Blessed Potatoes, Tuna, Corn, and Lentils

Yesterday the ground had thawed enough that at last I could dig some potatoes.  I'd been missing them.  While digging, I thought a lot about Irish people from long ago and how they counted on the potatoes.  Some people say it's not worth the bother to grow them when you can pick up a bag at the store so easily and for so little money.  Hmmph.  Not me.  They are a wonderful blessing, very patiently waiting in the ground until we need them.  Always fresh.  I love growing potatoes!

I dig in a row, turning the soil back and leaving a trench which the next digging will fill.  By the end of winter, the potatoes will be gone and the ground nicely turned and ready for the next crop.  I try to spread some straw or other mulch over the emptied part.

After being without fresh potatoes for a week, I was desperate for a good feast, with all the vitamins and the satisfaction of seeing them come out of that beautiful soil.  But, what to have with them?  Little Girl wanted boiled potatoes with butter and salt.  Yummy.  Big Girl said no, we had to do a little better.

It was so easy cooking for a family of five; it's not so easy cooking for one.  I end up eating a lot of rather odd meals, trying not to waste food, using stuff up, and still get a balanced diet.  That part is much easier for me in the summer, when tomatoes hang from the vines and other veggies are fresh for the taking too.

But, it's the beginning of January.  I wanted potatoes.  So I built myself a hot dinner that I enjoyed so much I decided to make it again tonight, sneaking in a little more nutrition in the form of lentils which I don't like and don't want to know I'm eating, but which I know I should eat.  Especially since someone gave me two cans and they've been sitting around for months.  And in winter, being the lean months and when I don't always feel so great, I must make an effort to be practical and be careful to eat decently.  One-dish meals really help.

So, here's what I came up with and woohoo, I didn't even notice the lentils; and it was so good I want to write it down so I can make it again :)

Yesterday I steamed the potatoes, drained them, and used half to make dinner in the pot.  I don't mind eating things twice in a row, and like to try variations.  So tonight I used up the rest of the potatoes, and put everything into a casserole and then the microwave.  It's up to you.  Ok, here we go.

POTATOES, cut into pieces and steamed or boiled, enough for a good feast

Some TUNA or other protein

Chopped GREEN ONIONS

A few spoonsful of LENTILS

A few squirts of CHILI HOT SAUCE

Some CREAMED CORN

Mix, heat and enjoy!

For fresh veggies and crisp texture, a coleslaw salad is a good side dish.

I thank you, O blessed potatoes.  And I'm not even Irish.

Diane's Drop-In, 2011 Jan 4

What a great time we all had at Diane's Drop-In!

I wasn't the only one who had never seen a swift before, though I have had a yarn/wool-winder since I was a teenager and it is one of my favourite pieces of equipment.

Another piece of equipment was used, too, a wicked-looking machine called a picker.  I need to get a better description, but roughly speaking what it does is tear apart clumped fibre.  Diane is a SERIOUS spinner and I'm lucky to have been invited to drop in and to see her special equipment plus what Judy brought.

(Diane is on the right, Judy on the left.  Judy has recently become a distributor for Louet! I enjoyed meeting Marilyn and Elaine, but another regular, Betty, did not make it. )

Someone asked if I was a spinner or a weaver, or what, and I smiled broadly and replied, "As of yesterday, I am officially a spinner!"  I had done my first length of yarn with a Tabachek Russian spindle, and I was delighted about that. 

Diane let me use her Louet Junior drum carder (on the left of the coffee table) to work on some discarded kid mohair for practice. Obviously I don't need a carder, but wow, it's sure a fine piece of equipment.

(p.s.  Click on a photo and it will enlarge.)

There was a great deal of energy in the room, lots of laughs, and lots of learning.   I'm really looking forward to next week.  Thanks, Diane!



Happy New Year & Birthday to me!

There was more fuss made over me this birthday than I can remember ever having. It was great! Lots of friends remembering, visits, and even some gifts. The beautiful Tabachek Russian spindle from Sis Donna has me enthralled, and today I spun my first-ever yarn! Yeaay! I was so excited that I had to knit it up immediately. Yes, it's obviously a newbie's effort, and it's made from 'junk' 'ruined' fibre that was to have been thrown out, and which even after 5 cardings is still rough. But I was not actually sure I could make anything! And I did.  So, to me it's beautiful.

Happy End of 2010!

I'm checking out a new blogspace. Is this it?