Making Mayonnaise (and potato salad for 1)

This is what happens when I have a little too much time.

A process was running on my computer. Waiting for that to finish, I had all of the ingredients for making mayonnaise in the jar but you need to wait a minute for all to settle before starting the process that emulsifies all into the mayonnaise.

I’ve had in the back of my mind making a quick video of the mayo making process because it is so quick – at least this immersion blender in the jar version. But, I am not a fan of video and my plan of setting up a table that I could be behind with the camera on a tripod in front of me, etc., etc… not happening.

So, here I am. Waiting. I could have washed a window or 2, but that’s no fun. I pick up my phone with the intent of a test video. No lighting, no script, no notes, no plan except just to see how the phone camera (and I) would do – for the fun of it.

I decide it is not that bad and I can live with the corniness and the fact that I forgot to mention a very important ingredient – THE OIL!!! 5/8 cup olive oil to be exact. But, here it is, missed ingredient, silliness and all.

MakingMayonnaise: I forgot to say 5/8 cup oil from Liz Summers on Vimeo.

I don’t feel that I’m letting down my cookery hero, Julia Child, as even she demonstrated making mayonnaise with a blender. And my first mayonnaise was made all by hand which is a definite arm workout. I’ve also made it in a food processor and the Blender Express mini system I have in the motorhome. But this immersion blender version is absolutely the fastest, least amount of cleanup and I cannot discern a taste or texture difference between methods.

The whole egg scenario credit goes to Jennifer Perillo, In Jennie’s Kitchen homemade mayonnaise.

Traditional mayonnaise is made with egg yolks. If you click on the link above and view Jennie’s post, she makes both an egg yolk version and an egg white version. I decided that if egg whites alone worked, a whole egg would probably work as well. I always have the best intentions when I have whites or yolks left from a recipe that uses one or the other but typically, I end up forgetting about whichever until it is too late. So, this whole egg mayo works well for me. I fiddled with the quantities of acid (vinegar or lemon juice) and oil a few times and ended up with this version which has worked every time for me. I am using an XL fresh farm egg.

I don’t use a lot of mayonnaise, but I make a mayo-yogurt-buttermilk-black pepper-herb dressing/dip, the occasional chicken or egg salad and a new thing for me: potato salad. I’ve never been a fan of the picnic-style potato salad smothered in mayo and made from boiled potatoes. But several weeks ago, I was deciding what to do with a leftover 1/2 baked russet potato. I had a hard boiled egg and mayo in the frig.

Potato salad for 1 was born!

This combo made a quick potato salad that was fresh and flavorful.

Homemade mayonnaise and potato salad for 1.

May Day Evening: Spring returns

I must confess that I did not put on shorts nor did I go barefoot yesterday but the day was sunny and warm and the evening was beautiful.

Blue sky, gold from the setting sun and a productive work day had us all out in the yard in the early evening.

Bob has mostly forgiven me for moving his outside bed away from the dryer vent and looks marginally less crabby.

And the first glacier lily…smack dab in the yard near the front porch.

May Day Evening: Spring returns!

May Day

May 1. Happy May Day!

We don’t do much about May Day here in the U.S. but when I first moved to Montana, I happened to be in a local book shop on May Day morning when the husband of Heidi brought her a cup of coffee, gave her a May Day kiss and went happily away to deliver May Day baskets. Heidi, who is also the potter that made my “word” dishes, related that her husband, Leif, LOVED May Day and that he made gorgeous baskets of goodies to give to friends and family. I hope he still does.

My Grandpa Jim declared that May Day was the day to shuck your shoes and go barefoot for the summer.

May 1 is also the traditional day to plant sweet peas.

May Day here in Montana, this year, dawned gray and a little foggy but it is to clear and hit 51F this afternoon. Anything above 50 is shorts weather but I might wait just a bit as it is currently only 34F.

The last 2 days of April did a great job of acting like Winter. Monday, Bear and I headed out in the Jeep for a walk at the subdivision up the highway. It was so windy that I was a bit concerned about walking in the woods as Bear and I do not have helmets. As we got near the highway, it was obvious that a snow squall was approaching. The clouds moving along the mountain range were dark and heavy, obscuring the mountains completely. We turned around, got a quick walk in the most open area of the woods and made it inside before a blizzard-like squall hit with even stronger wind, blowing snow and temperatures that plummeted 10 degrees in short order.

Yesterday, we tried again. It was gray, but calm.

As we drove into the subdivision, it started graupeling. I parked. It usually doesn’t graupel for long.

Typically, when it graupels, like when it hails, it is a quick squall.

We waited.

I had a good book on my phone Kindle app.

Ten minutes and the graupel changed to snow.

We had a snowy walk on the last day of April.

And then we returned to Winter.

Today, though, today is May 1.

I’ll kick off my shoes and put on my shorts.

This afternoon.

I hope.

Simple Delight

Sunday was gray with a few sun breaks here and there.

Bear and I walked, took a Jeep ride and another walk, and we all enjoyed some time outside.

I was warming up the grill to cook burgers, sitting on the front porch with a cup of tea, enjoying the sounds of the woods and the company of Bear and Bob.

The gentle happiness of this simple, quiet time with Bear and Bob bubbled up inside me and especially as I thought about the early days with Bear when all was so new that he was not comfortable relaxing in the yard. And much less comfortable, relaxing with Bob!

The word that came to my mind as I sat was delight. I love things that delight. It is more than “happy”. It is joy from the heart that brings a smile and an inside laugh at the wonderful-ness.

Simple Delight.

A change in the weather

The forecast from NOAA late this morning indicates we are in for a bit of everything.

The verbage for this afternoon, evening and tomorrow states that in addition to the sunshine giving way to clouds, two cold fronts will whoosh through…emphasis on the whooshing as high winds are forecast.

On the way back from town this morning, I could see the change happening: Blue sky and sunshine to the east was starting to give way to dark clouds.

The clouds were smoothing out with the promised wind.

Spots of sunshine dotted the peaks of the peaks that border the southern end of the Flathead Valley. A bit of lake occasionally reflected bright from some sun.

Now, early evening, it is dark and windy. It is hours until sunset but the black clouds and gusty wind signal a change in the weather.

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Earlier this week, I took some quick video of Bear walking in the woods to show Dr. Clark when we go for our 8 week xray this coming Friday. It is a short, no frills video with a snippet of Bob at the end. It is very jumpy. I took it with my phone, walking behind Bear…in the woods. Still, it shows Bear walking comfortably and normally at a good pace over uneven ground. It is hard to believe that here we are – end of week 7 and starting week 8. Hurrah! And Bob’s ear has not puffed up so hopefully we are done with the Yoda ear part. I expect it will take some time to fully eradicate the yeast infection, though.

BearAndBobWalking0424 from Liz Summers on Vimeo.

From the front porch

It was so beautiful this morning…quiet and 38F but it did not feel cold. There was a softness to the air that signaled another warm day.

After Bear and I had our property perimeter walk he laid down in front of the front porch to have his treat. I let Bob out with us and got myself a cup of coffee. It was a classic Spring morning with the birds singing, a soft breeze and blue sky. I took a little extra time to just sit quietly and enjoy.

I stopped working for the day about 5:30. Bear and I went out for our before supper stroll and then we repeated the morning routine:

Bear with a treat.

Bob with us.

From the front porch.