peas planted!

Monday, September 14, 2009

potato and squash casserole

sliced potatoes
boiling potatoes potato and squash cassarole

This is a casserole I often make with summer squash and potatoes. (The recipe is here.) I used four of the varieties of potatoes that I grew this year: Rio Grande Russet (bright white flesh), Yellow Gold (red skin), Red Norland (red skin, white flesh) and Green Mountain. (Here's a nice chart of potato varieties from Fedco.) All of these varieties were very tasty. Nice to have the mix. Next year I'd like to add a blue potato too.

Most of my potatoes are still waiting to be dug. I've dug about 1/4 of my bed. I think they keep better under ground, so I'm not rushing. I'll dig them as I need them - or before the ground freezes.

8 comments:

  1. I have never had squash and potatoes. I must give it a try.

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  2. Yum. Isn't it amazing that we can grow food that looks just like what we used to buy at the store...? I get so happy when I go out and pluck a squash and it looks just like what I've been buying all these years, but tastes SO MUCH better.

    I'm also admiring that cutting board...! And I think we have the same granite... :)

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  3. Victoria T says
    Your squash-potato thing looks great. I think I'll check the recipe and try it. I have squash and potatoes in my garden too. My potatoes are about half dug.

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  4. Hello Kathy!

    I've found your blog from a google search on tomatoe sprouts; I believe you wrote a post on some plants you were growing from seed.
    You seem to be a very knowledgable gardener and the pictures you post are beautiful!
    I was wondering what you knew about sprouts that grow from an actual tomato? This afternoon I cut open a tomato that I had bought on a vine, and there were lots of tiny green sprouts growing inside! I've done some research online but I was wondering what you know about it and what I can do with the sprouts?

    Thank you so much for your time,

    Elena

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  5. Oh baby that looks good! love the sample of potatoes in the first picture.

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  6. Elena, Aren't tomato leaves poisonous? So I would be a bit careful about eating tomato sprouts. I'm just guessing.

    I am looking at that potato squash photo and having the urge to throw some apple slices in it for some reason. Probably a bad idea, though.

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  7. I bet you could plant the sprouts if you are curious. Its probably a hybrid tomato, so the plants won't have the same characteristics as the tomato you bought. Usually hybrid seeds produce very vigorous leafy plants with smaller fruits. But who knows, you could end up with some really great new tomato!

    To grow them, put one or two seeds each in 2 inch seed cells and cover with 1/8 inch of soil. Use sterile potting mix. Put them in a sunny window and repot or transplant out doors when they outgrow the pots. The timing is something to consider, because in the north, it may be hard for you to give a full grown tomato plant enough warmth and light to produce fruits.

    Here's an informative answer soilman posted at this site in answer to eating tomato seeds and sprouts. The bottom line is eating them is not recommended.

    "Most of the tomato seeds you eat when you eat tomatoes, never get well chewed, their skins prevent them from being chewed or digested, so any toxins in them don't get to you in any significant amount. However because of the solanace alkaloid possibility, I would avoid chewing and swallowing a handful of dry tomato seeds, or sprouted tomato seeds, and I certainly wouldn't eat tomato-seed puree or "butter." I think they tast very bitter -- which is a characteristic of toxic alkaloids as well as harmless alkaloids -- bitterness."

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  8. About adding those apples, something seems to me like this would be to much for this subtle summer casserole.

    If you add apples, I would switch the potatoes to sweet potatoes, or the summer squash to butternut or pumpkin. Maybe add some raisins too. (Ooops, I'm getting hungry now.)

    And switch the milk to cider or broth.

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