The Last of the Potatoes

Back in late May we harvested our red and white potatoes that we had growing on seven rows in our garden.  We had a bumper crop of them - so much that we gave some away and still had a bunch that we've been eating every chance we get.  Here we are a full five months later and we're finally getting to the bottom of the potato bin.  You can see them below. Some of them have 'eyes' that are starting to grow, but we'll just pluck those off and cook them.

Our homegrown potatoes have never lasted so long without going bad.  This year they have really held up and stored well.  In previous years, we'd pull out the potato drawer and you'd get a whiff of something that smells bad.  You know that smell!  This year I did a little reading and learned how to store potatoes to last for the long haul.  I can vouch that it works, so I'll share the very simple tips:

1. After harvesting, don't wash the potatoes.  Leave the dirt on them.
2. Store in a ventilated container that allows lots of air flow.  A milk crate works beautifully.
3. Store in a dark, cool room.  Our mudroom worked great for this.  We kick off our shoes in there so we keep the door closed and the little room has its own air conditioning vent, so it stays cool and dark.  

The Last of the Spring Potatoes

The bottom of the barrel of potatoes always contains the smallest potatoes as we tend to pull out the biggest, prettiest once to eat first, unless we're cooking them with fresh green beans.  Then the nice little ones are perfect.

Anyway, all is not lost with the small potatoes.  I know they are difficult to peel so we just wash them before cooking and eat them with skins on.  We like to make hash browned potatoes for breakfast with scrambled eggs on Saturday morning.  We threw a bunch of the little potatoes in the food processor with the shredding attachment on, shredded them up, put them in a heated cast iron skillet with some butter, sliced mushrooms, and onions and in a few minutes you have a nice side dish to go alongside your scrambled eggs.  We'll add a little shredded cheddar cheese to the top of them while they're warm so it melts.  A dash or three of Tabasco sauce puts the finishing touches on them!

Hash Browned Potatoes

Everyone loves hash browns at our house.  The only bad thing is that our potato inventory is almost gone and I didn't plant a fall crop this year.  We have a long wait until we eat homegrown potatoes again.

A great way to start your day!  Homemade Hash Brown Potatoes

I generally plant them in the early Spring on Valentine's Day and harvest in mid to late May, so we'll just have to be patient...