Yukon Gold Rush

Readers--I know I have not posted for awhile. I really haven't had the heart. I spent all of last week tangled in the news of the current budget crisis, the likely job cuts and salary roll backs, of the knowledge that my beloved California is 49th in the nation for spending per student. That's in addition to the usual stresses I carry around with me--just one of those weeks when you feel like you spend your life juggling eggs. I felt stifled and stuck, which I hate. Anyway, I didn't post because I didn't want to talk about it, knowing it will just enrage me. So how about I change the subject with a few tantalizing garden snapshots?

I do, however, want to talk about these beautiful little Yukon gold potatoes I harvested yesterday. I mean, look at them. How could you not fall madly in love?

For a long time potatoes were not my favorite food. I tolerated them but found them dull, wondering always mid-bite why I was not eating rice or pasta instead. Then last summer my former teaching mentor (she and her husband are expert gardeners) suggested that I add potatoes to my balcony garden. When she described how to do it, it was so stupidly easy that I had to try it. Take a grocery store potato (I've done this successfully with Yukon gold and purple ones) and cut it into chunks, making sure each chunk has an eye. Plant the chunks 3-4 inches deep. Water. Sit back and wait for the magic.

Back in December, I planted the potato chunks in large containers (the ones reserved for tomatoes in the summer). Of course, you all remember this photo from January...

A week later, it look liked this:

Potatoes are great for growing in the winter because they are dirt cheap (ha ha ha, dirt) and make your garden look lush, full, and green. Actually, in California they're great for any time of year. I originally planted in the summer and harvested in October. Winter, however, begs the addition of green things to my balcony. Your garden will look like a jungle before long.

Eventually, the plants will get so heavy that they will fall over and start to wilt (approx 3 months?). That's when the treasure hunt begins and you go rooting around (ha ha ha roots--I'm on fire today) looking for little earthy gems. Oh look, there's one there.

Yank up the plants to reveal your original potato chunk, now shriveled and shrouded in roots.

Dig around in the remaining roots to reveal more little beauties, one after another!

I love it when gardening gets political or when food is about things much bigger than just what's on your plate. Growing potatoes has made me think so much about world history. I now understand why they were a popular staple in places like Peru and Ireland where people had many mouths to feed and hardly any money. One potato multiplies into 10, or 20, or maybe more.

You say potato, I say AMAZING!!!

I ate mine last evening sauteed with scrambled egg, baby leeks, sage olive oil and butter. I did another handful parboiled with butter and chives. Soft, earthy, warm, inviting. Yes please. Other worries can wait.