Mashed? No, Smashed Potatoes!

Nothing is better than crispy potato skin.  But with these high temperatures chez nous, no way will I bake taters to get that delectable, roasted skin. This method of pan frying potatoes has a lot going for it.  You got the crispy skins, you got the tender insides, and you got it all coated with herbs and olive oil. It's delicious fare!

The mid-season potatoes--a lovely variety called Daifla--are ready for harvest in our potager. All purpose, small to medium-sized potatoes also should work well. For each serving, use several potatoes, an onion, and a few tablespoons of fresh herbs.

Scrub and boil the potatoes with their skins until they are tender (test to see if a knife goes easily into its centre).  Carefully squish them with a meat mallet (via the smooth side)/plate/the back of a wooden spoon, trying not to fragment them into separate pieces.

Mince your chosen herbs--I used flat-leaf parsley, rosemary, thyme (strip the tiny leaves off their stems), and chiffonade of basil.  Slice thinly an onion. Since Madame M gave me some splendid piment doux des Landes from her garden, I added them. When green, this mild chili pepper from the Basque region adds zest but not much heat, making a lovely addition to Piperade and other dishes. When red, it becomes quite sweet.  I removed the seeds and sliced them.

Select a heavy-bottom frying pan big enough to accommodate the potatoes in a single layer. Saute the onion in some olive oil (shallowly covering the bottom of a heavy-bottom skillet) for a couple of minutes until translucent. If using peppers, toss them in also.

Add the smashed potatoes/herbs and brown for about five minutes over medium-high heat. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Flatten out the potatoes with a spatula and flip them over occasionally to get them nice and browned.

About another five minutes later, they should be ready. If you want them crunchier, then cook them longer. Simple but stupendous at the same time! If topped with grated cheese and served with a green salad, you got yourself a complete meal.

In the potager, the stormy weather from last week continued a bit more providing an eerie background for the garden.

Mirabelle plum tree, rhubarb, currants, grapes & Spruce showcased in a dramatic landscape

It being near to twilight added even more atmosphere

Sunny days eventually returned, encouraging vegetable and fruits to get closer to maturity.

Smooth skinned Cantaloupes are closer to the size of honeydew melons probably because of abundant rain

Cream-coloured Butternut squash

When young, butternut squash looks more like squat zucchini.

What a cutie!

Tomato harvest started last week!

Blueberries are blue.

The entire garden appreciates all this rain.

Lavender, Rose of Sharon, and Weigelia

How would it be like if in the centre of your self there was a circular constellation of yellow stars?  This pink zinnia is taking it in stride.

It took Dayo about three weeks to recover completely from his paw surgery so he could once again be with me in the garden. The Calm One was essential in helping Dayo to heal as he patiently held Dayo's paw in his hand hours at a time during the first several days following removal of the stitches. The surgical collar was worthless as Dayo could easily reach his paw for a thorough lashing with the sandpaper he calls his tongue. Instead of Dayo's paw, The Calm One's hand got a frequent, rough cleaning.

Dayo conveniently sprawled on The Calm One's desk: one hand typed while the other acted like a bandage.

It's wonderful having Dayo back in the garden!

À la prochaine!

RELATED POSTS

How to transplant blueberries
Making Piperade

Chilled Golden Shrimp Chowder...and nature's pruning

With temperature in the nineties, my focus continues to be serving refreshing versions of staple menu items like Golden Shrimp Chowder.

Into very chilled, well seasoned, and blended-til-smooth chowder, I stirred in some heavy cream. Then I squirted some more cream in a lively zig zag pattern right from its carton. Chiffonade of basil was scattered on top, with extra placed in the middle which served as support for a few cooked shrimp. This soup is an ideal comfort food for hot days: creamy, tasty, substantial, but always cool, mon grand.

Merrily squirting cream about was akin to finger painting, once removed

Nature's pruners have been busy chez nous.  They first came about a week ago, during the night, bringing pelting rain and whistling wind as their tools. Lightning and thunder were their illumination and music, aiding them in their efforts though their work was just preparatory and mostly invisible.

A few days later they visited and again it was at night.  This time they brought machetes, buzzsaws, and bulldozers.  Apparently they decided some trees needed to be déraciné (uprooted) while others required severe amputations despite it being the wrong season for such surgery.

Green Gage plum with a ton of unripe fruit was uprooted

The forty-foot pear tree got a brutal pruning of a major limb.  Happily there's lots of  unripe pears remaining

Red Delicious apple tree was split right down the middle

Decisive as they were, they were also unfortunately quite sloppy, letting felled branches crush other standing trees, bushes, and plants while strewing the paths with fallen unripe fruit which made for wobbly perambulation.

The harvested onions and garlic curing under the pergola got a thorough bath.

After a few hours in the sun, they were once again dry and safe from rotting

Small pots with young plants enjoyed flying lessons though they did not learn how to land where they took off and could be found not only throughout the garden but outside of it. Iterating the old adage there are old pilots and bold pilots, but no old, bold pilots fell on limp leaves.

Saponaria and Dianthus 'pilots' needed a little TLC but are now nicely recovered from their dashing exploits

Some workers evidently took time off to play a quirky rendition of musical chairs.

Chairs found themselves in various spots in the garden.

Others attended a wedding where they threw flowers at the happy couple.

