Category: food

…three potato, four.

Here are the leftover potatoes from yesterday.

  • Here’s a potato riddle, courtesy of this post of potato jokes. (Yes, of course there are potato jokes.):

    A skin have I, more eyes than one. I can be very nice when I am done. What am I?

  • Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato: a picture book by Tomie dePaola based on an Irish folktale. Apparently not about small potatoes.
  • The Enormous Potato: by Aubrey Davis. Also a retelling of a folktale. Not actually sure whether it’s the same folktale.
  • How big is my potato? A website that allows you to calculate the size of your potato. I’m serious. There’s even a related blog.
  • potato battery: harness the power of the potato
  • meat and potatoes: the main substance of something. (Also can be used as a more literal description of someones dietary preference, as in “a meat and potatoes kind of guy.”)
  • potato prints: the results of a printmaking technique in which a design is carved in a flat sliced section of potato (usually a half of a potato) to make a stamp. The potato edge is then dipped in paint or ink, and pressed against paper (or other surface) to imprint the design.
  • The Prince Edward Island Potato Museum: “The only museum of its kind in the world.”
  • The Idaho Potato Museum: a potato museum in Idaho
  • Potato Museum: seems to be more of an organization than a location. The real-world location of the museum collection has moved around. They offer up many tidbits of potato goodness. I just lost about 15 minutes doing an online jigsaw puzzle of a potato.
  • For an encyclopedic yet entertaining post on potatoes, their origins, history and etymology, check out potato on polyglot vegetarian. Also find a load of potato poems.
  • Want more potato history? (And who wouldn’t?) You can investigate further with books like Potato (by Patrick Mikanowski), Potato: A History of the Propitious Esculent (by John Reader), and The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World (by Larry Zuckerman).

And if that’s still not enough potatoes, then there are these:

Okay. That was a lot of potatoes. I’m full now.

One potato, two potato…

It’s been some time since I’ve served up a ThThTh post, but the recent wave of tuber-related posts got my mind churning up a big heapin’ mess o’ potato-themed things. Plus it’s Thanksgiving Day here in the US, and potatoes are part of the feast tradition.¹

Dig in!

  • One potato, two potato: a “counting-out game.”

    One potato, two potato, three potato, four
    Five potato, six potato, seven potato, more

  • Mr. Potato Head: a classic plastic toy from Hasbro, shaped like a potato with re-arrangeable features and appendages. Was featured as an animated character voiced by in the Toy Story movie franchise.³
  • Viva la Papa! Long live the potato! I don’t know how true it is, but I remember that there was allegedly some confusion about the Spanish phrase meaning “the Pope,” (El Papa) and possibly some misprinted merchandise.
  • Green potatoes: are apparently somewhat toxic, according to Snopes. (Snopes was not able to help me about the la papa, el papa question, and had this to offer on the topic of potatoes.)
  • The Potato Famine: another name for the Great Famine, which occurred in Ireland between 1845 and 1852 when potato crops failed due to the potato blight.

    Although blight ravaged potato crops throughout Europeduring the 1840s, the impact and human cost in Ireland – where one-third of the population was entirely dependent on the potato for food – was exacerbated by a host of political, social and economic factors which remain the subject of historical debate.

    Sinead can tell you more about it.

  • Famine, a song by Sinead O’Connor

    OK, I want to talk about Ireland
    Specifically I want to talk about the “famine”
    About the fact that there never really was one
    There was no “famine”
    See Irish people were only ALLOWED to eat potatoes
    All of the other food
    Meat fish vegetables
    Were shipped out of the country under armed guard
    To England while the Irish people starved

  • taters: a slang term for potatos.
  • tater tots: the children of potatoes.⁴
  • spud: a slang term for potatoes
  • Spuds MacKenzie: not actually a potato.
  • drop like a hot potato: an idiom meaning “suddenly stop associating with” whoever or whatever is likened to the hot potato. Example: She acted like she wanted to be my friend, but when she learned that I was only small potatoes , she dropped me like a hot potato.
  • Hot Potatoes: a song by The Kinks from 1972 [listen on YouTube]
  • mashed potatoes: what might happen to hot potatoes that have been dropped.
  • mashed potato: a dance step that was popular in the early 60s
  • small potatoes: an idiom meaning “insignificant.” (Small potatoes are really tasty for roasting, though.)
  • new potatoes: small young potatoes (that are not tater tots)

