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Across the Kitchen Table:
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One Potato, Two Potatoes
Sweet Endings:
Thirty-Minute Chocolate Cake
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One Potato, Two Potatoes
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| If you were a kid growing up in Aroostook County, Maine, one of the premier potato-growing areas of North America, you’d start school sometime in August and then take a two-week break during the potato harvest, when every able-bodied person helps. Whether it takes you two weeks or two hours to harvest your potatoes, those humble, rock-like objects you pull from the ground are a treasure.
On the Web, the site sponsored by the U.S. Potato Board, www.potatohelp.com, is a useful guide to this most versatile and, truth be told, unappreciated vegetable. "Plain" and "potatoes" are too often associated in our minds. In reality, potatoes are perfect: easy to store, nutritious, amenable to all types of seasonings and cooking methods, and adaptable to any level of cooking ability. If you can’t boil water, you can bake a potato. When it’s done, add a sprinkling of grated cheese, maybe some crumbled bacon or some hot chili, and you have a satisfying meal on your plate.
Potatoes started off in the highlands of the Andes, migrated to Europe via Spain in the 16th century, then reversed direction and came back across the Atlantic to North America with English colonists. The potato may be the most influential vegetable of the last two centuries, if you consider how its failure in Ireland in the 1840s led to mass starvation and emigration, and how its presence in Europe and Russia during the devastation of the world wars of the 20th century was the only thing that stood between survival and starvation for millions of people.
I like thinking about potatoes as players on the vast stage of world history. And I like to grow them in our garden. The plants have lovely white and purple flowers. As soon as the greenery starts to wither, I mark the rows and start carefully digging up a few plants at a time, scrabbling down through the loamy soil for the smooth tubers. The freshly harvested spuds are as crisp as ice cubes, begging to be scrubbed, steamed, and eaten hot with lots of butter and fresh parsley.
Here’s a new spin on an old favorite, potato salad. This version is zesty, spiced with chili powder and cumin, and with not a spoonful of mayonnaise in sight.
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Mexican Potato Salad |
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Salad:
4 or 5 large red potatoes (about 2 pounds)
1-1/2 cups whole kernel corn or fresh corn kernels
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup diced green pepper
1/2 cup diced sweet red pepper
1 hot pepper (to your taste), seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup sliced ripe olives
Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of Tabasco
Peel the potatoes and place them in a pot with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are done but not falling apart, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the dressing by combining all dressing ingredients in a small bowl or jar and whisking or shaking to combine. Chill until ready to use.
Drain cooked potatoes and cut into cubes. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, corn, carrots, onion, peppers, and olives. Toss with dressing while potatoes are still warm. Serve warm or chilled. Makes about 8 servings.
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| Bonus: |
Sweet Potato Salad
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A Recipe We Couldn’t Resist Sharing
I found this recipe in my supermarket, strategically placed near the sweet potatoes. It is so simple and delicious that it may well become a staple in your supper repertoire.
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4 large sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 large or 2 small limes
1/3 cup honey or light (sorghum) molasses
Scrub the sweet potatoes and puncture them with a fork in a few places. Bake at 375°F for about one hour, until done but not too soft. Peel the warm potatoes and cut them into cubes. Sprinkle with cilantro, lime juice, and honey, and toss to combine. Serve warm. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
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Sweet Endings:
Thirty-Minute Chocolate Cake
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| A recipe called Texas Sheet Cake has been making the rounds for a number of years. It’s a frosted chocolate cake usually baked in a 15" by 10" jelly roll pan. Cinnamon is added in some recipes. I realized that it is similar to an even older recipe that I got from a colleague in the office years ago. Jean Camden used to bring this (in a standard 9" by 13" pan and without the cinnamon) to office birthday parties, to everyone’s total enjoyment. It’s easy to make, moist and delicious, and can go from start to finish in well under an hour. You can make it in the morning before work and bring it to the office still warm! |
Cake:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 cup water
3 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
Dash of salt
1/2 cup buttermilk or soured milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup milk
3-1/2 cups powdered sugar
Dash of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
Cake: Mix the flour and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the cinnamon if desired, and whisk to combine. In a saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa, and water and bring to a boil. Pour over the flour mixture and blend well. Stir in the eggs, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, and vanilla and beat well. Pour into a greased 9" by 13" cake pan and bake at 375°F for 20 to 25 minutes, until cake tests done.
Five minutes before the cake comes out of the oven, make the frosting. Bring the butter, cocoa, and milk to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the sugar, salt, vanilla, and nuts, and beat well. Pour the frosting over the hot cake. Cool before cutting (if you can wait). Makes about 16 servings.
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