Sour Potatoes

Last year I was down for a spell with a touch of the flu which was, of course, miserable. I was so sick I couldn’t even eat and let me tell you that the circumstances under which I am unable to eat are rare, indeed. In fact, as a sidebar, my ringtone when I call my brother is the voice of that little Hobbit from Lord of the Rings asking if Aragorn knew that he needed a “second breakfast”…suffice it to say that I don’t skip many meals. However, in this case, I was so sick that I hadn’t actually eaten in a few days…and then, just as I was about to be able to fit into my jeans again, a food angel showed up in the form of my adorable sister in law and she brought with her a magical healing serum in the form of her awesome Chicken Noodle Soup.

I got one whiff of all that delicious Chicken Soup-y broth and I started to feel better immediately…but then I locked eyes with those thick, home made noodles and, inexplicably, I felt so well I was able to eat again. I won’t lie to you, it was, like, Wow!

And all of that flavor combined with my miraculous recovery, well, it made for a darn nice afternoon.

As you all know, the weather has already turned and cold and flu season is upon us so if I were you I would run out right now and get all the stuff for this delectable soup before you find yourself sick or snowed in or way too thin…if you don’t, you’ll wish you did!

Gena’s Awesome Chicken Soup

My husband can not vouch for this soup because I made such a miraculous recovery that I was able to ingest it all…I thought that was best what with my poor health and all. But if he could tell you about it, I am sure he would completely agree with me that not only does this soup have amazing depth and flavor (the dill is a stroke of genius!) but it also has incredible healing qualities, too!

Thank you for sharing this with us, Gena! You and your soup are awesome!

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Doesn’t the word Fingerling sound like a race of beings sent here to take over the planet and grow humans in Matrix-style People Gardens where they will harvest our brains and serve them as a side dish…maybe with pork tenderloin or a nice rack of lamb?

“Sir”, I would say calmly, “The Fingerlings have penetrated our atmosphere.”

“Get the bazookas” Sir would say back.

Can’t you just see this happening? I don’t know, maybe I need a day job…

The Fingerlings are here!

Well, you can breathe a sigh of relief for Fingerlings are not alien beings but beautiful little potatoes that humans can actually serve as a side dish with Pork Tenderloin or Rack of Lamb or any number of other entrée meats. I recently had the pleasure of spending the day with my dear friend Hilary and her family in their lovely, cabin-like home and that is where I was first introduced to the Fingerling potato and its gorgeous cousin, the Purple Peruvian.

Aren't these pretty?

I proceeded to be informed by Hilary’s husband, Dean, that he had latterly been on a plane and read about these purple beauties and that they were just full of antioxidants and other cancer fighting, heart protecting health benefits. Well, I Wikipedia’d it and also found out that purple potatoes have 2-4 times more antioxidants than any other type of produce. That combined with its beauty and delicious-ness may put it in the running for the world’s most perfect food. I contemplated that as I sat on my duff on a bar stool and watched my friend prepare the following recipe. Once again, I didn’t ask her for the exact measurements and instructions so this will be my best recollection of what I saw her do and what I made for my little brood last week. So without further adieu, I give you…

Hilary’s Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

• Fingerling Potatoes, about 30-35 to serve 4
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil, approximately 4 tablespoons
• Garlic and Onion Powder, generous sprinkle of each
• Course Salt
• A Bit of Cracked Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Begin by scrubbing those little potatoes and patting them dry. Next, you can slice them into 1/2″ coins.

These ones looked kind of marbled inside...

Pour a bit of olive oil into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish and then put the potatoes in. Now, pour a bit more olive oil over the potatoes, and then sprinkle with your powders, salt, and pepper. Stick that bad boy in the oven for approximately 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender, turning the potatoes with a spatula every ten minutes so they don’t stick to the bottom.

They should look a little something like this...

Now you can serve them up with that Pork Tenderloin or Rack of Lamb we talked about and then you can yell to your family that “The Fingerlings are here!”.

Thank You, Hil! These are delish!

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