Summer Time

Now that it's officially summer, I thought I'd share one of my family's favorite summer recipes. We eat a lot of salads, sandwiches, paninis, and the like in the warmer weather. Standing over a hot stove cooking dinner is not one of my favorite things to do when it's 80 or more degrees and the humidity is oppressive. The following recipe is from my mom who was taught how to make it from my grandmother.

German Potato Salad

2 pounds medium sized potatoes
6 slices bacon
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Pepper to taste
1 cup water
1/2 cup vinegar (you can use apple cider or white vinegar.)

Cook the potatoes in boiling, salted water until fork tender. Drain well and set aside to cool enough to be able to handle. While the potatoes are cooling, cook the bacon. Keep 1/2 cup of the bacon drippings/grease.

Peel the cooled potatoes and cut into bite-sized chunks. Cook the onion in the reserved bacon drippings until they are tender. Stir in the flour, sugar, salt, and pepper. Add the water and vinegar. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick and bubbly. Cook 1 to 2 minutes longer. Stir in the potatoes. Crumble the bacon on top of the potatoes. Stir well. Cook until everything is heated through, stirring as needed.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

While this salad does need to be cooked, I usually make it early in the morning when it's still relatively cool. When we sit down to dinner, I pop it into the microwave for a few minutes to warm it through.