  • Potato-potahto: From the song “Let’s call the whole thing off” While the tomato/tomahto variation happens, it would seem that the potato alternation probably doesn’t exist outside of the song.
  • Potatoe: a mispelling of potato which achieved great fame when former Vice President Dan Quayle incorrectly corrected a kid at a spelling bee to add the e at the end.
  • couch potato: a term for someone who sits around a lot, especially on a couch. (This totally does not apply to me, as right now, I am sitting on a chair. Not a couch. The dent in the couch cushion in no way suggests that I spend too much time sitting there. Nope.)
  • Potato: a song. (Thank you Sally for bringing this potato to the table!)

Okay, it turns out I dug up too many potatoes. I decided to save away some of the extra potatoes. I’ll reheat them for you tomorrow…
—

¹They also go well with the ThThTh posts served up on Thanksgivings past: turkeys, bread, and utensils.²

² It’s ThThThThanksgiving.

³ I feel compelled to mention that this potato is being reused. Mr. Potato Head has already appeared in one of my ThThTh lists. Over 4 years ago.

⁴ Assuming that “children” is a term meaning “small cylinders made of shredded bits of the parents, who happen to be potatoes, which have been deep fried.”

image credits: Mr. Potato Head (Hasbro)The small poatoes were mine.

a bushel and a peck

One of the pick-your-own farms we frequent announced that they’d be open this weekend for apple-picking. Typically the picking season wraps up at the end of October, but this year (in spite of the freakishly early snowstorms) the hard frosts have been taking their time. The result is an extended apple season.

I knew I’d be tired after my travel day yesterday, but the weather was gorgeous today and I thought a day out in the fresh air would be good for all of us. Phoebe, however, really didn’t want to go. She had in mind to spend the day at home doing art projects. I think it’s great that Phoebe can get so involved in doing art projects, and I don’t want to discourage her. But I really, really wanted to go pick apples! It was a last, totally unanticipated, opportunity.

John was pretty worn out from his week of single-parenting, so he was happy to stay home with Phoebe. However, Theo did want to go, so off the two of us went.

It was a ridiculously beautiful afternoon. It was sunny with temps in the low 60s. Not even a hint of chill in the air. We got to the farm around 3 in the afternoon, and the light was turning golden.

While many of the trees had long ago finished dropping apples, there were several varieties that were still going strong. Among them, Empire apples, which is possibly my favorite variety. They are tart and crisp when freshly picked, make a very smooth buttery-textured apple sauce, yet keep firm enough when cooked to work in apple crisp. Empires are a cross between McIntosh and Red Delicious, neither of which I actually particularly like. I find that McIntoshes get pretty mealy, and unless very freshly picked, I don’t like them for anything beyond making apple sauce. (They also tend to get too mushy when cooked for apple crisp.) And Red Delicious? What can I say. Possibly my least favorite apple variety. Ubiquitous in school cafeterias and sorry hotel buffets, they are often mealy and sickly sweet without a hint of tartness, and with a bitterness to the skin that makes me gag. They are useless for cooking because they are too firm, plus they don’t taste good. It is a complete mystery to me how these two lackluster parents could have produced such outstanding offspring.

Wow, who knew I had so much to say about an apple variety?

In any case, it was remarkable how many apples were left on many of the trees. (In fact, I remarked on it frequently. I must have said “Wow, I can’t believe how many apples are left on the trees!” about 30 times.) Theo and I had a great time wandering and easily filled up our 2 half-bushel bags. (Actually, Theo picked maybe 5 apples. But he also didn’t interfere with my picking progress, so that’s productive in my book.) Then we headed to the playground for some sunset playtime.

