Picnic foods, potato salad and a hedgehog!

Laurena@LifeDietHealth

6 years ago

So… it’s hot! There is no denying it! The East of England has been gripped by a heatwave like never before. Apparently the last time the weather was like this was 1976. Firstly, I don’t remember that! 😛 Secondly, at present we’ve had no significant rain for over 50 days! When I went outside the other night to feed the hedgehogs (yes, we have a couple of hedgehogs which regularly visit – last night one of them let me sit about two metres away from him whilst he munched on his dinner), anyway, it started raining! 😀

Rather, it was a very fine drizzle, but it was still rain! Not that anything noticed it! Unfortunately, the ground is still parched. Therefore the soil is still bone dry and rock solid. Similarly, the grass is still brown and dry (it will come back yes? please say yes?!) Everyone everywhere is hot. Now we have an ‘amber’ heat warning in place and we have been advised not to be outside between 11am and 3pm.

To cook… or not to cook?!

So, we’re not doing much cooking! Actually we’re not doing very much of anything! How do you sleep in this weather? We’re not a country which generally has air conditioning and although the temperature has gone down a bit at night, it still remains ~~hot~~ very hot (the temperature in our usually ‘cold’ house is currently around 26.5 degrees c at night!) Consequently, the radio has kindly told us “another hot sticky sultry day” and… has then advised us that this is the longest UK heatwave on record!

Anyway, no cooking as such, as it’s far too hot to have the oven on! So it’s cold drinks, salads and ice-cream! So, there are already several salad recipes suitable for picnics on my blog, but this week when we finally managed to dig into the ~~concrete~~ ground and harvest some potatoes, we made this lovely potato salad.

I’m taking this over to Angie’s Fiesta Friday this week, co-hosted by Jenny @ Apply To Face Blog and Deb @ Pantry Portfolio Come over and join the fun! Have a look around, find new recipes, make new friends and link your latest blog post up for everyone to see! See you there !☺

Here’s the recipe for the potato salad…

5 from 3 votes

Potato Salad

Fresh potatoes with a delicious vegan dressing.

Serves: 2

Created by:: Laurena @LifeDietHealth

Gather

6 potatoes chopped into bite-size pieces medium sized or 12-15 very small ones
2-3 tablespoons yogurt we used coconut
3-4 stalks fresh chives chopped
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

Prepare

Boil the potatoes and allow to cool (or use ones already cooked & cooled)
Stir the yogurt until smooth, then add the chives, salt and pepper and mix through.
Add the dressing to the potatoes and gently combine until they potatoes are covered.
Enjoy!

Tips & Storage

Refrigerate until served.
Can be stored refrigerated for 2-3 days (check yogurt date).
Change the type of yogurt for a different taste (soya, thicker, thinner)
Add more chives, or try chopped mint instead.
Mix some Indian spices (1/2-1 tsp each cumin, coriander, turmeric) into the yogurt for a curried potato salad.
Use different potatoes to find your favourite - try new potatoes with skins on, or fluffy bakers chopped into bite-sized pieces.
Be fancy and cut your potatoes into equal sized cubes before cooking!

More picnic foods

What other lovely salads could you add to this to make a complete picnic? How about our very popular coleslaw, a grain salad, or two, noodle salad, a bean salad, with houmous, pitta pockets, picnic pies and a delicious not-feta vegan cheese! Oh what a glorious picnic that would be! Local friends if you’re reading this… hint hint for our summer park meet up! 😛 Oh and of course, dessert is needed even in the heat and I opt for these cookies which are becoming a staple in our house!