Palpably Inadequate

You carefully consider

Maris Piper or Jersey Royal,

lost in thought ― 

somewhere in the Channel Islands.

I look sideways at your foraging.

Del Monte, cat food ― 

you can tell so much

from the contents of a lonely cart.

You choose a kind King Edward,

as I pretend to be interested in whole oats.

I feel the precision of your choice

in my throat.

I see you being swept away,

smoothing olive oil on the skin ― 

a good slow roast ― 

cheeky potato salad for one.

tk/July 2013 

Thank you  R.A.D. Stainforth for expertly reading this poem.  

photo by Agustin Berrocal 

Join Magpie Tales creative writing group. 

endless potatoes

Beige

I stand

just as I have

for many years

in a noisy kitchen

full of familiar faces

repeated stories

caught in hot air

bubbles, heavy

in the scent of sage

and wonder

of future turkeys

endless potatoes

to be mashed

stirring at the stove

the more beige

I become

the more invisible

tk/November 2011


The brilliant R.A.D. Stainforth reads this poem:
(Check out his excellent blog Black Dogs here.)

Speaking of endless potatoes, here is another wonderful variation of the quintessential mashed: 

Boil 3 pounds of new red potatoes in skins, drain and mash with 1 cup grated Parmesan, 3/4 cup ricotta, 3/4 cup whole milk, and one stick unsalted butter, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Best Thanksgiving wishes to you and yours, my friends.  

mashed tater season

For reasons unknown, I never make mashed potatoes in the summer.  So this time of year, when the cold weather rolls around, my Scots-Irish DNA craves comfort food, and shifts into full-blown potato mode. When I was a little girl, I loved mashed potatoes so much, I often chose them for dessert. (What do I mean, when I was little? I still do this.) I'll be posting a few variations on the glorious mashed potato in the following weeks, so stay tuned. This one is simple and marvelous...

Brown Butter and Sage Mashed Potatoes

Boil 3 pounds red new potatoes in skins.  Meanwhile, melt 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter in a small skillet over medium heat, add 1 cup chopped fresh sage and cook, stirring until the butter is golden brown, 4-6 minutes. Drain the potatoes and mash with butter mixture, 1/4 cup whole milk; season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

(I knew this great vintage fork would come in handy some day.)