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CONTENTS:
POTATOES - HISTORY OF POTATOES
MOM'S TASTY POTATO SALAD
GRAM'S DEPRESSION ERA POTATO SOUP
PRODUCTS [with Web addresses]
CELEBRATE NATIONAL ARBOR DAY
HI ARBOR COOKBOOK
Hello, and welcome back to Hi Arbor. This is the first issue of
a new year and "News" has been added to the name because
"Hi Arbor" now means the whole organization. There is a recipe
from my mother and grandmother I hope you will enjoy.
Arbor Day in Georgia is at the end of February so I'm
posting the information early since planting a tree takes
planniung. The next issue of Hi Arbor News will go out on
February 17, 2005. If you have any recipes, information or
suggestions, please send them to HiArborNews@aol.com.
Take care.
Roxanne
POTATOES: Below is
a brief history of the white potato. I won't try to cover the
sweet potato now because it's a separate story.
Information on a sweet potato, as with the brief history of the
white potato, is also at the web site listed below.
HISTORY OF POTATOES
"...Most botanists agree that the area having the greatest
diversity of wild varieties of a certain plant is probably the
center of origin. Which is why we believe the potato is a native
of South America. Specifically, the Andean region. Many species
of the tuberous plant can be found growing wild in Peru, Ecuador
and Chile. "The name of the famous potato, the world's number
one vegetable is probably a corruption of the Indian name for
the plant -- patata or papa...The white potato was unknown in
Central or North America until after Pizarro conquered Peru and
spread their potato culture via Spanish forts and ships. Sweet
potatoes were used in the West Indies and Central America and in
the Southern part of North America. They were referenced in the
journals of Columbus and Magellan. They were called 'batatas'.
"The potato was brought to Ireland, in 1565, according to one
story. Another has it that Sir Walter Raleigh first grew it
there in 1585. Either way, it soon became a national mainstay in
the Irish diet. The Irish introduced the potato to New England
in 1719, when Irish immigrants settled at Londonderry, New
Hampshire. "In Europe, a grain famine, in 1770, caused the
potato to become an important crop. A French leader, Parmentier,
set up soup kitchens serving potato soup to the starving masses.
Today, in France, potato soup bears his name. "The potato helped
change American history when in 1847--1848 a terrible famine
struck Ireland due to the failure of the Irish potato crop. It
is estimated 1,500,000 Irish people died, while another
1,000,000 emigrated, chiefly to the United States of America.
"And, all due to a lowly tuberous vegetable growing wild, first
found by prehistoric Indians living high in the Andean
Mountains. The mysterious and amazing potato."
http://idid.essortment.com/potatohistory_rvap.htm
The next two recipes come
from my mom. They are family recipes. I'm delighted to have them
and to pass them along to you. For this one think football,
tailgating and the Super Bowl, which will be on February 6,
2005.
MOM'S TASTY POTATO SALAD
3 medium-large potatoes (russet best)
2/3 C mayonnaise or Miracle Whip (best)
1 T prepared yellow mustard
1/2 C onion, medium chopped
1/2 C celery, trimmed and sliced thin
2 green onions, green part, sliced 1/4-inch
2 T chopped parsley
1/4 C sweet pickle relish
1/4 t celery seed
1/8 t garlic powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Scrub potatoes well and boil until just tender. Test for
doneness with a long-pronged fork. Remove from boiling
water to container of cold water to prevent further cooking.
Cool to handling temperature, replacing cooling water if
necessary to prevent "mushy" potatoes.
Skin potatoes and cut to bite-size. Place in large bowl and add
remaining
ingredients. Mix thoroughly but gently so potatoes stay intact.
Refrigerate at
least an hour before serving.
6-8 generous servings
Optional ingredients/garnishes: Pimiento, chopped green pepper,
sliced black
olives, chopped or sliced hard boiled eggs, paprika, grape or
quartered cherry
tomatoes, shaved carrots
Note: Potato salad ingredient quantities is largely a matter of
individual taste and
texture (moist or dry). If a particular ingredient seems overly
generous or
otherwise, then quantities may be increased or reduced to taste.
