'What would you like with lunch? Some of last night's potatoes?'. My sister in law is already getting them out of the fridge - her question is rhetorical. I shake my head, and grab the bag of lettuce and radishes we'd got in our vegetable box from the farmer's market near Mells. I want fresh and crisp, and to be honest, I'm still full from last night's potatoes, slathered with Somerset butter and liberal sprinklings of salt.
Rainbow Valley Farmer's market does online ordering via Instagram. A month ago we went there before lockdown and filled a box with asparagus, courgettes, pineapple, blueberries and crisp bulbs of fennel. We stood in line with a couple from over the other side of the hill who remember rationing after the Second World War. They distinctly recall the rationing of sweets - being young at the time, this would have stuck in their memories. We all agree how lucky we are in Somerset, to live somewhere so beautiful, and to be at least a little distant from the increasing deaths in London. Weeks later, we'll still feel lucky, except we won't be blessed with standing in line chatting to folk with vowels so round you could roll them down these green hills bursting with cowslips, dandelions and primroses. We'll be ordering vegetable boxes, packed for us. The choice? Potatoes or no potatoes. Oh, there will be offerings of punnets of raspberries, and beautiful farm fresh eggs with yolks plump and glistening, bunches of spring greens and oranges most likely from Spain, but always, the potatoes.
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'Ooh, I right fancy cod and chips,' my sister in law says. She sips a rosy Zinfandel in the unseasonably warm sunshine. Bumble bees hover in the budleia behind her, and starlings quarrel in the hedge. I order cod. The thought of more potatoes makes me nauseaous.
Yet, I do have a momentary desire for silky mashed potatoes with strips of garlicky ramsons and spring onions. On Sunday, I had made a vegetable roast with homemade veggie sausages. I made it British style, or at least this family's style, with two sorts of potatoes - roast, and mash. It went against every grain I've ever rubbed my hands over. In fact, I had virtual splinters in my hands serving two sorts of potatoes, but I was taking one for the team. I added my own twist, of course, the roast potatoes tossed with cloves of garlic and torn shreds of sage and rosemary, and the mash was not pure potato - celeriac, parsnip and swede adulterated the King Edwards. I had huge helpings of greens, drowing out the potatoes by miles. I've always had a preference for green.
I remind my sister in law we had potatoes for breakfast. We did - left over mash formed into patties, rolled in oats and fried. I had added fried tomatoes and thyme to mine, and fresh chopped ramsons, which I'm clearly in love with. Somehow everything is better with ramsons. In response to this, she laughs. 'Welcome to Britain!' she says. 'There's nothing wrong with potatoes!'.
But I'm fed up with potatoes. They're stodgy and starchy and heavy, and I've been raised to eat things in moderation. I fail to understand anyone eating potatoes with other carbs - lasagne and potatoes, for example, or potato salad and pasta. It goes against every rule of eating I've ever learnt, and I politely push the potatoes to one side. England is making me furious at the moment and I don't care for any cultural idiosyncracy that suggests eating potatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner is normal behaviour. England has me locked down and hog tied. I can't move for rules. I can't drive one county over to the sea. I can't go to the pub. I can't walk up Glastonbury Tor, that magical place that calls my heart from overseas. I can't even eat what I want. I can't get almonds, for example, or yeast. We can't go to Tesco because the queues are a nightmare and the social distancing rules are too loud and brutal and a reminder of this year of discontent, where all our dreams have been shattered by a stupid fucking pandemic. Instead, we go to the local co-op and select our food from a very small range, or get farmer's boxes of vegetables people have selected for us. And of course I can't complain, because we should feel lucky. At least we have potatoes.
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I have a rising desire to mash potatoes in people's faces. There. I've said it. The anger and frustration simmer to the surface. I want to mash it in the face of the woman in the village who shouts at her neighbour: 'I saw you go to the shops twice today!' and the people who clap for the NHS but voted in a government who removed funding from it for so long they weren't ready to cope with this global disaster. I want to smoosh it in the faces of the people who endlessly decry the rule breakers - god forbid anyone walk twice a day, or cycle, or go to the beach, or sit down on a park bench to take a breath. I want to throw it at the curtain twitching do-gooding fear mongering citizens who don't analyse the shady maths we're given and don't read beyond the headlines and spurt it back in Facebook threads to create more fear and loathing amongst the most frightened. I want to flick hot mashed potato in the eyes of the politicians who fail to understand that people just like me are struggling to cope with this lockdown, and that they'll be driving the country into economic ruin for dubious figures and projections and reasons that in all likelihood may not have happened, and that people like me would love to throw mashed potato in the cogs of the system and watch them dry like glue so the gears stop winding.
That night, Faith looks at my plate. I've pushed the diced and cooling potatoes to one side. 'You've got a really low tolerance for potatoes, don't you?' she says.
Yes, I bloody well do.
With Love,
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I could not live in a world without potatoes. I can eat potatoes forever, 3 times a day if I could. Yum! :)
Haha - I honestly couldn't live in a world without potatoes either.
I love potatoes :)
Get away wit ye. xx
:P
give me your potatoes * __ *
oh the poor potatoes! what did they do 😊
@tipu curate
I think I'm going to polarise people here - lol. BTW, I went up Draycott Sleights yesterday and saw on Pinmapple how close you were to me with a couple of your posts, which was really cool! I could have thrown a potato at you! xx
I can't upvote you, as I love potatoes.
But I'm sorry for your pain and that you're living a life without potato.