And now I have a bushel of apples. I think my work may be cut out for me.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Hong Kong trip recap: Day 2

For my second day in Hong Kong, my main plans were to meet up with my two local friends.(Among my major motivations to get to Hong Kong for the conference, aside from the conference itself and the reputed amazingness of Hong Kong, was the rare opportunity to get to see these friends, one who I hadn’t seen for 9 years, and the other who I’d never technically seen.) Seeing as my friends don’t know each other, I was meeting up with them separately: lunch with one, and dinner with the other. As such, my day was a bit fragmented, so I couldn’t stray too far. Also, and it may not surprise you to learn this, I was a bit tired after my rather long and busy (read “insane”) first day. Here’s a summary of my major activities:

Day 2: Tuesday, August 16

  • woke up early to say goodnight to my kids by 7:30 a.m./p.m. (the 12-hour time difference was remarkably handy for this)
  • puttered about hotel room, trying to decide whether I had time to do much before my 12:30 lunch date
  • wandered about near hotel a bit
  • walked to Admiralty to meet the friend I knew from high school for lunch
  • After my friend had to go, took MTR to Central with goal of going up the Mid-Level escalators and checking out Hollywood Road
  • went up big escalator as far as Hollywood Road
  • wandered down Hollywood Road, browsing among antique shops
  • headed back down the stairs along the big escalator and back to MTR
  • met my other friend, YTSL, for a delicious dinner at Din Tai Fung, then over to a pub to continue conversation over a pint of ale
  • headed back to hotel to attempt a decent night’s sleep before the onset of the conference

(Not included in the list are several walks back to my hotel room to do things like collect forgotten MTR card, and pick up and/or drop off purchases and/or gifts, and also to change clothes and shower. It was hot as hell out and twice as steamy. And also like day 1, I walked so much that I got new blisters on my feet.)

And here are some photos:

This was near my hotel. Many people use umbrellas for shade in Hong Kong. This was about 10:30 in the morning, and already quite hot.


One of many alleys near my hotel. I enjoyed getting fresh juice in the morning from a little hole-in-the-wall place in one of these alleys.


You see a lot more color on Hong Kong buildings than on typical US urban buildings.


This was the dessert from my lunch with my high school friend. I can’t remember what it was called, but it involved apple, caramel, custard and pastry, four food-things of which I am quite fond. It didn’t look nearly as pretty once I started eating it, but I’m happy to say it didn’t suffer long.


A fruit stand, as seen from a raised walkway along the big escalator as I headed up. (The shot’s not totally in focus, but I still like it. We can pretend that the fuzziness was artistic choice.)


Game & Fun!


Another view from above. I like the patchwork pattern of the road surface.


The skyline is definitely dominated by ultra-modern skyscrapers, but more traditional Chinese architecture can be found here and there. Hong Kong is also quite hilly, and alleys that lead to stairways, such as the one in this photo, seem to be pretty common. (This was along Hollywood Road.)


Lions outside, and a goofy looking horse and what looks to be a Great Dane inside, at an antique store along Hollywood Road. Many of the shops had signs in the windows saying “no photos.” This one didn’t.


Going back down the stiars along the Mid-Levels escalator. The escalator part is actually one-way. Apparently it runs down during morning commute hours, and then up the rest of the day. It was afternoon when I was there, so it was going up. This section has more of an upward-angled moving sidewalk. I wish that I’d found time to go up further. (I have a thing for stairs, escalators included.) To see what the whole thing looks like, here’s a youtube video that someone made while ascending.


There are lots of shops around Hong Kong that sell various (and often mysterious-looking) types of dry goods. I don’t know what these things are, but I suspect they are food-related.


Dinner was fantastic, except maybe for the bitter gourd, which is the rectangular thing on my plate. Having never tried it before, I was curious. You may not be surprised to learn that it was bitter. Also shown (going clockwise from the left): a glass of fresh soymilk, some sort of salad with turnip and jellyfish, some sort of salad with strips of bean curd and vegetables (but I can’t remember which), vegetable dumplings, spicy cucumber, more bitter gourd, and sauteed water spinach.

