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Last growing season was my great attempt at growing organic potatoes. It worked pretty well save for the occasional antectodal story (click here). At the end of the growing season I wanted to be sure to save the spuds to enjoy through the winter. There are many ways to prep potatoes for just that. I have heard of keeping them in a laundry basket (air can circulate) in one's basement, layering them in dirt in large tote type containers, layering them in wood shavings, etc.
I assure you I really did mean to get to one of these types of suggestions...but frankly. I forgot. I harvested my potatoes, plunked them into a bucket and stuck them into the garage. Then, well, I am ashamed to say, I kind of forgot about them. So, when I had a craving for potato soup and I came up short, I went looking for that bucket. Know what I found? My 5 gallon bucket was there waiting for me and with no special preparation my potatoes were doing just fine. Only problem? When the potatoes are still covered with a thin layer of dirt it is difficult to tell which kind of potato you have (I grew yellow, red, and purple in the garden). So what I ended up with was 3 potato soup. Funny, huh? It was actually tasty enough that I will plan on doing this again!
Here is a rough version of what I did:
approx 5 cups potatoes (peeled & chopped)
1 stalk celery
2 peeled & chopped carrots
1/2 diced onion
salt & pepper to taste
3-4 cups chicken broth (can use water or bouillon in a pinch)
1-2 cups milk (but cream is better)
shredded cheese as desired
I peeled and chopped about 5 cups of potatoes and put them into a pot with just enough chicken broth to barely cover the potatoes (you don't want them drowning your your soup will be too watery). I then chopped half an onion, 2 carrots and 1 stalk of celery and added it all to the pot. I brought it to a boil, then to a simmer until the potatoes were fork tender. At that point, I salted, peppered and added about 1 1/2 -2 cups of milk, a sprinkle of shredded cheese and viola! A new recipie was born.
I assure you I really did mean to get to one of these types of suggestions...but frankly. I forgot. I harvested my potatoes, plunked them into a bucket and stuck them into the garage. Then, well, I am ashamed to say, I kind of forgot about them. So, when I had a craving for potato soup and I came up short, I went looking for that bucket. Know what I found? My 5 gallon bucket was there waiting for me and with no special preparation my potatoes were doing just fine. Only problem? When the potatoes are still covered with a thin layer of dirt it is difficult to tell which kind of potato you have (I grew yellow, red, and purple in the garden). So what I ended up with was 3 potato soup. Funny, huh? It was actually tasty enough that I will plan on doing this again!
Here is a rough version of what I did:
approx 5 cups potatoes (peeled & chopped)
1 stalk celery
2 peeled & chopped carrots
1/2 diced onion
salt & pepper to taste
3-4 cups chicken broth (can use water or bouillon in a pinch)
1-2 cups milk (but cream is better)
shredded cheese as desired
I peeled and chopped about 5 cups of potatoes and put them into a pot with just enough chicken broth to barely cover the potatoes (you don't want them drowning your your soup will be too watery). I then chopped half an onion, 2 carrots and 1 stalk of celery and added it all to the pot. I brought it to a boil, then to a simmer until the potatoes were fork tender. At that point, I salted, peppered and added about 1 1/2 -2 cups of milk, a sprinkle of shredded cheese and viola! A new recipie was born.
