Colorful, Garden-Fresh Bites

With the heat and lack of pots and pans, dinner planning has been difficult for me lately. I've been relatively uninspired, and tonight I didn't have anything on the menu. It was starting to look like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich type of evening.

While there's certainly nothing wrong with a simple sandwich-themed meal, we happen to have so many fresh vegetables bombarding us from our garden at the moment, and I'm getting a little tired of eating them just steamed or grilled, plain. So I needed to come up with something adventurous for them to shine in. I packed the kids into the car and headed out to one of our local butcher shops to see what might appeal. I grabbed some all natural thick dinner franks and came up with an easy idea. I pulled some purple (they're actually blue, but look purple), Yukon Gold, and red potatoes out of the garden and boiled them while I steamed some beans and grilled the sausages. Tossed with a red wine vinaigrette the combination made for a delicious warm salad!

Rainbow Potato Salad with Grilled Sausage

Be sure to use a waxy potato suited to boiling for this recipe. Don't use the regular Russet baking potatoes...they're too dry and don't have the buttery texture that reds, yellows, and blues have. This is a simple recipe without too many conflicting flavors. Serve with a buttered piece of toast and some fresh fruit.

About 1-1 1/2 lbs assorted potatoes (blue, red, yellow, or a combination)

2 handfuls green and/or yellow beans (about 1 lb), ends trimmed

1 Kielbasa sausage, or your favorite thick sausages for grilling

Red Wine Vinaigrette

Preheat grill to high.

Wash the potatoes well and cut into large, bite-sized pieces. Keep them about the same size so they cook in the same amount of time. Place in a saucepan and cover with cool water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until tender, but still firm enough to keep their shape (10-15 minutes).

Place the sausage(s) on and grill over medium heat until cooked through. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Place the beans in a saucepan with a little water and steam until crisp-tender, 5-7 minutes. (If you don't want to steam them, you can also place them in a foil packet and grill alongside the sausages.)

Drain the potatoes and place in a large glass bowl. Add the beans. Slice the sausage(s) into coins and add to the bowl. Drizzle the vinaigrette over, toss to combine, divide between plates, and serve.

Red Wine Vinaigrette

1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp cool water

3-4 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, and water. While whisking, slowly add in a thin stream the oil. The mixture should thicken slightly as it emulsifies. Add salt and pepper, to taste.