Really it’ s an Ode to potatoes. But Ode to Idaho had a nice ring to it.
Let me begin with the whole potato or potatoe thing? Never really understood the argument there – potato refers to one and potatoes refers to many. As for that difference in pronunciation … . Don’t even get me started
That being said, let me continue with my random thoughts on potatoes.
Why?
First of all it’s fun. The next few post topics I have on tap are quite the opposite. So, fun (and random) are good. Secondly, I love potatoes. I have always been and always will be a meat and potatoes dude. Lastly, I just harvested my ‘crop’. Yes, it was cool. No, I will not give Idaho a run for their money. Therefore, I’m totally in the moment. Because this post has the potential for lots of rambling, I decided to bullet point my random thoughts. Any attempt for structure at this point is needed. You will thank me later. Or decide not to continue reading. Hopefully it’s NOT the latter. I promise to have fun with this.
- Potatoes have gotten a bad rap the last few decades. Total annual consumption has dropped nearly 25% since 1996. The starch content scares those calorie/weight conscious types; blame Adkins. However, few realize the health benefits and the sustained digestive satisfaction.
- There is a misconception that potatoes take too much time to prepare. The busy life style of today just doesn’t warrant such tedious tasks. You know that whole peeling concept is so labor intensive. I don’t know how generations did it for so long.
- To combat these ‘people’ who shun such an incredible side dish, growers are presenting the petite and fingerling alternatives. Both types microwave in shorter time. So often ‘busy’ is such a cop out. ‘Lazy’ is a much better description.
- In 1949, some year-old company named McDonald’s – never heard of the place- started the French Fry craze. No one has ever looked back since.
- Recipe alternative – add another root vegetable and mash the shit out of them. My grandmother added carrots to her mash whenever she served pork. A Martha Stewart recipe called for fingerling/new potatoes to be diced and cooked/boiled in beer. Both are now staples in my household.
- Mashed, Au gratin, steamed – the family favorite is – drum roll – MASHED.
- I love skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho. It’s just amazing.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zflA0uTOL4E The Bodeans totally rock this.
- Simply because people ARE that stupid AND don’t know their geography –
http://www.popscreen.com/p/MTYwMzkzMjg2/Vtg-University-of-Iowa-Idaho-City-Ohio-Soft-T-Shirt-L *
- Lastly, how can a reference to potatoes be complete without including Mr. Potato Head? A friend of mine has a funny story about her father resembling the Toy Story favorite – think Barney Rubble -but I think if I try and retell that, I would totally ruin the story.
So, there you have it – my Ode to potatoes.
Mash on!
*the t-shirt with this concept I owned was much better looking. And, at the time, Ohio and Idaho both had equal amount of fun with it. I wanted all three t-shirts, but I was a starving college student at that time and one was a splurge.
