Roasted potatoes with rosemary

I have always loved potatoes and used to mainly go for Yukon gold. But recently I have a new favorite - German butter potatoes. They are creamy, slightly sweet and great for baking. The roasted potatoes in this dish are crispy on the outside but creamy and soft on the inside. And they are oh so yummy, my husband raved about the dish through out dinner :)

Ingredients:
Potatoes
Rosemary, dried or fresh, finely chopped
Salt and pepper for seasoning

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F
2. Cut potatoes in half unless they are very large. The pieces should be no less than 2 to 2.5 inches in parameter. Coat the potatoes with oil and rosemary.
3. Cover a baking pan with a large piece of aluminum foil. Put the potatoes flat side down to get a golden crust and to prevent them from drying.
4. Use a salt grinder to sprinkle salt evenly over the potatoes.
5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. 

Nutritional info:
Potato is high in Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and Potassium.

Marinated cucumber

Picked up a fresh English cucumber at the farmer's market on Sat and decided to make a nice side dish with it. Cucumber is a good source of various Vitamins and minerals and sesame is a high source of minerals. The rich sesame paste contrasts nicely with the fresh taste of the cucumber.

Ingredients:
1 large English cucumber
1 teaspoon of salt for pickling

Sauce:
1.5 tablespoons of sesame paste
1 teaspoon of soy sauce

Steps:

1. Peel all or most of the skin of the cucumber
2. If the cucumber is old, remove the seeds. Slice the cucumber into thin strips of about 3 to 4 inches long
3. Put the cucumber strips in a strainer and mix well with the teaspoon of salt. Let sit for 10 minutes
4. Wash the salt off with water. Take a hand full of the cucumber at a time and squeeze as much water out as possible. This gives the cucumber a crunchy texture
5. Mix the sesame paste with soy sauce until a thick paste is formed
6. Mix the sauce with the cucumber

Marinated spinach

We all know that spinach is high in iron, vitamins and antioxidants. But it tends to leave a funny after taste like there's something that got stuck on the teeth. Here's a simple spinach recipe that's easy and tasty, without the funny after taste like there's something stuck on your teeth. This marinated spinach is often served as a side dish in Korean restaurants.


Ingredients:
1 lb of organic spinach (I always get organic spinach as conventional spinach has a lot of pesticides)

1/4 tsp of toasted sesame seeds

Sauce:
3 tsp of soy sauce
2 tsp of brown sugar
1 tsp of sesame oil

Note: only 2 teaspoons of the sauce is needed.

Steps:

1. Blanch spinach in boiling water and take it out as soon as it is wilted
2. Run the spinach in a strainer under cold water
3. Take a handful of spinach at a time and squeeze the excess water out
4. Mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, and sesame oil. If the sugar is not dissolved, warm the sauce until the sugar is dissolved
5. Mix the spinach, 2 teaspoons of the sauce and sesame seeds
6. You are done!

This takes 10 minutes to take and it's incredibly delicious. I made it for a potluck once and everyone was raving about it!

Nutritional info:
Spinach is rich in Vitamin A, Beta carotene, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Calcium and Iron.