The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

Spud’s The Word!

(By Bonnie Carnes)

If you visited the Stronghurst Farmers Market on Monday, August 22nd then you would have seen the fresh potato harvest from a lot of hard work.

A team of about 12 people met the day before at the farm of Michael Mayer near Media to harvest (till and pick- up) potatoes. When all was said and done, they ended up with an entire truck bed full…3300 pounds of potatoes!

Michael has grown and shared potatoes with friends and neighbors for several years. This was his first time selling them at the Stronghurst Farmer’s Market. There was a great turn out and many folks will be enjoying these fresh “spuds”!

This year Michael planted and harvested 3 types of potatoes, Red, Yukon Gold and a small, unique variety of purple potatoes.

Come to Stronghurst in September for the last two Farmer’s Markets: September 12th & 26th

Home Fries Recipe

(2 to 4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (about 1/8-inch thick)
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or 2 tablespoons olive oil + 1 tablespoon bacon fat)
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium to large skillet on medium high heat until sizzling. Place a single layer of potato slices on the bottom of the pan. Add a light layer of sliced onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add another layer of potatoes, another layer of onion slices, sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Keep layering until you've used up your potatoes and onions.

Lower the heat to medium and cover the pan. Let cook for about 10 minutes, until the potato layer at the bottom is nicely browned. You can move aside a little bit with a fork to see if the bottom edges are browned. You may need to reduce the heat a little as the potatoes cook so they brown and don't burn.

Gently flip the potatoes over, a section of the pan at a time, so that the layer that was on the top is now on the bottom, and the browned potatoes are now on the top. Add another tablespoon of oil. The oil will help the browning. Cover and let cook for another 5-10 minutes, until the bottom layer is now browned.

Once the bottom layer is browned, remove the lid of the pan and let continue to cook for 5 more minutes. This additional cooking will help the potatoes dry out just a little bit more.