Creamed Peas & New Potatoes

Friday, we went to the local Farmer's Market and some of our purchases included new red potatoes and fresh green peas. I found this recipe to make them creamed. Although everyone else liked them, our youngest, not a fan of peas, asked in disgust, "Why are you putting that on your blog? I thought you only put good stuff on there like pulla, lattyja, Grandma's rolls, and karjalan piirakka!" lol

Well, if you dare favor the opinion of the rest of us, try this recipe with your new peas and potatoes or share your favorite version that the biggest pea avoider would like. He did manage to get 8 peas down when his brother told him he had to eat them or get none of the brownies he just made for desert. lol That same son said, "Oh, I just love these new peas and potatoes!"

CREAMED PEAS & NEW POTATOES

from COOKS.COM

---

1 lb. whole tiny new potatoes
1 1/2 c. shelled peas or loose-pack frozen peas
1/4 c. chopped onion
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash of pepper
1 c. milk

Scrub potatoes; cut any large potatoes in half. If desired, remove a narrow strip of peel from around the center of each potato. In a medium saucepan cook potatoes in a small amount of boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Add peas and cook 5 to 10 minutes more or until tender. Drain.In a medium saucepan cook onion in butter until tender but not brown. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Stir in potatoes and peas; heat through. Season to taste. Serves 4.

MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS: Scrub potatoes; cut any large potatoes in half. Remove a narrow strip of peel from around the center of each potato. In a 2 quart casserole combine potatoes and 2 tablespoons water. Microwave, covered, on 100% power (high) for 8 minutes. Stir in peas. Cook, covered, on high for 4 to 6 minutes more or until vegetables are tender. Drain. Continue as above.

I must say I was surprised when I couldn't find a creamed peas and potatoes recipe in the Betty Crocker or any other standard cookbooks.

When I make rice, I want Karjalan Piirakka

If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for  . . . 

Yesterday I was making rice for lunch and it made me think of making rice porridge 

which made me think of Karjalan Piirakka. 

Then, I remembered my Mother recently talking about how she'd always wanted to try Karjalan Piirakka made with barley porridge filling, but she had never made it, which made me want to try it. 

For the Barley Filling, just follow the instructions on the package, but then add about 5-6 cups of milk to cook with it as well to make it porridge like you do for the rice porridge.

I attempted this with whole barley grain and it was a miserable failure.  I  guess that's why there is such a product as "Quick Barley" because I  cooked the other all day and it still wasn't ready and when it was I never could get it like a porridge.  

Here you see the different looks on this cookie sheet full with some barley ones and some rice ones.  You can see the flecks in the barley and they are darker, especially in the picture above.

I read an old Finnish cookbook that even adds carrot in with the rice.  Yummy.  Sounds like Porkkana Laatikko to me. 

And of course you can use  mashed potatoes for the filling.  This is what they used during the war when neither rice nor barley was easily available.

Now my Mother suggests trying rutabaga filling.  I found this recipe blog, mainly Estonian  (cousins to the Finns), but a few Finnish recipes and one is for Karelian pasties. Check her out.  She confirms many fillings may be used!

Egg Gravy over Mashed Potatoes and Tilapia

I was cooking some tilapia in the crock pot when my Mother asked what I was going to serve with it.  She suggested Egg Gravy over mashed potatoes.  

She used to make egg gravy often.  I'd never made it because it was just something she would just whipped up.  I say that because she uses a wire ship to stir the gravy and would prepare it so quickly.  So, she talked me through it. Since she never really did cook from a  recipe, this is the best I came up from.  I even put the saucepan on her lap so she could stir it and teach me the correct consistency.  

Egg Gravy

Boil 3 eggs about 9 minutes.

Melt 1 T butter in a sauce pan.

Add some chopped onion to it. 

Don't let it get brown.

Add 2 cups milk

stirring continuously with a wire whisk.

Add 1/4 cup flour

stirring continuously until it thickens.

Stir in some salt and pepper to taste.

After you've peeled and rinsed the eggs, slice them both ways with an egg slicer and gently stir them into the gravy.

Serve over mashed potatoes.

A crisp green salad also goes so well with it. 

Spudnuts

Tonight's Recipe Exchange theme is "Potatoes".  We are having it the day our kids return back to school from their 8 school day "Spud Harvest" vacation.  My husband's family lived in Scotland for 2 years and they called it "Taddy Holidays".  