Or you may want to snuggle up with a steaming cup of my
grandmother's
potato soup.
GRAM'S DEPRESSION ERA POTATO SOUP
A simple comfort food
2 medium-large potatoes (russet best)
6 C water
1/2 medium onion coarsely chopped
2 T fresh parsley chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Butter or margarine
Saute onion in 1 T butter or margarine until translucent, but
not brown. Set aside.
Peel potatoes and cut bite-size. Rinse. Using a large sauce pan,
boil potatoes, sauteed onion, parsley, salt and pepper in
water until potatoes are barely tender. They will continue
cooking in hot broth until served.
Serve with butter or margarine to add a tablespoon (or to taste)
to hot broth for enrichment.
Serves 4-6
Many a cold winter's night was comforted with this simple,
inexpensive soup.
I haven't been cooking as
much lately and have tried more prepared foods. Below are some
of the products that have made things easier for me in the
kitchen.
PRODUCTS:
1. Ore-Ida Potatoes O'Brien
Frozen hash browns with onion, green pepper and
red pepper.
http://www.oreida.com/varieties/
2. Tofurky "Giblet" Gravy
100% vegan. It's in the health food freezer section. If you
would like, go to the link below and scroll down to "Tofurky
feast" and click "giblet gravy". A list of ingredients and
nutrition information will pop-up.
http://www.tofurky.com/products/tofurkyfeasts.htm
3. V8 "Splash" Smoothies
Strawberry-banana, peach-mango and other flavors, made with soy,
non-dairy.
http://www.v8juice.com/smoothie.aspx
4. Prego "Traditional" Pasta Sauce in 14 oz. jars
This is a small jar. Most of the others have twice as much
sauce. The web site below is for Peapod grocery. They have
a long list of Prego sauces. The 14 oz. "traditional" sauce is
near the bottom.
http://products.peapod.com/348.html
5. Gardenburger Meals
Meatless" Meatballs Penne Marinara
Gardenburger Meals - Sweet and Sour "Pork"
These are the two I have tried and they are good. A full list of
the types of dinners is at the web site below.
http://www.gardenburger.com/products/meals.html
6. St. Dalfour Conserves
Imported from France (fruit only).
http://www.bonjourgourmet.com/st__dalfour_conserves.htm
7. St. Dalfour Organic Teas
http://www.bonjourgourmet.com/st__dalfour_teas.htm
National Arbor Day is the last Friday in April
but each state has a date according to the best time for
planting a tree. Georgia's date is the third Friday in February.
This year that is February 18, 2005. The Georgia State tree is
the Live Oak. The following quote from the National Arbor Day
Foundation helps explain what Arbor Day is about. There is
a lot more information at the web address below.
CELEBRATE NATIONAL ARBOR DAY
"Thank you to the thousands of people who are planting trees in
memory of loved ones and trees in celebration of
anniversaries, birthdays, and special events! "We thank you for
the 134,000 trees that have been planted since July [2004]. We
thank you for the purer air. We thank you for the cleaner
water. And we thank you for caring enough to give a gift that
will have lasting impact on this and future
generations."
http://www.arborday.org/
HI ARBOR COOKBOOK:
The Hi Arbor cookbook, "Take This Veggie And Stuff It", has
recipes for stuffing 21 vegetables from artichokes to
zucchini, and if you don't know how to stuff an artichoke, the
book explains. There are 87 recipes, some of which have
seafood but most are vegetarian. It's got lists of substitutions
and
measurements and equivalents. Herbs and seasonings are defined
and there is a glossary of cooking terms in addition to a
list of how much of a fresh spice is needed versus the same
spice in a dry form.
"Take This Veggie And Stuff It" costs $12.50 per copy plus $2.50
for
shipping and handling, and it can be ordered from Hi Arbor,
Inc.; P. O.
Box 265; Oceanville, NJ 08231. Or from the web address below.
http://www.hiarbor.org/
The End
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