Growing and Harvesting Potatoes

 

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When this...                                                                             looks like this...

It's time to harvest the potatoes.

For several years I've been using potato bags. This year I used three, - one each for red, white, and blue potatoes.

These are the blues.

This is the largest blue.

Here are the reds.

    And the whites. 








The soil from the bags is spread into a raised bed for next year's garlic crop.

The bags will be folded and stored for next year's potatoes.

The blossoms produce berries that provide potato seed. Many people use this TPS - True Potato Seed - to grow the next crop. I've always used cut potatoes. 

I saved some of the TPS. Next year I plan to compare growing potatoes from seed with those grown from cut potatoes.

And to try a few new varieties...

Update: This year, as an experiment, I am using potatoes from the grocery store that have started to sprout. I planted them very deep into the soil and I will keep covering the leaves with topsoil as they emerge. Potatoes are fun to grow.

I invite you to check out my newest blog here: Resolutions.

Thank you!

Happy Gardening!

GNOCCHI

I remember the first time I had potato gnocchi.  It was many years ago at Totero’s, an Italian restaurant in my hometown. It was served steaming hot on a platter with a fresh marinara sauce - and I loved it! Now whenever I see “gnocchi” on a menu, that’s what I’ll order.

When we went to a food festival last weekend, one of the cooking demonstrations featured gnocchi!

Geo and I were there in the first row, not only to watch how the chef made it, but to get a little “hands-on” cooking experience.

Here are the ingredients that were used in the recipe:
1 ¾ pounds large scrubbed Yukon gold potatoes
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup salt (for the boiling water)

The chef cooked the potatoes, peeled them and put them through a potato ricer. Then he spread them out to cool.

Chef Tony using the ricer

Next he formed the potatoes into a mound and added the egg beaten with salt and pepper. He kneaded it all together, gradually adding about 1 ½ cups of the flour. When it formed into dough, he rolled it out for cutting into small pieces.  (The rest of the flour was used to keep the dough from getting too sticky while he worked with it.)

Geo tried rolling out the dough. He did very well!

The next step, after cutting, was to shape the pieces and put the lines on each one.

I tried a fork, then a special paddle, to make the lines. The chief said his mother and grandmother always did it "the old-fashioned way" with a fork.  I found that using the paddle was a lot easier.

At this point the gnocchi can be frozen or cooked. To finish, they go into the boiling salted water.  When they float to the top, give them an additional minute of cooking time, and then they’re done and ready to be served with marinara or pesto sauce.

The chef prepared both kinds of sauce!

Chef Tony chopping the garlic for the marinara

The gnocchi was delicious! A little bit of Italian heaven.

I am eager to try the recipe. All I need is a new potato ricer and, yes, one of those special paddles for the characteristic lines.

Keep posted for a gnocchi update!

Day Hike With Addie

Addie has been talking about taking a nature hike. She convinced me that we should not be putting this off. So we packed our gear and drove about 25 miles to Little River State Park. She wanted to do the Dalley historic trail. 

We pulled over just before the entrance to the park and the trails. It was so very beautiful and peaceful.

There was just one boat on the water. I was wishing that I could have been out on that boat.

We parked near the entrance. Addie pointed out the trail we would take.

This trail would take us through an area that was settled by farmers in the 1800's. It is now forested, but there is evidence that people lived and worked here many years ago. The trail itself was once the main road through this area. There is one house, built in the 19th century, that is still standing.

The Goodell family lived here.

A vehicle bridge over a gully, not far from the home.

 

The trek was uphill. 


We stopped along the way for snacks and water that we brought with us.                          
This is a view from the trail.



We continued on.

There were short trails off to the side of the Dalley trail. Addie checked the map to see our progress.

I enjoyed seeing wildflowers and berries and even a butterfly along the way.

Seeing the stone walls along the trail, and even cellar holes and some rusted farm implements, it was not hard to imagine that people once lived here, farming, logging, even maple sugaring. 

We passed a few family cemetery plots. The engraving on many of the stones is still clearly legible.

Here's another view of the trail ahead of us.

This is a great park for hiking and also learning some history along the way. Having taken the loop, next time we plan to explore more of the side trails. 

Thanks to Addie for planning this day hike.

Happy hiking! 

The Flower Farm

Geo, Lucy, and I took a drive to Marshfield, Vermont, to visit the Vermont Flower Farm.

