Ode to the Potato

I live up to my Celtic heritage in my love of the humble tuber. I think the thing I love most is how easy they are to prepare and how different they can taste.

White Potatoes:

Right now I have normal Idaho white potatoes chopped with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, and thyme. They have a very homey flavor. This style of potato is a fantastic comfort food. White and yellow potatoes are great because they're so inexpensive and widely available. They're also a blank slate that you can build any flavor profile on.

Red Potatoes:

You could do the same thing with red potatoes for a little more tender of a potato. I've found red potatoes are a little smoother of a texture which makes them great for mashed potatoes. The only problem is that they're smaller than a typical white or yellow potato so you need to peal more of them if you don't want to have potato skin in your mashed potatoes (which doesn't bother me at all I actually like the added texture and flavor)

Sweet Potatoes:

I love sweet potatoes. They are fantastic baked with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter. Alternatively you could make it with onion and the juices from whatever meat you're cooking. I like to make this with apple cider and cumin.

I've never tried blue potatoes so I can't speak to their benefits or what they taste like. I'll get back to you when I do.

Really?!

I discovered something most unexpected yesterday, especially for how much I love food. I’m not eating enough! I know you’re probably laughing right now. How is it possible that I’m not eating enough?! I felt like I eat every spare moment I get. I wasn’t eating enough to the tune of at least 800 calories. As of yesterday I was only eating about 1200 calories. And that was generous. I am of course only talking about normal days, not holidays, special occasions, or company meeting nights (free food!). This count was on my normal daily intake. It certainly explains why I’ve been so tired.
I’m trying to work out how and where to add good calories. I’ve been on a health kick since January so I’ve been eating more vegetables and fruits and less processed foods. The problem now is that processed foods have a ton of extra calories for some reason and now I have to replace those. Which I suppose is great because it means I get to eat more! So today I started on my project. I doubled my lunch. Normally I eat a ham sandwich or a salad for lunch (and not one of those salads that you could feed a family in Uganda for a week with). Today I had both. I know it doesn’t seem like much but I’m taking baby steps.
I’m trying to be really careful because I could start sliding down a very slippery slope. Because I love to eat so much I could easily start justifying my inhaling a pint of ice cream or that huge plate of chicken fingers and fries as ‘adding calories to my diet’. It’s good though right? Studies say we need more dairy… and as for the french fries and chicken fingers… well I haven’t worked that one out yet.
And now because I need the extra calories: Wine, cheese, and crackers!

Picnic time!

Now that the grass is getting green and the weather is getting warmer I’m really in the mood for a picnic. Have you ever noticed the phenomenon that happens with perfectly manicured green grass as soon as you put a paved path through it? It doesn’t matter how inviting it looks. No one will pull out a blanket and throw a picnic on a grassy patch that has a path through it. It’s as though it’s somehow more pristine because of the path, or it’s off limits somehow. Unless of course you’re on a college campus then anyone will park grass anywhere.

The perfect picnic for me includes some of the quintessential summer foods:
Potato salad – Nana Peg’s finest, except no eggs. I don’t like to eggs in my potato salad because they’re the same color as the potatoes and it throws me off when I bite into a egg when I’m expecting the consistency of a potato.
Potato chips, I know potato salad and potato chips that’s a lot of potato but that’s ok. Ham and cheese sandwiches – a classic, but whatever other deli meat everyone likes, but for me it’s ham and cheese.
Grapes because they’re easy to eat and they go really well with the next line.
Cheese and wine – whatever kind is around. I’m a fan of a Chianti or a Merlot and a good smoked Gouda or cheddar.
Cold green bean salad – it’s fantastic, green beans, with red onions, garlic and a vinaigrette.
Crackers- preferable something that goes with the cheese.

Beyond the food I of course need a few friends, a baseball, a frisbee, a few blankets and sun block to cover my translucent skin.

Now to find a nice green grassy space without a paved path running through it.

Anything I'm missing?