Grow your own potatoes! #GardenCuizine

Growing Your Own Potatoes
~kitchen garden update~

Our organic russet Butte potatoes are now blooming away. As first discussed, seed potatoes were cut into pieces leaving an 'eye' on each piece and planted in trenches (June 9th). As the plants grew (June 27th), about 3 weeks later, the dirt was filled in; a process called 'hilling'.

The goal was to 'hill' the potatoes so more potatoes would grow. We planted ours in a raised bed, which made it difficult to hill the soil higher than the sides of the raised beds. The soil doesn't appear mounded, but since the seed potatoes were started low, in a trench, filling in the trench served as 'hilling'. We opted not to go any higher to avoid the soil rolling out of the raised bed. If the potatoes were planted at ground level we could have continued to mound up the soil. 

The top photo shows Butte potatoes in bloom. We're also growing 'King Harry' and my other favorite, 'Yukon Gold'.  When you grow your own - you can select from many different varieties. When you buy in a store - you are limited to whatever is available.

The potatoes will be ready to be dug up for cooking after the plants die. Check back for follow-up blog posts.
 
GardenCuizine Nutrition Data: Baked Russet Potato: 
Excellent Source: Potassium and Vitamin B6
Good Source: dietary Fiber and Vitamin C

1 small potato (138g): 4g Protein; 3g dietary Fiber (13% DV); 759mg Potassium (22% DV); 12mg Vitamin C (19% DV); 0.5 mg Vitamin B6 (24% DV)

Happy and Healthy Gardening!
Blog post and photo Copyright (C)2014 Wind. All rights reserved.

Growing your own potatoes #GardenCuizine #organic

Planting Seed Potatoes

For years we've been growing our own potatoes. Although we've been getting decent harvests out of a single raised bed for a family of 3, we recently learned that by "hilling" the potato plants we could yield even more potatoes. 

Start with quality seed potatoes. We ordered ours from Wood Prarie Farm, a family farm,  located in Maine. Today, I planted out a 1/2 raised bed of Butte organic potatoes. They were planted in a trench about 6 inches deep. We don't have a lot of space to plant them 12 inches apart so they were placed 4-6-inches apart. The trench was then partially filled in with 1-inch of soil to cover the potato pieces. As the potatoes grow, the soil will be filled in a few times until it is mounded - called "hilling."

Before planting, the potatoes were cut in half leaving eye(s) in each chunk. This is another step that we've never done in the past. We've always planted the whole potato thinking that is what you were supposed to do. It worked for us, but for an even greater yield this time we are cutting the seed potatoes first as shown in the below video.

Check back in about 4-weeks or so for follow-up photos of our hilling process. We have to wait until the plants grow to at least 5-6-inches tall.

I found this gardening video helpful on how to plant seed potatoes:

Related Links
Wood Prairie Farm Organic Potato Growing Guide 
Photos and blog post Copyright (C) 2014 Wind. All rights reserved.

Freshly dug potatoes today! Making our version of Potatoes Anna #GardenCuizine.com

Harry dug up King Harry potatoes today! Time for organic potatoes Pommes Anna with dinner tonight, which are easy to make in a cast iron skillet. Our version does not use a lot of saturated fat like the classic French version and tastes just as delicious. 

Use a mandolin to slice the potatoes thin. Spray the skillet and each layer with oil (non-stick spray). Arrange the potatoes in a circular design in layers. We like to add just enough sliced onion for one layer in between the sliced potato layers. Season with salt, fresh ground black pepper and dried thyme in between layers. Top with a dollop of butter, a generous sprinkle of paprika and a pinch of garlic powder.  Heat the bottom of the pan until you smell the aroma of the potatoes cooking and they get crispy on the bottom; finish cooking in the oven until the potatoes are tender. Invert onto a plate before cutting and serving.

Enjoy a portion no larger than a quarter of your plate along with a lean protein and a generous portion (half a plate) of non-starchy vegetables.
Photo and blog post Copyright (C)2013 Wind. All rights reserved.

Reduced Salt and Fat * Instant CHIA Mashed Potatoes #GardenCuizine

CHIA Mashed Potatoes

Home harvested or farm fresh whole organic potatoes make delicious mashed or smashed (with skins) potatoes. We savor and save our homegrown potatoes for rosemary roasted potatoes, home-fries for special breakfasts and brunches, or scalloped potatoes for dinners. When we make mashed potatoes, for convenience and speed, we often whip up instant 100% real potatoes. 

