Week 12 – What do I do with all of these Potatoes

Corn

Onions

Carrots (2 this week!)

Nectarines

Peaches

Purple Beans

Potatoes

Honey Crisp Apples

Pristine Apples

Tomatoes

Cherry Tomatoes

Kale

Wow!  What a box!  Last week I was thrilled to receive a comment on one of my posts.  It feels silly to write this, but I’m never sure if anyone is actually reading this little pet project of mine.  A comment confirms it…I have at least one reader who is not related to me.  To make things even more interesting to me, my reader is correct.  We are swimming in potatoes.

Last week at Great Country Farms (http://greatcountryfarms.com/) held their annual Pancakes and Potatoes weekend.  This was a great opportunity to actually dig potatoes out of the ground.  Digging by hand is so much fun.  It is, however, back breaking work.  Farmer Mark always helps by ripping a few rows for the folks who are upicking.  Without the tractor doing the hard work, pulling potatoes would be so much more work.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, (https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/vegetables-pulses/data/) approximately11.8 million pounds of potatoes were consumed in the United States in 2016.  This is over 31 pounds for every man, woman and child in the US.  Potatoes are by far the most consumed vegetable in the US.    Compared with other vegetables on the plate with a hamburger, that’s over two times the amount of lettuce, one and a half times more than the amount of tomatoes, and one and three quarters the amount of onions.

There are more than 200 varieties of potatoes sold throughout the United States (https://www.potatogoodness.com/potato-types/).  Each of these varieties fit into one of seven potato type categories: russet, red, white, yellow, blue/purple, fingerling and petite.  Of these varieties, by far the most popular of these varieties is Russet.  The iconic baked potato is almost always a Russet.  The thick skin and white flesh is what most of us think of when we order a loaded baked potato at our favorite restaurant.

Potatoes are an excellent vegetable to store for long periods of time.   Because of their long shelf life, most of the potatoes sold at the grocery store are actually last year’s crop.  It is amazing just how delicious a fresh potato can be, especially if what you’re used to are store potatoes.  When we pull potatoes at GFC, we keep them in a garage refrigerator for the next 6 months.  The trick is to let the dirt remain.  Don’t wash the potatoes until you’re ready to eat them.  This little bit of moisture keeps them almost as fresh as they day they came out of the ground.  

So what do you do when you are swimming in potatoes, there are dozens of options…roasted, gratins, salads and more.  I decided to go with a recipe that would use several items from the box rather than just one.   It is still summer… hot soups may seem a little out of place.  The temps are starting to drop a little at night, and there is a hint of Fall in the air…so soup it is. 

Soups are fun and easy.  Good soup starts with a good base or stock.  I make chicken stock in large batches, and freeze it you use later.  I’m not going to provide a stock recipe today.  If you don’t have the time to make stock, or just don’t want to, there are a few good options that you can purchase.  Almost anything that comes in a box will be good.  Keep an eye out for salt content as store stocks can be salty.

Corn Chowder is a family favorite.  I like the idea because I can use potatoes, corn and onions from the box.  Also, soups are a little easier to make than some things as minor changes to the recipe can easily be accommodated.  So take the recipe below as a guide.  You can play a little bit to your taste.

Corn Chowder

4 oz. bacon (if you don’t eat pork, substitute 2 T oil and 2 T butter)

½ cup flour

½ large onion

2 stalks celery

2 cups cooked corn

1 cup milk

6 cups chicken stock (vegetable stock and water will work as well)

4 cups diced potatoes (1/4 inch diced)

salt and pepper to taste

Slice the bacon into ¼ inch slices.  You want the best uncured bacon you can find.  The smokiness of the bacon add a wonderful flavor.  If you’re doing this in vegetarian mode, use a combination of oil and butter.

Put the bacon in a heavy bottom pot.  Cook it until it is well browned.  Once the bacon is browned add the onion and celery.  Cook the onion until it is just starting to soften.

Add the flour and lower the heat.  Mix the flour into the bacon and onion mixture.  Continue to stir this mix until it just starts to get golden.  This is a roux.  It will be the main thickening ingredient in the soup.

Once the roux is golden, slowly add stock, stirring the mix as the stock is added.  This helps to minimize lumps.

Next add the milk.  For a creamier, heavier soup, you can you cream.  I’ve used whole milk, skim milk and cream.  All are good.

Add the corn and potatoes.  Cook for 30 minutes, stirring as needed.   Taste and test the potatoes for doneness.  Add salt and pepper as needed.

 

Enjoy!