You can find quite a few more photos from my second day up on Flickr, but I haven’t yet added captions.

a few crusts of bread

Tonight was Phoebe’s pre-K graduation, and I signed up to make finger sandwiches for the party afterwards. (I’m still not sure I used the right number of fingers in the sandwiches. The recipes were all so vague.) Since we didn’t have time for a real dinner before heading out, and since the party with foodstuffs wouldn’t be until at least 7, it was clear we needed a snack. Seeing as I had just cut the crusts off several loaves of bread to make dainty-looking sandwiches, I offered up some bread crusts for a snack. They were received much more enthusiastically than I would have expected. I insisted that they should have some water with their bread crusts, though. Because I’m caring like that.

Theo’s few crusts of bread.


Bread and water: nothing but the best for my children.


Phoebe with her meager portion.


Here is Phoebe in her pre-K graduation regalia. She has been excited about this event for weeks. This is about as happy as she looked during the festivities though.

But lest you think that they are miserable, here are some photos of Phoebe and Theo looking happy on the playground after the graduation party…

(I can’t hold my eyes open now, so I’d better get to bed. Tomorrow I’m heading into Boston to attend a conference. I was concerned that the commute might not be reasonable, as there was a chance of parade, and such parades have in the past led to crowded trains, heavy traffic, and more-than-usually-difficult parking. However, I’m glad to see that the parade isn’t till Saturday. Of course, I’ve also been planning to attend the conference on Saturday, so may well have to deal with the same issues then, and may not be able to make it to some talks I’d hoped to go to, including one by a friend. And doesn’t that just rain on my parade.)

I heart artichokes

Having just posted pictures of artichokes two days in a row, I might as well go one further. In fact, I might as well come right out and confess: I love artichokes. My list of 40 things I like would be incomplete if I did not include artichokes.

I don’t remember the first time I tried an artichoke. I was born in California, where artichokes grow on trees. Well, not really. They grow from the ground in big spiky plants. (They are thistles, and the part you eat is a flower bud.) But in California, they do at least grow. And so it was that I got to have them on occasion. I loved them. They weren’t just my favorite vegetable, they were my favorite food. (You may recall my anecdote about being featured in a class newspaper under the headline “Girl Likes Artichokes.”)

I’m not terribly fond of marinated artichokes. They are okay, but not at all in the same league as fresh artichokes. My favorite way to have artichokes is steamed, accompanied by a small bowl of melted butter for dipping. (I’m even appending my own instructions.)

I can’t say what it is about artichokes that I love so much. I know what it is, but I’m not going to say. (No, not really.) They are just ineffably yummy.

Some people don’t understand the appeal of eating a vegetable that is so much work. (In case you’ve never eaten a fresh artichoke, the typical way to eat one is to peel off the leaves one by one, and scrape the small tender bit at the base of each leaf with your teeth.)

For me, the process is part of the appeal. You start of by eating the outer leaves, which are typically a bit tougher, and work your way in to the more tender and flavorful ones. Then you pick up speed, as the leaves get soft enough to bite through. Then you pluck off the ring of spiky inner leaves, and then scrape out the hairy choke with the utensil of your preference, finally reavealing the heart, which is worth all the trouble. I cut it up and roll the pieces around in whatever’s left of my little bowl of melted butter after I’ve dipped each leaf. Then I try to eat it as slowly as I can, because it is always over too quickly.

How I cook artichokes:

