Potatoes and Some Seeds

After a lovely Thanksgiving and lots of pie, I savor seed catalogs. 

 A partial preview of the 2012 potato patch:

 Russian Banana Fingerling

 Rose Finn Apple Fingerling

 Red Thumb Fingerling

Augusta

Keuka Gold

German Butterball

Red Gold

Green Mountain

Purple Viking

Yes, I do enjoy growing and eating potatoes. So many varieties-so little space! It is sticky to narrow the selection down to what will fit in our field.  The German Butterballs, roasted with fresh rosemary and olive oil, had ooohs and ahhhs at the Thanksgiving feast. Of course we still had Refrigerator Mashed Potatoes:

5 lbs potatoes peeled and cooked till soft you can also use (gasp!) 1 qt of prepared instant potatoes

16 oz sourcream

8 oz cream cheese  room temperature

1/2 stick of butter room temperature

onion salt to taste about 2 teaspoons

sea salt about 1 teaspoon

fresh ground pepper to taste

Put hot (drained) potatoes in a mixer and add remaining ingredients beating until light and fluffy. Thin with milk if too stiff. Put into a 9x13 casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. These will keep 2 weeks in fridge or you can freeze them.  They are fabulous.

Other seed orders are in for Eggplant, Tomatoes (lots more varieties for 2012), Peppers, Sugar Peas, Salad Turnips, Herbs, Summer and Winter Squash, Onions, Leeks, Shallots, Cabbage, Broccoli, Greens, and Cucumbers.  Still to be decided are the beans and lettuces.  I try and grow at least four types of each vegetable. Tomatoes are their own catagory, there must be thousands of cultivars! Really tough to hone those down to a workable number. I will be trialing some new releases for several vegetables. It remains an affliction, a viral disease that does not respond to any treatment other than setting seeds into soil.

On other fronts, the animals are growing.  We aquired a tiny runt Angora goat.  Sooo tiny he was getting beat up by the other goats. Of course I would take him! Perhaps love, TLC, and copious portions of feed will help him grow.