If you have the time, and don't want to use instant potatoes, make them from scratch. You could also mix instant with homemade. I've seen chefs do that in commercial kitchens, depending on the restaurant. It's your preference.

Reduce Sodium and Fat

In general, a good rule of thumb for healthy individuals is to avoid consuming excess sodium and fat. The USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends consuming less than 2,300 mg of sodium a day and less than 1,500 mg of sodium per day for those with or at risk for high blood pressure. The American Heart Association would like to see everyone consume less than 1,500 mg TOTAL sodium per day.

To put sodium content in perspective, the average American consumes over 3,400 mg of sodium a day. Just one McDonald's Quarter Pounder® with cheese contains 1,660 mg of sodium. Their Angus Bacon and Cheese has 2,540 mg, McRib® 980 mg, 10 pc Chicken McNuggets® 900 mg; even an EggMcMuffin® has 1,050 mg of sodium. If you're thinking, "But I don't eat at McDonald's?" Sodium can add up from just using a pinch here and there too. Look out for high sodium in canned goods, processed foods, prepared foods, soups, snacks, seasoning blends, lunch meats, cheese and even in milk (if drinking more than a few glasses). 

Health tip for instant mashed potatoes

Don't follow the recipe on the box! Do you and your family a heart healthy favor, use less salt and fat than what is called for; no one will even notice. 

Recipes given by food companies on boxes of instant mashed potatoes are usually too high in salt and butter. The dried potato flakes themselves are low in sodium and are fat free. You can't eat them dry though! This fully seasoned comfort food recipe cuts the salt from 1 teaspoon to 1/4 teaspoon, and the margarine from 1/4 cup to 1 tablespoon. Chia seeds add additional nutrients, including omega-3 and dietary fiber.

Reduced Sodium and Fat instant Mashed Potatoes
Yields 4 servings

Ingredients

2 cups water
1 1/3 cups low fat milk (or non-dairy alternative if vegan)
1 tablespoon (~14g) margarine or butter (we use Smart Balance® Heart Smart spread w/plant stanols; use soy margarine if vegan)
2 teaspoons (~10g) minced horseradish (optional)
1 tablespoon raw Chia seeds
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
few slices hot peppers dried or fresh from your garden (optional)
2 cups 100% real instant dried potatoes (we use Potato Buds® or Bob's Red Mill)

Putting it all together

• Combine all the ingredients except the potato flakes in a large pot and set aside. We like to let the mixture sit while we get the rest of the meal together so the chia seeds can soak and soften up. This way the chia seeds will fully blend into the mashed potatoes. You will see the seeds, but they won't interfere with the creamy, comfort food texture.
• When ready, bring the liquid milk mixture to a boil. 
• Stir to combine all the ingredients and break up any clumps of chia seeds. 
• Turn off or remove the pot from heat. 
• Quickly stir in the potato flakes until evenly moistened. Stir in more potato flakes if the mixture seems too loose. Or, add more milk if the potatoes are not creamy enough. 

~Buon Appetito!

GardenCuizine Nutrition Analysis

Good Source: dietary Fiber, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Potassium
Excellent Source: Vitamin C and Thiamin
Serving size 238g: 178 calories, 5g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, Omega-3 323 mg, Cholesterol 7 mg, Sodium 244-394 mg (10-16% DV depending on how much salt you use), Carbohydrate 30g (2 starch), dietary Fiber 3g (11% DV), Protein 6g, Vitamin A 346 IU (7% DV), Vitamin C 25 mg (42% DV), Vitamin D 35 IU (9% DV), Thiamin 0.3 mg (22% DV), Ribovlavin 0.2 mg (11% DV), Niacin 2 mg (10% DV), Vitamin B6 0.3 mg (13% DV), Calcium 120 mg (12% DV), Potassium 465 mg (13% DV)

Related Links: CHIA, an Indigenous Food by Diana Wind
AHA Urges Stricter Guidelines for Sodium, Fat Intake
Revised 3/11/13. Photos and blog post Copyright (C)2013 Wind. All rights reserved. McDonald's Nutrition Data cited was generated by McDonalds.com effective 11-22-2011.