September the month for potatoes - recipes

September is National Potato Month.  I have used this as an excuse to share potato recipes for years and this year is no exception.

In its native Peru, the potato has been a valuable food staple for nearly 8,000 years, and some 4,000 different varieties can still be found there. The Quechua vocabulary included over a thousand words to describe the cultivation and use of potatoes, and "the time it takes to cook a potato" was as an important measure of time. The potato was used as a staple medicine and was believed to ensure fertility.

When the Spaniards brought the potato to Europe in the 1570s, however, it was a different story. Europeans were suspicious of the plant, partly because they viewed it as a food for the poor and partly because it produced grotesque tubers underground and reproduced itself from those same misshapen tubers. Surely there was some deviltry associated with this! The matter was settled when in 1596 the Swiss botanist Gaspard Bauhin assigned the potato to the Solanaceae family: the same nasty clan that included the deadly nightshade, henbane, and tobacco—herbs long used as poisons, narcotics, and magic.

I love potatoes and since my husband is a Peruvian scholar, we don’t get to ignore, replace, or forego potatoes in our diet.  I even put together a “Spud Celebration” package.  This set of herb mixes is the best of the best for using on spuds and it comes with a list of the best eating potatoes and ways to prepare them.

So celebrate National Potato Month in style with these great recipes:

Green Chile Potato Casserole
Scalloped potatoes never had it so good!

5 - 6 potatoes, sliced with skins on
2 - 3 green chilies, cut into long strips
1 cup onions, sliced

1 tsp. summer or winter savory, dried
1 cup Longhorn cheese, grated
1/2 cup Velveeta cheese, thinly sliced (you can use Farmer's Cheese or Chihuahua Cheese if you dislike processed Velveeta)
3 - 4 strips bacon, cooked crisp
butter or margarine

Directions
Grease 13x9x2 inch pan. Layer potatoes, then onions, strips of chilie, Longhorn cheese, and last Velveeta cheese. Repeat until all the ingredients have been used up. Top with pats of butter and crumbled bacon. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Can’t forget the Sweet Potato, this recipes is good at Thanksgiving too!

2 cups sliced sweet potatoes

1 medium onion, finely sliced

1 cups frozen peas

1/2 tsp. dried marjoram

1 Tbls. butter

1/4 cup water

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and bake at 350 degrees until vegetables are tender.  About 40 minutes.

Tomato Potatoes

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 6), peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

3 scallions, trimmed and chopped

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 pounds salad tomatoes (about 5 medium), chopped

Directions

Place the potatoes and garlic in a large saucepan and cover with lightly salted water. Bring to a boil; cover and simmer about 20 minutes or until a fork easily pierces a potato.  Drain the potatoes and garlic. Mash with a potato masher or a fork until smooth. Blend in the milk, butter, parsley, scallions, Parmesan, and salt. Gently fold in the tomatoes.