My BiPolar Potato Salad

Or "Hot/Cold Potato Salad" or even "Two Part Potato Salad" if you prefer my more PC names. I myself prefer the nonPC name - "BiPolar Potato Salad".

This is my new summer "catnip" recipe. I describe certain meals as "catnip" because I can't get enough of them and would roll around in them if I were a cat.

So...

The Cold or Manic Part:

• One bundle of green onions - cut with scissors, oh so much easier
• One bundle/stalk/set of celery - diced into nice little centimeter pieces
• One bag of julienned carrots - chopped into little centimeter pieces
• Optional: one yellow pepper - chopped into little centimeter pieces
• Trust me, you are going to want to take the anal retentive/OCD time to make the pieces small.
• One package of real bacon bits (Oscar Mayer) (optional, but you're gonna miss 'em)
• One 5oz container of fresh shredded Asiago cheese (optional, I love me some dairy)
• Mix all of these in a big ass bowl and refrigerate til potatoes are done.

The Hot or Lethargic Part:

• One mesh bag of purple or russet baby/mini potatos
• Boil them up while doing the Cold/Manic chopping part.
• Once easy to poke with a fork, stop the water.
• Take them out one at a time and put in a tupperware or other plastic bowl (with a top that fits)
• Mash/chunk them with a fork.
• Add Ranch dressing and Ginger Soy Sauce to taste. I can't give you measurements coz I just add and mix until the potatoes are a chunky-creamy texture and taste like heaven. One hint, more Ranch than Ginger Soy sauce, but it has to be Ginger Soy, god that stuff is yummy!

Putting it all together or BiPolar Part:

• Bring out the cold veggie mix.
• Ladle as much of it as you want in a bowl. I like pasta bowls for this.
• Then take about a cup with a little + of the potato mixture and put on top of the veggies.
• Mix the potatoes and veggies together, ideally you want each bite to have p's and v's together!
• Put the cold veggies away.
• Put the potatoes away.
• DO NOT MIX THEM!! Keep them in separate containers.
• Only mix together what you are going to eat. I can't stress this enough!

What makes this salad work is that the veggies stay crisp and cool and delish.

And the potatoes are warm and comfort-foodish.

Together=bliss.

If you work it right, there will be more veggies than potatoes each helping and you'll run out of both at the same time if you keep this in mind. If you try to make them equal, you will run out of potatoes very quickly. For us calorie conscious people, we need the veggies to be the bigger portion. Besides the potatoes are almost too good to have too much of, although I've gone there. The veggies really balance out the over-goodness of the potatoes.

Leftovers or Post Crisis Potatoes:

• When you want more the next day, just heat the amt of p's you want in a bowl.
• After they are warm, ladle on the cool v's and mix and you are ready to go.