Colcannon | A Hearty Fall Meal

This is a hearty potato dish from Ireland. I was watching Food Network and saw this being made in Ireland. We have an abundance of fresh potatoes form the garden and we had one last head of cabbage waiting to be used up. In Ireland, this is pure comfort food! I knew my husband would like it and it is so fitting for fall.

Ingredients

15-20 small red or yellow potatoes

1 small head of green cabbage

1/2 of a Ham or Pork Roast (Roasted or Cooked in the Crock Pot)

1/2 stick Butter

1/2 cup milk, half & half, or cream

2 tsp Salt

Directions

Wash your potatoes thoroughly. Leave the skins on. Steam them in a steamer pot or place them in a large stock pot with only enough water to barely cover them. Let them steam until cooked through or all the water is almost gone. This helps maintain some of the nutrients from the skin by steaming them first. Remove them from the pot. Let them cool. Then using a small knife or your hands, gently peel them. The steamed skins should fall right off.

Shred the head of cabbage and lightly steam it in a water bath or steamer pot until bright green.

Shred your cooked pork roast or ham.

Return your peeled potatoes to the pot. Add 1/4 stick of butter and salt. Mash the potatoes. Add milk, half & half, or cream.

Mix in the steamed cabbage.

Mix in the shredded pork or ham.

Serve with a pat of butter and a dash of salt.

Potato Soup

This potato soup is lovely on a crisp fall day. It's hearty enough to fill you up with out adding meat but of course, my husband requested his with sausage. It was still delicious!

Ingredients

2-3lbs Red Potatoes with skins on if you like

3 medium carrots

3 stalks celery

1 large onion

3-4 cups of milk

4-5 cups of water

2 TBS Butter

1 cup shredded Cheddar

Chopped Scallions

Salt & Pepper

1 lb Sausage (if desired)

Directions

There are two ways to make this soup: a quick way and a little bit longer way. Both are delicious.

Quick Method

Place diced potatoes, carrots, onions, celery in a dutch oven or large pot. Fill with water just to the top of the veggies not above the veggies. Let the veggies simmer in the water until most of the water is evaporated. Then use a masher to mash some of the veggies but still leave some whole for texture.

Add the milk, salt, and pepper.

Garnish with shredded cheddar and scallions.

Longer Method

Saute the onions and celery in a saute pan with butter until soft.

Boil Carrots and Potatoes in just enough water to cover the veggies. Boil until the water is almost gone.

Add the sauteed onions and celery. Mash with a masher but leave some veggies whole.

(If you like a more blended soup, you can use an immersion blender to puree the soup or a food processor.)

Add the milk, salt, and pepper.

Saute sausage in a saute pan. Add to the soup if desired.

Garnish with cheese and fresh scallions or chives.

August Harvest

This is what we are harvesting out of the garden this August!

We dug up our first hill of potatoes the other day! They are so crisp and delicious. We have just been eating them diced up and roasted in the oven.

Oven Roasted Potatoes

4-5 large Red Potatoes, cubed

2-3 TBS Olive Oil

1-2 tsp Sea Salt

Sprinkle of Pepper

Fresh Herbs: Rosemary, Parsley, Thyme

2-3 Cloves Diced or Pressed Garlic

Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Turn on Broiler for 2 minutes (watch it constantly) to create a crispy layer of potatoes on top!

Enjoy!

Garlic

It's time to harvest garlic. We pulled all of ours and are letting it dry in the cool house for 6-7 days. After that we will brush the dirt and top layer of paper off of each head and then store it for the winter. If you are interested in planting garlic next year in your garden, you have to get started on it soon. You actually plant the cloves in the fall...like tulip bulbs. I will have a post on How to Plant Garlic soon.

The top part of the garlic is called "scape." It is like a small head of garlic with little purple cloves in it. You can cook with these and use them just like garlic. I think they have a little more of a potent garlic taste.

I made Garlic Scape Pesto last night.

Garlic Scape Pesto

1 head of peeled garlic scapes

Basil

Parsley

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Parmesan Cheese

Pine Nuts (optional, but add a great texture)

Blend in the food processor and add more olive oil as necessary to create the consistency you like.

I served this on grilled chicken breasts!

We have also just started to harvest our little crop of corn. It did not do well this year at all. We have tiny little ears but they still taste good!

We both enjoyed spending the evening harvesting all of these veggies. It's so relaxing at the end of the day to spend time together in the garden.

(google images)