At 4 a.m. the next morning, a dozen policemen showed up and dug up the entire garden, but didn't find any guns. Confused, the man wrote to his son telling him what happened and asking him what to do next.
His son's reply was: "Just plant your potatoes, Dad."
I love that joke about one of my favorite vegetables and, if I had to pick a food that is both satisfying and versatile as well as less expensive per pound than most other vegetables, I would pick the potato.
Back in the day when my mother shopped for this starchy tuber, she had three choices...red, a thin-skinned white and russet. The first two were usually boiled and the third was baked or fried. These days, most consumers are able to buy and enjoy red and russet potatoes along with yellow, or Yukon Gold, and sometimes blue and purple potatoes.
At our house, we like our potatoes in soups and stews, salads, main dishes and side dishes. They can be baked, fried and boiled and show up at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sometimes potatoes can even be included in desserts. With someone's clever invention of the cloth, potato-baking bag, potatoes can be baked quickly and with great results in the microwave. (See post #54)
The recipe for bacon-tied, onion potatoes probably started out as camper-food but, it turns out just as well baked in a traditional oven. This is an easy meal to prepare on a night when you are just too tired to do much cooking.
Bacon-tied Potatoes with Onion
1 medium sweet onion, sliced
2 large red potatoes, halved lengthwise
4 strips of bacon
Divide onions on the bottom half of each potato. Replace the top of each potato and wind each potato with two bacon strips. Secure with toothpicks. Place potatoes in a loaf pan or baking pan and tent loosely with foil. Bake, at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Continue baking until potato is tender and bacon is crispy. Remove toothpicks before serving. To serve, coarsely mash or cut up potato with a fork and add butter or margarine to taste. Serves 2
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