I certainly didn't need to ask anyone for any ideas of recipes using potatoes, but it was a great reason to finally ask for and make this Spudnut recipe we used to help our Drill Team Advisor Jessie make for a fundraiser each year.  They are so yummy.  

Spudnuts

3 1/2 tbsp. dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 c mashed potatoes (instant may be used unless you can taste the difference like I can:)
1/2 cup sugar
4 tbsp oil or shortening
3 tsp salt
2 eggs beaten lightly
2 cups scalded milk
7 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in water. Cream the shortening, sugar, salt, and potatoes together. Add eggs and yeast. Mix well. Then add flour and milk alternating. Let rise. Roll out fairly thick, cut out and let rise again on greased sheets. Fry in deep fat and glaze. You don't want your grease too hot or they will be doughy in the middle.

Glaze:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 tsp vanilla

Reunion Potato Salad

We went to visit my husband's parents over "Spud Harvest".  His Mother made me a nice dinner including homemade potato salad.  I haven't had that since my Mother used to make it for us.  It was so yummy.  I know it is a labor of love and it so good.  

Here are each of their yummy, homemade with much, love potato salad recipes.  

My Mother-in-law's Potato Salad

(coming soon)

My Mother's "Reunion Potato Salad"

From the Kitchen of Finlandia Ranch

8 medium red potatoes, cubed

4 to 5 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

2/3 cup sour cream

3 Tbps. sugar (this is key)

3 Tbps. cider or red wine vinegar

2 tsp. prepared mustard

1 1/2 tsp. dried minced onion

1 tsp. celery seed

salt and pepper to taste

Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water.  Cover and bring to a boil; cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes.  Drain and cool.  Place in a bowl; add boiled eggs.  Combine the remaining ingredients; pour over potato mixture and toss to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight. 

Yield:  8-10 servings.

Delivering Harvest Treats to Harvest Workers

Twice this week we made  my Mother's Finnish recipe for  Old World Fresh Apple Butter Cake. Click on the title above and you'll find the recipe from a post I made last year.  

This year one of our sons helped his Dad make this as a bundt cake for my birthday.  We visited the place I first had my birthday cake during harvest time and ate my birthday cake there.  

Notice the white icing on it?  

Well, when I was 3 my Mother made me a beautiful white cake with white frosting and took it out to the field to share

 with the workers.  

When my Dad brought the combine to a stop, 

the white cake was suddenly a "chocolate" (dusty) cake!!  After that, my birthday cakes became bundt cakes.  This one is a favorite of mine.  I had to laugh when he put a white glaze on it because we were in the spud field after all.   Thankfully, this year, it had already been harvested there and we avoided the "chocolate".  

 

Then then we went to the spud cellars and delivered mini bundt cakes they'd made to the Harvest workers.  

Then I made them for the Young Women's activity where we deliver a treat one day of harvest to the other Young Women who are working in the Potato Harvest.  

I just love the memories, smell, sight, sound and touch of "Spud Harvest"!  

Meat and Potatoes

When a friend of mine asked what Finnish recipe recipe I'd suggest she make her husband, knowing he's a big meat and potatoes eater, I shared this Karjalan Paisti recipe.  This comes from the Eastern province of Karelia in Finland.  Since the Karelian colors are red and black, I suggest serving it with a red and black place setting. It's the type of recipe you just put in all the ingredients and cook on low in the oven all afternoon.  I suspect you could leave it in the slow cooker or crock pot all day, but I've yet to try it that way.

Then it's served over boiled or mashed potatoes. My Mother served this a few times a year growing up, mainly when guests came.

Karelian Ragout
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 4-5 hours
Oven temperature 300 degrees F
Suitable for freezing

1 lb. pork (try to get meaty pork, so you don't have to cut out the fat)
1 lb. mutton (this is optional, as it's expensive or just use a little bit of lamb)
1 lb. beef (or other meat like venison)
water
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
2 onions, quartered
15-20 whole allspice
1 bay leaf

1. Cut up the meats into chunks and place in a casserole dish. (She always used her old yellow largest pyrex bowl).
2. Add the salt, allspice and onions and pour over enough water to just cover the meat.
3. Cook in a slow oven until tender. Cover the dish with a lid towards the end of the cooking time.

Here's another recipe to serve over mashed potatoes I need to try sometime. Just gotta find the reindeer first:)

Braised Reindeer
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Suitable for freezing too.
3 lb frozen reindeer meat or venison
3/4 - 1 lb. freshside of pork or bacon
1 tablespoon salt
10 whole allspice
1 1/4 cups water
1. Cut up the pork or bacon into thin strips and brown in a cooking pot. Cut the frozen reindeer or venison into thin strips, add in small amounts to the pot and brown.
2. Add the seasoning and the water. Cook slowly with the lid on until done.
Butter or oil can be used instead of the pork or bacon.

