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Here is another article from my Peasant Food page. These recipes are meant to help us survive the blistering grocery bills and rising food costs! I hope you appreciate them! I'll be adding more to the page at the site, www.fromfieldsandgardens.com. Also, if any of you are interested, I am selling my goat milk products on Etsy.com...if you have never checked this site out, you really should! It is all handmade stuff. My shop is www.farmsteadorganics.etsy.com It is great place for crafty moms to make a little extra cash... The Peasant Potato Oh, potato! I don't know how I would have fed my family for all of these years with next to nothing to spend on groceries, without the comforting potato. It is a comfort food, isn't it? I think so. Did you know that the potato's scientific name , Solanum tuberosum, is derived from the latin word meaning "soothing"? Some health gurus will tell you that you should avoid potatoes. They are high in carbohydrates and, some say, do not encourage better health. Well, I disagree emphatically! Potatoes are a very good source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, copper, potassuim, manganese, and dietary fiber! Potatoes contain a variety of phytonutrients that have antioxidant activity and they also contain newly identified blood pressure-lowering compounds called kukoamines. The starchiness of potatoes also makes it easy to digest, soothing to tummies, and very filling. In a pinch, potatoes can serve as a main course meal. So many different varieties exist of edible potatoes. If you plant a garden, why not expirement with fingerlings, red, yellow, or even blue potatoes? If you purchase potatoes from the grocery store, this is one food where it may be worth it to buy organic. Try to get a good price on the largest bag you can purchase. A 50 pound bag of organic potatoes would be a smart purchase! They can be stored for months in a cool cellar. Potatoes should not be exposed to sun because they can develop the toxic alkaloid, solanine. If you notice green spots on your potatoes, cut the cut the green spots out before you eat them. You should eat potatoes with the skins left on them in order to get the most nutritional value. Potatoes can be prepared in so many ways. Boiled new potatoes with butter and real sour cream topped with chives is a simply delicious meal during the summer. Baked potatoes can be topped with shredded cheese and herbs and serve as a main course if you add a bit of ground beef as a topping, too. How about sliced potatoes sauteed in coconut oil and seasoned with herbs and a squeeze of lemon juice? You are limited only by your imagination when it comes to preparing this cheap, simple, nutritious food. If you can grow your own, all the better. Potatoes can be grown simply in a black garbage can or bag filled with straw and seed potatoes! If you have a large yard, break up a small garden spot just for growing potatoes. In the fall, you can harvest them all and store them in a cool cellar for the long winter! You can't get much cheaper than that!
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