Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Ma-Ma-Ma My Potatoes

Ooh my little pretty one, my pretty one.
When you gonna give me some time, Potatoes?
Ooh you make my motor run, my motor run.
Gun it comin' off the line, Potatoes.
Never gonna stop, give it up.
Such a dirty mind.
Always get it up for the touch
of the younger kind.
My my my ay, ay — Whoo!
Yep, somebody's feeling a little special about her garden. We "grabbled" out a couple of handfuls of small potatoes the other day. I think they might be Yukon Golds; I can't remember what we planted.
Two of the plants had developed yellow leaves. I had no idea when to harvest, but these babies were dying. So we grabbled.
Ended up grabbing enough to eat. Maybe that's how to tell when to harvest.
The remaining three plants are green and robust. That's fine. I can wait. I'm a little full after today's lunch.
Let me tell you about the cooking method we tried. Anita and Cameron blogged about a pan-braising technique for tender little vegetables. You use a smattering of water and a splat of butter. Some salt. Can't beat that. We did this with teensy potato slices, and it was pretty much like the "absorption pasta" we recently attempted. Gentle, nutrient-rich (nothing goes down the drain). The butter really penetrated the taters. It was like eating chocolate (I know I'm weird this way: good food tastes like candy to me, and the smooth-grainy texture of the potatoes was like a hunk of Sharffen Berger).
My, my, my.

28 comments:

Dagny said...

Now I have that song stuck in my head.

Sam said...

sigh. wht do I live with a man who likes me to peel even the newest potatoes?

meathenge said...

I have a weak mind, and now I have that song stuck in my head.

An guess what? I have it on a 45 !!!

Biggles

meathenge said...

Um, that isn't to say anything about D, no. I was just thinking I have a weak mind.

Biggles

michael, claudia and sierra said...

ok - i know i'm 12 AND a problem child
but
is it just me or is something 'up' with that bottom potato...

Zoomie said...

Now, I'm truly impressed - never thought one could grown potatoes in a home garden - I thought you needed swamp soil and "hills" for the potatoes. You guys rock (-n-roll!)!

Anonymous said...

Ha ha ha! Oh, Cookie. That song will never be the same for me now. :-)

Ms Brown Mouse said...

Spuds, glorious spuds, is there a better food?

Mary Coleman said...

I am so craving potatoes right now. That looks delish!

Heather said...

What pretty lil' taters you have there. I like the tail on the one in the left of the photo. It's a tail, Claudia. A tail.

Anita (Married... with dinner) said...

Biggles, I can top that: It was the very first 45 I ever bought! :D

I never thought to try the pan-braise with potatoes... Cookie you're brilliant.

Hugs from N'awlins (which, let's just say, you are glad are virtual. 93° and 90% humidity tonight. Bleh.)

ChrisB said...

I will be happy if mine turn out to be half as good as your look~ I can't wait!

Anonymous said...

Yay! Grabbling is quite fun, isn't it? Harvesting fully is even more fun. Like an Easter egg hunt, underground. I get the biggest goofy smile on my face when I do it (so I am told). It's just sooo...well. Plant one spud, get back 20. Dirt magic.

Anna Haight said...

Do these grow in containers by chance? These look as good as chocolate to me too!

kudzu said...

Next time, try the same pan-cooking with white wine. Congratulations on your first harvest!
Sharona

Greg said...

All I can think to say is Wow!

cookiecrumb said...

Dagny: I can fix that. I want some hot stuff, baby, this evening. :D

Sam: I get it. His tongue feels the peels are papery. People have all kinds of food texture issues.

Biggles: Got one for you. Pictures of matchstick man.
(Some day let me tell you about my invention, Catster, for removing hideous songs stuck in your head. Moonshadow usually does it for me.)

Cook Eat Fret: I bet asparagus really freak you out, eh, Claudia?

Zoomie: I don't know nothin' about birthin' potatoes in swamp soil. I've heard of the hills, but didn't need to build any. I'm a beginner. And it was easy.

Melissa: I think we should foodify the lyrics of all those old songs.

Morgan: Spuds SO-O-O want to please us, and they do.

Mary Coleman: Isn't it amazing? A craving for the lowly potato.

Heather: "Little" being the operative word. The biggest one was about 2-1/2 inches... Claudia!

Anita: All thanks to you for alerting us to the method, and isn't all cooking basically riffing on technique? Stay cool. See you soon.

ChrisB: I keep thinking about your potatoes. Hope they come out of the ground soon.

El: To steal a priceless line from Anita, "you're glad this isn't a podcast." I was SCREAMING when they came out of the ground.

Anna Haight: I believe ChrisB's potatoes are planted in containers. Yes, I'd give it a try.

Sharona, sorry, Kudzu: I HAD to taste them in their pure, virginal state the first time. Next time I will totally take your yummy advice.

Greg: You can do this. Does your HOA let you use the public grounds for gardening? I don't even think the deer would bother the plants.

Nikki @ NikSnacks said...

What? No truffle salt? A shame. Can I lick my screen and not be judged. I just want to bite into one of those potatoes...

kudzu said...

Second thoughts, these about growing taters: I once ordered a potato-growing outfit for my grandson, tickled to have him learn what it's like to provide for oneself. It consisted of a heavy-duty plastic bag filled with rich growing soil/medium and seed potatoes. When he opened his present he was really bummed that Cara had given him ---- a bag of dirt....But it worked, as will a deep bucket or ceramic pot. Everyone should try this at least once.

Michelle said...

Somehow, I can just imagine you singing that...makes my day!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Oh, my. I want this. I want this now. I don't even want to wait for lunchtime (2 hours from now, here, in Sao Paulo).

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Mmmm, lovely! I would happily tuck into a bowl of these potatoes :P

Catherine said...

that song!!!

but your potato photo is heavenly!

Cyndi said...

In addition to chocolate, potatoes are one of my biggest addictions. I agree with you that sometimes it's like eating candy. The other day we had baked potatoes at a restaurant in Leadville, Colorado, and I swear someone injected real sugar into them. They were the best baked potatoes I've ever had. I think they were some variety of Colorado russet - definitely different than the ones I've had from Idaho.

Now you've got my mouth watering for some potatoes - think I'll try that technique!

cookiecrumb said...

Nikki: Oh, jeez, I need the truffle salt. Thank you for the suggestion.

Kudzu: What a great story. All kids deserve a gramma like you. xx

Michelle: Aren't we supposed to hate that song? And yet... Yes.

Patricia: What are you doing in Sao Paulo?! How neat.

Holler: Mantra -- Very Easy!!! Next time I might even use a vegetable broth instead of the water... or white wine.

Catherine: Sincere apologies. You'd really go for these taters, you vegetarian, you.

Cyndi: I'm fascinated that you "get" my chocolate reference. Sigh...
I told Cranky, looking out at our garden, that we're growing "sugar." That's what fruits AND vegetables like to produce, and we get to eat it.

peter said...

Just dug and ate our first spuds; I planted a whole bed this time because last year they went way too fast.

Is your last name Yankovic?

cookiecrumb said...

Peter: We only have the three plants left; that'll be about two meals, with luck. I'm SO doing this again.
And. Are you calling me weird?
;)

The Spiteful Chef said...

Those are beautiful, beautiful spuds, honey. Gorgey. I am envious, as it appears that I will never be as crafty as either Martha or yourself in the kitchen, being that I can't even keep my damned rosemary plant from croaking like a bayou bullfrog. I SUCK at gardening. Perhaps I should avoid spawning any humans until I can keep their cell-walled counterparts alive...