Earth Apple, The Potato

 Potatoes have always been my favorite and most used vegetable. Now that groceries have gone sky high in cost, the potato is your saviour. Our friends in many places in the world, use rice as their staple and here it seems that, along with rice, we love our potatoes. Canada does grow some wonderful ones. When I buy potatoes, I know that they are worry free. I can leave them in my fridge for long periods of time that few other veggies will tolerate. Potatoes don't appear to lose anything while sleeping in the cold. What I like most about them, is their versatility. You can pop them sliced up into your air fryer and twenty minutes later you are feasting on fries that when you add some nice herbs to, onion and garlic salt and  fluff up in a bit of oil, make them yummier than bought. And they haven't been immersed in fat to cook. One of the most nutritious ways to enjoy the potato is mashed. I eat potato salad any time of the year but I don't put eggs in it. Lots of people do, but I think they are more sincerely potato without an eggy taste. When my potatoes come out of the pot after boiling them, I drain, mash and toss in other fresh chopped vegetables such as radish (a must for me), sweet onion, green onion tops, and celery. You can pop in some carrot  but finely chopped if you do. Not a lot, please, you don't want to overwhelm the earthy taste of the potato. I use an old favorite mayo type that is unique for its flavour. I like its zing. Next I add dried herbs such as sage, thyme, basil, dill. If you have fresh, all the better. If no one likes garlic, use the salt. Same with celery salt if you haven't any celery. The taste is still there. Then add the mayo type but not too much and a squirt of mustard, the yellow cheap kind. It adds a bit of punch. Fork mix it all up into a pretty mash,  never using your mixer/blender machine that turns it into paste. Let it sit for hours or overnight and all the flavours will blend and taste like a picnic. I always make far too much of this concoction, but not to worry. If you made too much, put the remaining potato salad into a pot with water and slowly bring it from simmer to hot, but never boil. It is now, potato soup. If you feel the need for more protein, add some chopped crispy bacon and chopped green onion from the stack you keep in a glass of cold, fresh water by the sink. These greens look pretty and grow tall and are always there when you want something  fresh tasting and appearing in  your soup or on top of anything to eat. Great in melted cheese sandwiches. Another bit of easy nutrition, a dinner in itself, is baked stuffed potatoes. Bake the potatoes, remove the pulp and save the skin. In a bowl add to the hot potato, butter, sour cream, parmesan cheese drifted in,  onions, dried or fresh herbs, bacon bits if you like and top with some shredded cheddar.  Re-fill the potato skins and heat up again.  Ah the potato! It is easy to grow in a bag on your deck or planted out in the flower garden in a corner of its own. You can use old potatoes with eyes if you wish. You can't miss with potatoes. The tiny new ones make great smashed potatoes. You steam the little guys till done, add butter when they are hot ( I like shredded spinach in there, too) and some garlic salt, moosh them down flat, shake over some dried cheese or shredded, season and serve hot on the plate with whatever else you want there. Salmon is nice.