  1. Wash the artichokes
  2. Cut the stem close to the bottom of the artichoke. The stem, while close to the heart, is usually pretty tough and fibrous.
  3. Trim the spikes. I use a combination of a knife and kitchen scissors. With the knife, I saw through the tightly bunched tops of the artichoke leaves. With the scissors, I go around to the outer leaves and snip off the tips. Cutting the spikes off is not necessary, but may prevent bloodshed during dinner.
  4. Steam in a covered pan. I use one of those metal steamers that has sort of petal-like bits. I place the artichokes with the stem side down.
  5. To start, I fill the pan with water to just about the bottom of the steamer surface. Typically, I have to add water before the artichokes are finished. (It is not uncommon for the water to boil away.)
  6. The amount of time it takes to steam depends on the size of the artichoke. For a big artichoke, about 40 minutes is probably typical. I’ve had small artichokes take more like 20 minutes.
  7. You can tell that they are done by pulling at the leaves with some tongs. If a leaf come out easily, it is proabably done, but you should probably test it to be sure. You can also try poking at the bottom of the artichoke with a fork, but this involves lifting out the artichoke, which can be tricky.
  8. Serve with the dipping sauce of your choice. I vote butter.
  9. Share your artichokes with me.

A note of warning: whatever you do, wash your hands after you handle a raw artichoke. The residue is extremely bitter. If you, say, lick your fingers, you will get a nasty shock. On the other hand, some people may like this bitterness. I once bought a bottle of Cynar, the liqueur flavored with artichoke. I was curious, naturally. I can safely say that it was one of the nastiest tasting beverages I’ve ever tried. It tasted like licking a raw artichoke. (Not that I’ve ever done that.)

This post is the second in my generally unordered series of 40 posts about things I like.

she takes after me

I’m not sure I was ever that cute, but Phoebe certainly takes after me in many ways. For one, she has inherited my deep love of artichokes. (These were some photos from April. I had this idea to try using the water from steaming artichokes as an Easter egg dye. Usually the water is an intense, often bluish, green. Of course, that time the water was a dingy gray brown, so we opted not to try for olive drab eggs. Remind me to tell you about the cabbage experiments, though. They were more colorful.)

Tonight, we finally got around to eating the artichokes I trimmed yesterday, the most lethal-looking of which was featured on America’s Most Dangerous Vegetables. Theo, who loves to eat breakfast but has decreasing interest in food over the course of the day, has been wary of trying new foods at dinnertime. This was the first time we managed to get him to try artichoke. I’m quite happy to say that he was instantly taken with them, too. (Though it is a happiness tinged with sadness, as we will no longer be able to eat his unclaimed artichoke. And, alas, our pan can only hold 4 artichokes.)

(I have more to say, about artichokes, even, but I need to get to bed. I’ve had an exhausting day of digging through cabinets and closets looking in preparation for Saturday’s event of terror.)

fiddleheads

Having taken up violin lessons again this spring, it seems only fitting that I should give fiddlehead ferns a try. Here are some photos from dinner this weekend (and from Phoebe’s and my fiddles).


Raw fiddleheads.


Boiled fiddleheads. (Apparently one needs to boil them for 15 minutes, or steam them for 10 minutes, prior to eating. I’m not sure whether this is for health and safety, or for palatability. I just went along with it.)


Sauteed fiddleheads, post-boiling. (Verdict: they were pretty good. I’m not sure I was bonkers for them, but they were indeed tasty.)


These fiddleheads were not eaten for dinner.


I hadn’t really spent much time admiring the shape of my violin before.


The shape of the scroll is quite expressive. And indeed very much like the expressiveness of emerging fern fronds. (See Sue’s very expressive fronds, which she neither ate nor played, to the best of my knowledge.)

easy as pi

Happy Pi Day!

Pi Day caught me a bit off guard this year, but was not going to let my unpreparedness result in pielessness. I had some errands to run this afternoon, so I stopped by the store while I was out to get a pie crust and some frozen berries, and voila! The Pi Day Pie tradition has been upheld.

This pi pie is the 3rd such pie I have under my belt. (Not to say that I ate three whole pies today. Though I could imagine such a feat. I do love me some pie.) My Pi Day tradition started with a pi post back in 2008, which then inspired me to bake my first pi pie. Pi Day of 2009 was a pieless day, due to traveling and attending a wedding, but then I did recapture the pi magic in 2010.

In celebration of Pi Day, I offer you a gallery of pi pies past and present.


My original pi pie, from 2008. I was so fond of it, I even wrote its obituary.


Last year’s pi pie was an apple pi.


This year’s pi Pie is of mixed berry heritage.