Potatoes

Potatoes have gotten a lot of bad press lately: supposedly, they pack on the pounds over the years. But really – nothing beats a freshly dug new potato. They are creamy and mild. Dig them up, wash them and plop them in a pot of boiling water. Drizzle them with butter and sprinkle with pepper and salt... I know, I know – your arteries clog at the thought and it’s your cardiologist’s nightmare. But this is one of the treats of the summer.

Yesterday, we finished digging the spuds. It was hot, so we got outside early in the morning. This is so the potatoes don’t get exposed to the sun and build up toxins in the skin. This year, we planted two varieties – Red Norland and Yukon Gold. Last year, the Yukon Golds did better; this year, the Red Norlands did.  

We start with raised beds – one is 3’x12’ and the other is about half that size – and add the growth medium. I’ll talk about that another time. We use a Netafim drip irrigation. I’ll talk about that another time too.  

We only use certified seed potatoes. Even so, a couple of our Yukon Gold potatoes had spots of fungus. After doing a bit of research, I learned that I should rotate my potato beds and only plant potatoes in the same place every 3 or 4 years. And that I should plant beans or something in the potato bed from last year. Now I find out. That’s the wonderful thing about gardening – I learned something new and next year will be different! 

When we got the seed potatoes, we took them out of the little bag they came in. The night before we were ready to plant, I cut each potato into 3 or 4 pieces depending on its size. You want an “eye” or two in each piece. I let them sit overnight after cutting them.  

The next morning, we tried two different ways of planting. We took most of the soil out of the bed the Yukon Golds were to go in, and planted the little potato pieces. I put them about 12” apart and line the rows up with the Netafim. When the potato plants get about 12” high, we add the rest of the soil (sitting on a tarp off to the side) to hill up the plants. 

For the Red Norlands, we made a trench for each row, and put the potato pieces in the trench. By doing it that way, there wasn’t as much soil to hill them later, but it didn’t seem to matter. The Red Norland bed was about 3’x6’ and we still got a lot of potatoes from that bed.  

We got about 30 lbs. of Red Norlands and about 40 lbs. of the Yukon Gold. After digging them, we put them on a mesh table on our deck. It’s under the eaves, so it’s shady all day. We wash the potatoes, enough to get off most of the dirt. Then let them dry and cure for a couple of days. If it looks like it’s going to rain, I cover them with a tarp till the rain passes by. Which, in Cheyenne, the rain usually does pass by instead of raining and cooling things off. 

Oh, back to potatoes. When they are cured, I put them in little open bins and put them on the basement cement floor in our food storage room. They last several months this way. They are so incredibly crisp and mild when they are new and freshly dug. I use all the little marble-to-golf-ball size first, then work my way up to the biggest ones about Thanksgiving time.  

Thanksgiving. Mashed potatoes. Ree Drumond’s recipe for mashed potatoes. Check out her blog on my link.  

But there are other wonderful, many, many wonderful things to do with potatoes. You can roast them – slow oven, drizzled with olive oil and any kind of seasoning – for about 45 minutes. You can put them in salads. You can make hash browns, fried potatoes, French fries, baked potatoes, and … 

Three of our favorite ways to eat potatoes are all very simple: 

Choose new potatoes of the same size, wash them, place in boiling water till done – how long depends on the size. Some of the little baby ones only take about 5 minutes. Drain the water, add some butter to the pan and put the lid back on so the potatoes can steam and melt the butter. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and some fresh herbs – parsley, or basil, or thyme, or whatever.

Here’s one our kids loved – it’s a great winter meal. Just add a salad, or not…

CHEESE POTATO SOUP

4 lg. potatoes

1/3 c. butter

1/3 c. flour

1 1/3 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or pepper jack, or Monterey jack)

Diced onion, optional

Boil potatoes till done. Drain, reserving liquid. Mash potatoes, return liquid to pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. In another pan, melt butter, add flour and brown till golden, stirring. Add to potato mixture. Bring to boil, stirring, till thick. Place 1/3 c. cheese in each of 4 bowls. Pour potato mixture over cheese. Sprinkle on 1 tbs. diced onion. Serves 4.  

Comfort food deluxe! 

Tonight, we’re going to have:

POTATO CARROT SOUP

4 tbs. butter

1 medium chopped onion

1 minced clove garlic

2 stalks celery (I never have celery because we don’t grow it, so I don’t worry about this)

2 sliced carrots

2 diced potatoes

1 can chicken broth or 2 c. (I make my own broth – more on that some other time)

1 ½ - 2 c. milk

½ tsp. each salt and thyme

¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper

Cook onion, garlic, celery and carrots in butter in large saucepan about 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes, chicken broth and thyme. Simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Puree. Return to pan. Add milk, salt and pepper.

I had a few green beans from when I picked veggies this morning, so I steamed them while the potatoes, etc. were cooking. I added them when I added the milk. That way, my husband didn’t think we were having a blended soup. I like them, he doesn’t. Blended soups, that is. So we compromise.