For the last few weeks, one booth at our local, organic tailgate market has had bulbous green onions available.  I’m hoping they will have them next week too, since I have been finding so many uses for them.

This morning the goat cheese ladies at the booth next to the onion guy tried to sell to me.  I’m usually pretty shy and don’t answer much when the vendors try to get my attention by telling me what they have as I pass by, but I surprised myself today by saying, “No thank you, I just milked my friend’s goats and I’m all goated out for the day.”  She asked what kind of goats they were and we started talking.  I told her that we really weren’t liking the milk and that my first attempt at cheese making had failed.  She told me that if my friend’s goat milk had any goat taste or smell to it then something was wrong.  She took out a jar of her milk to let me smell it.  It smelled just like the goat barn I’ve been milking in.  I usually try to be kind not wanting to hurt feelings and can think of something diplomatic to say, but I was tired from lack of sleep due to a persistent pain in the neck from milking a certain feisty goat and was surprised that hers smelled like goat after what she had told me.  I blurted out, “Smells like goat to me.”  She looked at it, smelled it, took a big swig, and looked at me with a frothy milk mustache as if to say, “By golly it does.  Well I’ll be darned.”  I was so embarrassed and felt bad for being so blunt but ended up giggling all the way back to our van while my husband snickered and scolded me for ruining her day.

I was lucky enough to get some good pointers on cheese making before I so thoroughly insulted her,  however, and I am excited to try again with all the milk the goats have given me this week.  If all goes well,  I hope to use some of the onion man’s greens for some flavored versions, but if I ruin another few quarts of milk, I think the right thing to do would be to buy some cheese from the goat lady next week and ooh and ah over it no matter how it tastes.

This recipe is a nice twist on the usual sour cream, red potato salad.  It gets its green color from the addition of green onions.

Ingredients:

3 lbs. red potatoes, washed and quartered

1 tsp. coarse salt such as kosher or sea salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

2 c. green onions, sliced

2 c. celery, sliced

Green Goddess Dressing:

1 c. mayonnaise

1 c. sour cream

1 1/2 tsp. granulated garlic

1/2 tsp. pepper

4 oz. buttermilk

1/2 tsp. fresh chives

1 c.  fresh parsley

2 c. green onions

Method:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Place potatoes in a greased, 13X9X2″ pan.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and herbs, if desired.  Toss to coat.  Add 1 c. water to the bottom of the pan.  Roast for 1 1/2 hours.

Cool.

Combine sliced green onions and celery in a large bowl.  Add cooled potatoes and mix well.

Whisk together all dressing ingredients but the green onions and parsley.

Pour into the bowl of a food processor.  Add onions and parsley and blend until combined.

Mix with potatoes and vegetables in bowl and chill thoroughly, preferably overnight.