Potato Mountain: getting taller by the day

This year is my first attempt at potatoes. I have enviously heard tales from last years crop when GGF tried them for the first time. Something about how different they tasted, flavor and texture, how fun it was to just shove your hand under a plant and be able harvest just a few perfect baby potatoes for dinner.

"What the heck have I been doing all the years!? How come I have never done potatoes before?" my inner voice hollered at me.

So, I am on the potato bandwagon now; GGF shared lots of her 4 fancy variety seed potatoes with me. We cut them up with 1 or 2 eye on each piece, making sure to let them cure a day or so and heal that cut edge. The planted them 6-10 inches apart in a trench. I planted about 40 or so.

And, that was the easy part.

Now, as they grow, I have to berm up and continue to berm up dirt around the stem. I guess the potatoes sort of come out the sides of the plant and by berming up more dirt around each plant it makes more potato growing area and more potatoes. The actual plants are thriving and seem to be growing inches a day with no end in sight.

I have been piling barrow after barrow of dirt an these things. I mix normal top soil with some wood shavings (not cedar) to make a little lighter and fluffier. But, it is still heavy work and lord knows how much more I still need to do.

Currently it is a small mountain of lovingly mounded soil around these plants.

Do I resent all this work? Yes. Am I annoyed at my beautiful Potato plants? No, but they better be pretty darn yummy! Will I do potatoes next year? Jury is still out. Let's see how yummy these homegrown spuds are then I will say!

What's for dinner?

We're lucky out here on Vashon because of all the farm stands. I don't go as often as I should but there are many sprinkled around the island and it is really fun to do some shopping road side. They are usually "self service" or "honor system".

Plum Forest Farm is right around the corner from my house. They have eggs, greens, seasonal veggies and organic Turkeys at Thanksgiving time. So, a day or so ago, I picked up a bag of fresh leeks and thought; Potato Leek Soup.

Now, let me say, I am no chef. I love to eat but my culinary skills are basic. I can make soup though. And, Potato Leek is one of my favorites. Unfortunately, I am the only one in my family who really likes my soups. But, sometimes you just have to be selfish and make it anyway. This recipe has bacon in it as a way to get my bacon loving family to give it a try.

Shell's Potato Leek and Bacon soup

8 med. sized organic potatos diced, leave the skins on if you like
2-3 carrots chopped
1 lb. of bacon, sliced into 1 inch pieces
4-5 leeks sliced, greens chopped and discarded
4 cups chicken stock
garlic - 2 or 3 cloves
cream, 1/2 & 1/2 or Rice Milk to finish

Set potatos and carrots into Chicken stock to boil until soft. Meanwhile, saute bacon until crisp, remove from pan. Hold back several tablespoons of fat and throw in garlic then leeks. Saute until limp.

When potatos and carrots are soft, mash slightly, add leeks and stir. Add cooked bacon, stir. And, add cream, 1/2 & 1/2, milk or Rice Milk.

Serve it up hot!

Fall is time for comfort food.

For me, comfort food is roast organic chicken and mashed potatoes. It makes me happy just writing about it. Thank goodness mashed potatoes is an easy recipe to make gluten and dairy free and the kids actually will eat it.

Boil up 1 -1 1/2 organic spuds per person depending on how much you LOVE them. Leave the skins on; remember that is where the real nutrition is. Boil until soft.

Drain liquid but reserve about a cup for mashing.

Add several big dollops of butter straight onto the hot spuds. Add splash of Rice or Hemp milk and start mashing. For years, I would mash potatoes with a fork which is quite a work out and then I finally graduated to a real masher. Fast, efficient; the right tool for the job. I wouldn't live without one now.

Continue to mash, add a splash of potato liquid. Add splash of chicken or veggie stock, if available. I get those little 6 oz. containers just for this purpose. Keep mashing and adding liquid until it is the texture and smoothness that you desire. Salt & Pepper to taste.

I dish out with an ice cream scoop so that our mashed spuds are perfectly proportioned mounds. Maybe it reminds me of school lunch from when I was young but if feels right somehow and the kids get a kick out of it.

Yum, yum. Have another scoop. It's good for you!