Idaho Baked Potato Soup

Well, tonight I'm going to serve fruit soup, of which the recipe is posted here in July 2007, but I was considering making a Potato Soup.

First, my husband made a fun potato soup recipe with our Vita Mix last week. The Recipe is:
(oops, gotta find it again)
Then at my request, my sister-in-law shared how she makes potato soup.
boil cubed potatoes, mash half the potatoes somewhat, add cream, run the other half of the potatoes in food processor, add bacon bits and green onions, salt and pepper.

And finally my Mother wants me to make "Idaho Baked Potato Soup" for her on the recommendation of a long time friend who sent her the recipe on a postcard.

Idaho Baked Potato Soup
2/3 cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
7 cups milk
4 large baking potatoes, baked, peeled, and cubed (about 4 cups)
(When I make baked potatoes next, I'll just bake 4 extra ones in the oven and then make this.)
4 green onions, sliced
12 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled (so nice to keep a bag of bacon bits on hand)
1 1/4 cups shredded cheese
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

It's "Spud Harvest" so it's time to glean, bake or mash, etc. some potatoes.

The kids are out of school for "Spud Harvest"! That's the name given to the time to harvest and the vacation from school to help with the harvest.

The "Activity Days" girls are out today "gleaning" the Bishop's spud fields. Last time they made bags they'll put the potatoes in to give to local needy families.

I have fond memories of this time of year working in the spud fields. I also remember going to the high school football games and buying piping hot "baked potatoes" at the concession stand. I like baked not steamed potatoes! When you wrap the potatoes in foil, they become steamed.

I like to wash the skins well, poke a couple of fork holes in each (You must poke each potato whether you bake or microwave them or they'll explode out of their skin) and sometimes roll them in salt. To me, the best way to bake potatoes is to bake them in a 400-425 degree oven for about an hour for 6 medium sized potatoes. Where I live you can buy a box of potatoes based on their size, so you can buy a box of 90s, 80, 60s, 50s, etc. The higher the number refers to how many potatoes fit in the box. I just heard another tip about baking potatoes. Put your potatoes in muffin tins, so that you can remove all of them from the oven at once by taking out the tin. Great idea!!

Baked potatoes can be served so many ways. Growing up my brother would empty the potato out of its skin, mash it down on his plate and smear butter and corn on top of it. If I only ate half of my baked potato, he'd ask me if he could eat the other half with the rest of his meal. I like to keep bake potatoes in their skin and even eat some of the skin -- this is why you wash it well.

Names of potatoes:

spuds:
In Dec 2006, I discussed spudnuts, delicious doughnuts made with potatoes, on this blog.

taters:
I love to order tater tots vs. fries to eat, when they are available.

murphies:
I understand that my paternal Grandfather used to call potatoes this, since potatoes supposedly came to America with the Irish.

tatties:
When my husband lived in Scotland, they used to boil turnips with their potatoes and call it "nips and tatties". I really like the taste of these mashed together. I use about 2/3 potatoes to 1/3 turnips. Another variation is to add carrots. We were at a friend's house for Sunday dinner and the husband was making mashed potatoes, but he threw in some dehydrated carrots from their food storage. This combination also tasted great.

My Father tells us cream was often their gravy for mashed potatoes, since it was readily available growing up on the ranch. I like to combine red potatoes with yellow or other potatoes in the same mashed potatoes too. What do I add, whatever I have on hand -- anything from real butter to butter buds, minced garlic or garlic salt, cream cheese sometimes but always milk (if you warm it, your potatoes won't cool off as quickly). Smashed potatoes versus whipped potatoes seem more satisfying to me.

peruna:
This is the Finnish word based on the fact that potatoes came from Peru.

papas:
This is Spanish for potatoes of course, but we call my Dad's mashed potatoes Papa's papas.

"Massilan Pojat" The Massila Boys -- When my Mother was young, her Mother always read to them while they ate. Sometimes she had a hard time getting them to eat. It become a tradition to here this story about 2 magpies stealing shiny jewelry from the neighbors window as her parents got them to eat their boiled potatoes. My maternal grandfather liked his "Massilan Pojat" or boiled potatoes with just a little bit of butter on top of each bite her ate. We still call them this.

Share how you like your potatoes.