Provençale Potato Salad

Here's a potato salad that's sure to please everyone in my family! It's got eggs, no mayo, and a variety of veggies. Always a hit!

Ingredients: 

8 small new potatoes, cut in 1/2

4 eggs

1/2 cup green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths

1/2 cup sweet or red onion, chopped

1/4 cup celery, cut into 1/2 inch lengths

1/2 cup red pepper, chopped

1/2 cup ranch salad dressing

Directions: 

Boil the new potatoes until tender, about 10-12 minutes. Boil the eggs until they are hard boiled, about 1 minute in boiling water, then covered for an additional 10 minutes. Prepare the remaining vegetables while the potatoes and eggs are cooking. Cool the potatoes under running cool water. Let the eggs cool, then peel them and cut them into quarters or slices. Combine all the ingredients, then mix with the dressing. Serve warm or refrigerate and serve cold. 

Stealthy Cooking Tip: This potato salad really ups the variety of vegetables in a serving! Plus, there's a great variety of colors, meaning there's a great variety of nutrients! So good, and healthy, too. 

Sea Bass with Vegetables and Basil

As you may already know, I absolutely love Chilean Sea Bass. I occasionally find it at Costco and snap it right up. Here's a recipe that's loosely based on a delicious dish I had at a restaurant called Bloom in San Juan Capistrano. I love how when I cook this at home, all my memories of that delicious dinner and evening come right back to me. 

Ingredients: 

1 cup fingerling potatoes, cut in half if large

1/4 cup green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths

1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

1 Tbs butter

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 Tbs edamame

2 Tbs golden raisins

1 Tbs capers

1 Tbs pine nuts

2 Tbs minced basil, plus two basil sprigs

3/4 lb. sea bass

1 tsp olive oil

Directions: 

Fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the green beans and continue cooking for another 4 minutes. Add the carrot and cook for an additional 4 minutes. When done, drain the potato mixture. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a nonstick skillet. Add the onion and cook for a minute or two, until it begins to turn translucent. Add the edamame, raisins, capers and pine nuts and cook for another minute or two, until everything is hot. Swirl in the minced basil at the very end of the cooking process. Add the drained potato mixture to the sauteed vegetables. Remove the vegetables from the skillet and keep warm. Cook the sea bass by adding the olive oil to the same skillet you used to cook the vegetables. Then add the sea bass, skin side up to the pan. Cook for about 4-5 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the sea bass. The sea bass should be opaque and flake easily when done. Divide the sea bass into two portions. To serve, divide the vegetable mixture in half and spoon onto two plates. Top each mixture with one of the pieces of sea bass. Top each plate with one of the basil sprigs. Enjoy!

Serves 2

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Timing wise, it works well to remove the vegetables cooked in the skillet to a plate and keep them warm. Then, you can start the sea bass about the same time you add the green beans to the boiling potatoes. This means that the fish will be done at about the same time as the boiled vegetables ... and that everything will still be hot when served.