Digging in the Dirt

"The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance,

 the wise grows it under his feet."
-  James Oppenheim

Lately we've been eating LOTS of potatoes.  So versatile, comforting, and nutritious, these red potatoes were harvested a few days ago.  We had planted only one pound but the harvest was a full milk crate, I think I could have even left them in the ground a bit longer. 

My favorite way to use potatoes these days is to make a crust with them-for quiche, fritata or any savory pie. To do this, thinly slice several potatoes, add a generous amout of olive oil to a pie plate and arrange the slices in an overlapping spiral covering the whole dish.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper then bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes while you assemble other ingredients.  (This crust is also tasty made with yams.)

For a yummy, summer, vegetable pie:
1.  chop and saute any fresh garden vegi  (chard, zucchini, etc.)
2.  grate or crumble your favorite cheese over the browned potato crust (my favorite is feta)
3.  add sauted vegis on top 
4.  in a seperate bowl combine 4 eggs with 1.5 cups of half and half, whisking together.  Season egg mixture with your favorite seasoning and pour over the cheese and vegis
5.  if you're a cheese lover like mysef, grate a little more cheese on top and bake for 10 minutes in a 425 degree oven, then reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean
Serve with a salad and enjoy an easy, delicious meal.

harvesting the goods