mash the avocado with a fork (I like to leave it a bit chunky) and add it to the bowl.  Stir until the potatoes are evenly coated with the avocado.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 2-4 servings (2 as a main dish or 4 as a side). *Note: I only made a smaller salad, so if you wanted to make this for a larger crowd, you should double or triple the recipe

Now that you've seen my dish, it's time to check out what everyone else brought to our virtual potluck - just click on the picture to see each post with the recipes!

We ended up with a pretty good mix of appetizers, side dishes, main course and dessert...and this wasn't planned, but there also seemed to be a bit of an avocado theme going on!

Starting with snacks and appetizers, we have this unique Broccoflower Guacamole from Elaina of the blog Flavour - if you've ever wondered what to do with a broccoflower, try this recipe!



Two people brought beautiful fresh salads with a mix of fruit, veggies and avocado - first up is this Super Green Salad with Strawberries from Caitlin of The Vegan Chickpea with lots of good-for-you green ingredients!



And second is this gorgeous Mango Avocado Salad with Pineapple Mint Dressing from our lovely host Courtney of The Fig Tree blog - I love all the tropical ingredients in this salad!



For our main course, Helena of Peaches and Cream brought this Big Bertha Burger - a hearty veggie burger made with oats, herbs and spices

Richa of the blog Hobby and More brought another main course dish full of Indian flavors - these Chard Cauliflower Carrot Wraps with Mint Thyme Tomato Chutney. I would love to eat these wraps for lunch any day, and the mint chutney would have so many other uses too!

And lucky us - we got a third main course from Cara of Fork and Beans, who made Stuffed Peppers (I say lucky because in normal circumstances, there might be none or just one vegetarian main course option at potlucks, so to have three means we would be very well fed!)

Next, Destini of The Healthy Wife made another quinoa dish - this Lime Cilantro Black Bean Quinoa Salad - I think it sounds so flavourful and it would be a filling side dish for vegetarians with the beans and quinoa!



And of course, what's a potluck without dessert?  The dessert options at our virtual potluck sound pretty amazing and feature lots of seasonal  fruit...plus they're on the healthy side so you don't have to feel guilty about ending your meal with one of these options!

First up for dessert are these Strawberry Rhubarb Coconut Crumb Bars from Heather of Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes - I was immediately hooked after reading the title because I love the combination of strawberries and rhubarb, and adding coconut sounds even better!

Next, Willow of Will Cook for Friends brought these beautiful Peaches and Cream Granola Parfaits - homemade granola layered with a peach and yogurt puree, topped with peach slices...I would be happy to eat this for breakfast or dessert!

Finally, Natasha of the blog VIMWAC (A Vegetarian in Manitoba Without a Clue) brought these Chocolate and Banana Rolled Oat Bites - I love easy no-bake desserts like this, and I'm sure they would disappear quickly at a potluck!

Everything looks so good that I wish this was a real-life event so I could try it all!  Thanks for joining our virtual potluck and hope everyone has a great week!

Spring Panzanella

If you've been following my blog for awhile, you may know that one of my favourite things to make is panzanella - basically a salad of vegetables and crusty bread, tossed in a simple oil and vinegar dressing.  I think panzanella is best in the summertime, when you can get fresh tomatoes and basil from your own garden, but the great thing about this dish is that it can be adapted so easily to each season.

My first panzanella recipe that I posted was this Roasted Summer Panzanella, made with corn, tomatoes, and summer squash.  When the colder weather came around, I changed up the recipe by using root veggies and pumpernickel bread to make this Winter Panzanella that I loved.

Now that Spring is finally here, I couldn't wait to make another version of my favourite salad using some of the new produce that becomes available in springtime.

For the vegetables, I chose asparagus, radishes, and mini new red potatoes, along with the standard cherry tomatoes that I think are essential to a panzanella. For the bread, I wanted something with seeds, because they remind me of springtime and new growth, so I found a nice hearty loaf of sunflower seed rye bread that I toasted and broke into pieces.

I also like to change up the type of fresh herb that I put in my salad based on the season.  In the summer, I always use fresh basil, and in the winter, I used sage.  For my spring version, I decided to add some fresh dill, and I loved the way it brightened up the whole dish.

Finally, I topped off my salad with a big handful of alfalfa sprouts for some extra texture and substance (I added more sprouts after these pictures were taken and mixed them in so that they were spread throughout the salad).