The Vermont Flower Farm

There are about five acres of  daylilies, hostas, and some astilbe that are grown here. Very impressive.

I was happy to wander through the field taking photos. I never saw so many varieties of daylilies.

 

Thank you, Geo and Lucy, for another beautiful day exploring Vermont.

Potluck, a Flood, and Antique Farm Tools

Addie invited me to go to Waterbury Center for a talk sponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council and the Waterbury Historical Society. The topic was about farming inventions in Vermont, and the event included a potluck dinner. It was a perfect summer evening for a drive, so, “Why not, let’s go.”

The meeting was held in an 1830’s church. As we drove up, I saw the potluck was happening on the front lawn. 

I placed my three bean salad next to two other bean salads, then went to find a table. We happened to sit with two veterans of World War II.They were from Waterbury Center, grew up in Waterbury Center, graduated from the same school in Waterbury Center, and are still living there.

One of the veterans told us how his family of six survived the Vermont Flood of 1927! Well, I’ve heard of this flood, and seen pictures of the flood, but never spoke with anyone who actually experienced it. He recalled how he and his brother were stacking wood when the waters were rising. His Dad waited until the last minute before evacuating the family. He said, "we left with nothing more than the clothes on our backs.” They ended up losing their home and all their possessions to the flood.  From then on, they moved from place to place for somewhere to live.

After our potluck meal and dessert of ice cream and brownies (three different kinds), it was time for the talk. We slowly made our way inside to the sanctuary of the church. 

I noticed this sign. The congregation is apparently very small, but still active.

Paul Wood, our speaker for the evening, has collected some 3,000 antique farm tools. He focused on inventions especially from the 19^th century.

Individual farmers came up with inventions to make dairy and maple sugaring work more efficient. If the new tools worked, they were shared with neighbors, and if the tools were really good, they were often patented and produced for use throughout the U.S. and even  the world. 

Paul Wood

I learned a lot about how butter was processed years ago. We saw different devices for separating the cream from the milk, churning the cream into butter, pressing (printing) the butter, and cutting butter into blocks for wrapping. Here Addie is examining a cream separator. This was really heavy.

Here's a butter press and paper used for wrapping.

The product needed to be chilled and the equipment carefully cleaned after each use to keep bacteria count down. Scales of different sizes - many more inventions - were needed for each step of the process for buying/selling the milk, cream, butter. 

Here Mr. Wood was telling us about the process of pressing cheese.

I was impressed how labor intensive these jobs were for farmers and anyone working in large scale dairy production.

This was an evening of history from beginning to end - meeting at an historic church, talking with the World War II vets, and learning about old-time farming methods and tools.

Thank you, Addie, for recommending this event!

Pearl of Great Price

The Gospel reading in church for this Sunday was about finding the “pearl of great price.” The deacon at Mass shared about the pearl being the Kingdom of God, and where we might go to find this Kingdom.

Perhaps we could find it in the Holy Land where Jesus lived, he said, or maybe in Rome where so many Catholics go on pilgrimage. Or maybe in India or in other places where dedicated people serve the poor. We’d certainly hope to find the Kingdom of God there. Where else might we go to find the God’s Kingdom here on earth?

The deacon went on to say that the Kingdom is really a whole lot closer than we may realize. The Kingdom of God is already among us. And Isn’t it just like our God to hide the Kingdom in plain sight? We can find the Kingdom exactly where we are, in our families, in our homes, in our daily lives.

How much are we willing to give for that “pearl” in all our relationships and endeavors? The merchant in the Gospel parable was willing to sell all. And by selling all he had, he ended up richer than he had been before.

I’ve heard this Gospel reading so many times before, but each time it calls me to pause and reflect on what it is I truly value, what I am willing to sacrifice for what I value, and how I can find and more fully enter into the Kingdom of God.

My meditation for the week.

Fifty-two

There are fifty-two state parks in Vermont. Geo tells me we've been to eight of them.

A few days ago we visited one that was new to us - Waterbury Center State Park. We weren't exactly sure how to get there, so along the way we asked directions. 

The guy said to us, "Go past the cows and at the dip in the road, take a left. If you see the Cider Mill, you've gone too far."

Well, we never did see the cows, but a left "at the dip" took us to the park. We'll definitely go again.

Eight parks down, forty-four to go!

If you have found me here, please do check out my newest blog: Resolutions. Thank you!