Hahaha - don't hold it against me!!!! I had potato crisps for afternoon tea, does that count?
Ah, now I can see your soul is pure.
Thank you.
😂😂😂🥔🥔🥔🥔
This is what @ssiena has been subsisting on for the past 7 weeks. I'm sure once this is over, she will not want to eat another potato in her life lol. Diverticulitis is a bitch!
Oh that sucks!!!! I bet she's bored out of her wits!!!
Ahh well you know I am a serious spud lover, but, I feel you. It's more than just the potato. Coincidentally I think I've only bought potatoes once during lockdown as they are not in season here right now. I am quite excited for the first zucchini in my farm pickup on Saturday, though, as besides the lovely greens it has been mostly beets, radishes and a few other dribs and drabs the last few weeks as the seasons change. I think your potatoes are my beets right now, as much as I do enjoy them. Give me some fresh tomatoes and I will be in pure heaven...At least I do have the strawberries to make my heart happy. Hang in there, and if you need to rage at least throw the potatoes at an inanimate object, haha. 💚
Oh my goodness... TWO runners of farm fresh juicy sweet strawbs in my vege box yesterday!!! Devouring them as potato alternative...
I dislike them , it's a Dutch daily food. Van Gogh made a blog on them a long time ago .. ;-)
That's hilarious. Love it. Thanks for adding value to my post. What a gem. That's what it feels like eating in England lol.
I love that painting!!!! Thank you @small1axe
Oh hon, I am probably not the best person to talk to potato's about, seeing as i am Irish, but once or twice a week is good enough. But yeah back home they would eat them 3 times a day. I hope you have wonderful dreams tonight of flinging potatoes at people, I totally understand your frustration. Love you xxxx
Haha.. I did enjoy writing this post, using potatoes as a linking thread. I never meant to offend the Irish 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I love me some potatoes. Just saying. #potatolife
Glastonbury Tor...Been there...Pretty cool, steep walk.
Whilst you're there make sure you do Glastonbury Abbey, and get ye on a guided tour...Fascinating and the one we went on (some older lady did it) was bloody entertaining too. They have a really great visitor centre there and so much history to unfold.
I was thinking about you the other day actually...Being all locked down and shit on your big adventure. Sucks.
Stay positive. Eat potatoes. Trust me. No dessert if you don't eat your vegetables.
I know Glasto very well. In fact, the first night I met hubs, we met at his sisters house where we all went to Glastonbury town hall for a run reggae gig. Only lived 30 minutes away from it for 5 years, so the Tor was my go to when I needed SPACE and to share at horizon.
Great photo of the Abbey there. I have a cute one of Jarrah there somewhere, must dig it up. He was right into Arthurian legend, as was I.
Ah, resigned to the clusterfuck of this travel year. Sad and disappointed but hoping Oz borders will open and we will do that landrover trip..
Ah ok, I didn't realise.
Yeah, I think they'll start to open things up here a little soon...Not sure what exactly, and to what degree but I think we'll start to see some of the restrictions lift. You'll have to come home and get that Landie up and running for your nomadic wanderings. Too bad the OS wanderings didn't quite pan out but there's plenty of life left...So it'll happen again. Just keep your attitude up, and your strength...Potatoes are good for the latter...And the former to be honest.
Substitute the word "potato" with "rice" and I'm right with you. Gobsmacked by the idea of left over mashed potatoes rolled in oats. 😆 Reading this as we are attempting lower carbs and very few grains is fascinating.
You ARE allowed to feel frustrated and exasperated. I loved the idea of flinging old mashed potatoes into the cogs of the system. 🤣
The pic of the Dutch master posted by @small1axe mmade me laugh - my dutch childhood had much the same vibe about boiled potatoes. 🤣
Ironically potatoes are a luxury here in Asia, and are now an occasional treat.
I feel same about rice. Gawd. Just raised that way I guess. I don't even count them as vegetables. The engagement on this post is hilarious..
You most definitely tapped a nerve here.... 😂😂😂
Vlees , doodgekookte groente en aardappels . ...
In english that is :
Meat . deaht- boiled veggies and patatos .
Exept on friday , fryed fish , a fresh salade , and ... crispy brown baked salty left over patatos ...
I loved fridays diner 😁
"...doodgekookte groente.." 😂 Ja, mijn moeder ook. 😭
En altijd vis op Vrijdag. In het naam van de vader, de zoon en de helige gheest.... 😆
I love potatoes but they don't love me. The nightshade in them causes me physical pain. So I rarely eat them.
I adore all types all styles ..i would just eat potatoes all the times
I love this! Mixing potatoes and pasta is indeed counter-intuitive, but perogies prove people aren't slaves to logic. You remind me of a song I'm desperate to find again. Years ago a book at the library included a cassette tape with a Yiddish song about potatoes Monday through Sunday, breakfast-lunch-dinner, "Bulbes," ...
And oh, I feel for you - and love, love, love your descriptions and concrete, vivid details! E.g.
Sunday Potatoes, Monday Potatoes - 1994 - by Vicky Shiefman (Author), Louise August (Illustrator)
I Found the Song on You-Tube!!!! FINALLY!
"Bulbes" or "Zuntik Bulbe" - Sunday Potatoes - is a popular Klezmer song sung in Yiddish with a few Polish words. The word bulbes for potatoes may come from the fact that potatoes are bulbes related to tulip bulbes.
The potatoes themselves are pure and innocent. <3
I use to avoid potatoes, but,now such varieties of potato are available in which sugar is very less.