Vernon WadeThere are lots of cooks out there who actually know what they are doing. I pretty much taught myself to cook, out of necessity. I haven’t a clue most of the time, but I do love to eat. 

I have made everything posted here. If I can do it, you certainly can. Someday, if there is enough interest, I will gather all these recipes into a cookbook. In the meantime, in the spirit of dashes, dollops and three-fingered pinches, I present them here for you to try. Let me know what you think.

There’s not much to making mashed potatoes. They are tasty, filling and inexpensive. If you don’t finish them at dinner, you can fry them in butter for breakfast.

Ingredients

 

  • 1/3rd cup of buttermilk, more or less
  • 4-6 baking potatoes, peeled and cut up
  •  2 cloves minced garlic
  •  ¾ stick of butter
  •  salt, pepper. paprika and dill, to taste
  •  half a handful of frozen peas (optional)

 

Peel a half dozen potatoes and cut them into chunks. Any potatoes will do, I used bakers. Adjust the number of taters to your appetite. Place cut up, peeled potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Add a little salt and a minced clove of garlic. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender but not falling apart.

When potatoes are cooked, drain and return to very low heat. Add another clove of minced garlic and three-quarters stick of butter and mash the potatoes, stirring in the butter as it melts. Add buttermilk, a splash at a time until desired consistency is reached. Stir in salt, pepper, paprika, and dill, to taste. I add a pinch at a time and lean heavily on the salt and pepper, exercising more caution with the paprika and dill. I want just enough paprika to slightly tint the potatoes and add an almost imperceptible heat. The dill compliments the buttermilk, but should not overpower.

You may stir in a handful of frozen peas or some diced green onion at the end. Once the peas are warmed, it is ready to serve.