I loved the way everything came together to create an such an interesting and flavourful meal! I thought each of the components went well with the others, and I liked to combine them in different ways with each bite!

And if you're not a fan of radishes, you should try roasting them - they lose some of that bite that can turn people off and instead take on a sweeter, more mellow flavour with a softer texture. I couldn't find any local radishes or asparagus yet when I made this, but I will definitely be making it again, and I bet it will taste even better once the local produce is available!

Spring Panzanella
Inspired by my previous recipes for Roasted Summer Panzanella and Roasted Winter Panzanella
*Note: the amounts below are approximate amounts for 1 large serving.  You can easily increase the amounts to serve more people. I roasted extra vegetables so that I could have leftovers to make another salad the next day - just add the bread and dressing separately when you want to eat it.

4 oz mini red potatoes, cut in half

4 oz radishes, cut in half if large

1/2 tsp dried oregano

~5 cherry or grape tomatoes

1 clove garlic, smashed

4-5 spears asparagus

1-2 thick slices of bread – I recommend a multigrain or sunflower seed loaf

1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for roasting

2 tbsp white wine or champagne vinegar

1 tbsp fresh dill

Salt and pepper

Handful of sprouts (I used alfalfa sprouts)

Preheat oven to 400°.

Toss the potatoes and radishes with a drizzle of olive oil, the dried oregano, and some salt and pepper.  Transfer to a large baking dish and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 20 minutes.

Toss the tomatoes and garlic with a bit more olive oil, salt and pepper. Add to the pan with the potatoes and radishes.  Roast for an additional 15-20 minutes, until potatoes and radishes are tender.

Meanwhile, prepare the asparagus by breaking off the woody ends and placing them on a small baking sheet. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Add to the oven for the last 10 minutes of roasting time.

Toast the bread by adding the slices to the oven for the last 5-10 minutes of roasting time (I placed my bread on the same baking sheet with the asparagus).

When everything is done roasting, remove from oven and transfer to a large bowl.  Toss with the remaining olive oil, vinegar, and dill.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Top with the sprouts.

Makes 1 serving.

Summer Avocado Soups

Once summer finally arrived here in Ontario this year, I began experimenting with a variety of chilled soups for dinner. When you're already sweating in the heat, the thought of eating a hot soup isn't exactly very appealing...but cold soups on the other hand are the perfect light summer meal! Not only are they so refreshing, but they usually involve no cooking at all - just chop up the ingredients and put them in the blender...then let it chill in the fridge and just relax until you are ready to eat!

One of my favourite ingredients for a chilled soup is avocado. It adds a creaminess and richness to the soup without being too heavy. It also pairs well with a lot of other flavours and different herbs.

Here are two variations on chilled avocado soup that I made and absolutely loved (yes, I was guilty of licking the blender, the bowl, and any utensil that had leftover bits of soup on it!)

The first recipe is one I saw in a little pamphlet/magazine produced by Astro Yogurt. It tasted so fresh and I loved the dill. Here is the full recipe, which would make 4 servings (I cut the recipe in half for myself and the leftovers saved well in the fridge for the next day)

Cucumber-Dill Avocado Soup

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1/2 cup water (I prefer a thicker soup, so start with this amount and add up to 1/2 cup more more if needed)
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dry mustard
pinch cayenne

Add all ingredients to blender and puree. Refrigerate for 1 hour or more. Garnish with fresh herbs (chives, green onion or more dill) and serve.



Another recipe that I made combined raw sweet corn with avocado. The result was an amazing creamy soup with delightful bites of corn kernels added for a bit of texture.

Raw Corn Avocado Chowder
Original Recipe from Natural Noshing

1 large ear of corn
1/2 avocado
1.5 tbsp olive oil
juice from 1/4 lime (about 1 tbsp or less)
1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced (I started with less but the soup didn’t taste spicy so I ended up using the whole thing)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold water (again, this is the lesser amount so add more if you want a thinner soup)

Husk the corn and then cut off the kernels with a knife (do this over a large bowl to catch them). Then go back over the cob with the dull side of the knife and try to scrape off as much juice as possible into the bowl.
Reserve a handful of corn kernels, along with some of the minced jalapeno for garnish.
Add the remaining ingredients to blender and puree.
Let chill in the fridge for a bit before serving. Top with garnish and enjoy!

Makes 2 servings