They chose lavender Rose of Sharon (probably matching the bride's dress)

Kudos to the worker with obviously artistic sensibilities who could see clearly that a commercial sign needed repositioning!

But all in all, the garden was better off for their attention: cleaner, more vibrant, and healthier. Though the work party got a little rough at times, they gratefully did not take the roof down.

The most prominent flowers in our garden at high summer are Rose of Sharon

However, nature could hire a clean-up crew which would sit perfectly well with me.

Monsieur M will cut the trunk (I lopped off all its branches) into firewood with his electric saw.

Dayo is progressing very well after his paw surgery.  His stitches were removed, and his toe looks great.  If healing continues at this pace, he will be able to resume his garden duties fairly soon ending his four-months-long (le pauvre!) incapacitation. 

Special delivery:  the latest Nike model!

He is gaining back weight while his coat is returning to its glossy self.

À la prochaine!

RELATED POSTS

Chilled Carrot/Red Currant/Orange Soup

Carmelised Blackberry Ice Cream Sundae

Being awash in blackberries, I am focused on using them in recipes.  Of course, fully ripe berries, with their heady, almost alcoholic flavour, are glorious simply sprinkled with a little sugar.  Though blackberries are a wonderful addition to various cake batters from shortbread to cobblers to coffee cake, the temperature chez nous has been in the upper nineties, therefore the oven stays unused for now. This sauce is a twist on a basic coulis, and it is an attractive one, as I adore all things caramel. The sauce also freezes well. However, what I appreciate most about it is that the fresh taste of blackberries remains intact as the berry coulis is added after the carmelised syrup is made.

Ingredients
(makes about 3/4 of a quart)

• Blackberries, fully ripe, 1 quart
• Sugar, 3 cups*
• Water, 2 cups*
• Lemon juice, freshly squeezed, several tablespoons
• Ice cream (I used vanilla)
• Fresh blackberries/frozen sauce for garnishing

*American measure, that is, 8 oz

Rinse berries.

Mash/crush them with a potato masher/blender/food processor/stick mixer.

Strain the pulp via a sieve or Foley mill.

You will have about two cups of puree.  Add lemon juice to taste. Reserve in the fridge.

Carmelising sugar is an interesting process, taking about one and a half hours.  A half a cup of water is added to the sugar in a spacious, heavy bottom saucepan.  Over medium low heat, the mixture is stirred from time to time.

In about forty-five minutes or so the water will evaporate. At first the mixture becomes thick.

Then it morphs into a lumpy, stiff mass.

Eventually it goes back to be being dry like the original sugar, but the texture is fluffy and powdery.

Finally it partially melts into soft lumps while turning golden. Be careful not to scorch it, adjusting the heat if necessary.

Take it off the heat.  Add the remaining one and a half cups of water and stir/whisk well.

Put the pot back on the heat until all the carmelised sugar is dissolved which takes about ten to fifteen minutes. The syrup will be a golden brown.

Check the chilled coulis if additional lemon juice is needed to brighten up the flavour.  Add it to the syrup. Chill well. The chilled sauce was a bit cloudy so I skimmed the top.

Once frozen, it's more like icy, gooey candy.

In a tall dessert dish/goblet/glass, layer some ice cream, then a few blackberries and sauce, another layer of ice cream, berries, and sauce, finishing with ice cream, sauce, berries, and a wodge of the frozen sauce.  If you want a less sweet, dryer presentation, use the sauce sparingly.  I didn't! This sundae was sublime--sweet, fruity, and cooling. 

The lozenge of intensely flavoured sherbert gleamed like a huge jewel.

The Calm One being quite fond of Ribena, a British fruit drink concentrate, suggested diluting the sauce to make a refreshing beverage which worked out well. The sauce can be frozen as ice cubes for more convenience -- just plop three cubes into a small glass of chilled water.

In the potager, the three blackberry bushes are putting out their first flush of berries.  The second flush will happen late summer.  This variety is thornless, so the ample harvest of giant berries is easily done.  If a gentle pull on the berry does not remove it from the bush, then that means it is not ripe enough. A ripe berry will not only be completely black and fragrant, but also each of its drupelets will be swollen and plump, touching each other. In addition to the berry-laden canes, there are several new canes which are the future fruit bearers for next season.  These need to be pruned about three feet from the ground.  Late winter, any side branches from these main canes will be trimmed to an one-foot length.

The first two canes on the left are new seasonal growth and will be fruit bearing next summer

They need to be watered deeply several times weekly, though I have never fertilised or staked them. I can't say I dutifully weed their beds either! Hence the care is minimal and in return you get an abundant, delicious harvest. However, like most fruits and veggies, they need loads of sunshine.

Our veterinary surgeon explained why Dayo's toe injury refused to heal.  Dayo's injured claw had needed to be completely clipped as it was no longer able to retract. As his new claw grew, it would retreat somewhere only to go to a different spot on another day. This back-and-forth motion essentially created holes in Dayo's paw!  His operation was a cross between a declawing and a partial amputation as only the last joint on his toe was removed.

He is recovering from the operation well and will most likely need to remain indoors for several weeks.

For a while, he would disappear for hours at a time, usually on the day when we needed to bring him to his doctor. One day, I decided to lure him out from wherever he was by opening noisily a can of tuna which along with butter is his favourite food.

We finally identified his hiding place!

À la prochaine!