THE POTATO EATERS BY VAN GOGH arthistoryguide.com
If you’re a vegetable gardener, and, I am, it’s probably not a great idea to live in the Rocky Mountains at an altitude of 8,000 feet and count on harvesting a wide variety of herbaceous plants. But, I’ve happily called the Rockies my home for more than 25 years, so you learn to sprout what the soil and climate will bear.
Hey, we’re talking potatoes!
Every year we would plant. Each Fall, before the snow started to fly, we would dig. Then, it was Potato Party time for all our friends.
I cannot do justice to explaining the thrill of sinking a pitchfork into the dirt to discover those little critters just waiting to be plucked. Check out Seamus Heaney’s poem, “At a Potato Digging” for that. I will admit it’s a cultivation-treasure hunt. We were the scavengers and, you bet, my fingers did sometimes ‘go dead in the cold‘, as Heaney eloquently explained.
Yukon Gold Potatoes and Lemons – Ready for the Pot
A Beautiful Scene, Simmering in the Pot
I thought I had served potatoes ‘every which way but up’. So, I was pleased to discover Dorie’s featured recipe for the week, a broth-braised version. While the preparation may be similar to mine, the result is more sophisticated and sublime. That translates to “Hold the butter!”.
In Dorie’s own words, “Think of these as energized boiled potatoes. They get the same high marks as boiled potatoes for playing well with others and extra points for having more flavor, since they’re cooked in chicken broth infused with garlic, herbs, lemon zest, and olive oil.”
I served these potatoes for Supper this week to my friends, Matt and his eleven-year-old daughter, Casey. They’d introduced me to Geocaching and we’d just returned from an afternoon of treasure hunting of another kind. (I’ll save Geocaching for a future Post.)
These potatoes deserved better than burgers but, hey, we were hungry.
Since we had hiked miles, exploring and in pursuit of caches, we were hungry. Starved. Famished. While I served turkey burgers with whole wheat buns and coleslaw to accompany the broth-braised potatoes, I might suggest planning a milder meal to compliment these spuds. However, this worked for us. In addition, the following morning, the hash-browned leftovers with the frittata were yummy.
The caveat to this meal is an apology, Readers, for the burger condiment bottles on the table. They were removed and then were mysteriously returned prior to picture-taking. Do not blame the eleven-year-old.
The 11-year-old Pre-Teen has already figured out that Men will always be Boys.
“Oh, Dad, I KNEW you were soooo going to get into trouble.”
I’m not really a hamburger person, but the potatoes look great with your dinner!! Almost makes me want to go make a burger with potatoes right now! 🙂 We loved our leftover potatoes, too!
I happen to think that potato harvesting is one of the most enjoyable moments in the garden – especially in the fall, when most garden activities involve destroying (i.e., tearing down spent plants). Treasure hunt is exactly the right term!
My parents always grew potatoes in the garden when I was a child. I can remember the musty aroma of them upstairs in the barn where they were stored for the winter. And there was nothing like a fresh potato out of the ground and roasted over hot coals. I am getting hungry just thinking about it…
I love roasted potatoes – aka oven fries – with burgers. I guess these wedged Yukon golds are their fancier cousin! Sounds like you had a fun day. 🙂
That looks like a delicous dinner! When I lived in Montana we also grew potatoes – it was so much fun to go out and forage dinner and snacks from the garden. I used my leftover potatoes in a steak salad the next day and they were even great cold. Looking forward to learnign about geocaching.
I love gardening and we learn to love whatever our area will grow:) Your potatoes look delicious!
I’m at awe with your vivid description of harvesting potatoes! No plants survive under my watch so I am super envious of anyone with a thriving backyard vegetable garden. Geocaching is loads of fun! I’m glad you’re getting into another new outdoor activity. Now I’ll have to follow your advice to make some hashbrowns….
Fun post…I could make this meal today…looks great. And, you reminded me of how good home grown, freshly dug potatoes are…my dad grows enough for the family and one reason we love visiting him in the summer is that his garden fresh veges, including potatoes, make the very best meals ever and we don’t have to come up with fancy recipes to use them…they are just good. And this Dorie recipe, which is simple yet flavorful, would be a wonderful way to cook his potatoes as the flavors are subtle and the potatoes still get to be the star.
Your burgers and slaw look good with the broth braised potatoes! I grew potatoes once, they were easy, fun to harvest and delicious. As I remember they took up a lot of space which I don’t really have in my garden. One year I planted corn and it took up my whole veggie plot!
What a fun day you had! Geocaching is great – though I haven’t done it for a bit. Glad you liked the potatoes! Great idea for leftovers. Now I think it would be fun to have them in Dorie’s potato tortilla! So many great idea. Thanks for yours!!!
These would be great with burgers, though I think they’d be even better as potato salad with the burgers.
Love those pictures – what an adorable shot of that young lady as she looks at her Dad – priceless ! And good for you for “keeping it real” about the menu. When ya gotta eat ya gotta eat ! On more than one occasion my kids have laughed as I push them and their Campbells soup or such to one side of the kitchen island so I can photo the “Dorie Food” like I am a professional food stylist. And my hubby geocaches, though it has been a while. Very popular here in PA too.