Fingerlings

For some reason this Fingerling makes me think of Maurice Sendak and his book about the child whose father is off at sea. Can't remember the name of it now, and there are ghost children in the book that are called something like Fingerling, and her little brother is stolen by the Fingerlings and turned to ice. Anyway, this is sort of a gross word for food because a fingerling potato is shaped like a finger, a pudgy stubby finger grant you. But when roasted. they are sweet and tender—and of course more expensive. They are just potatoes. You say potato, I say potato. I'm tired today, can you tell?

Potatoes are in the nightshade family, plants that at poisonous if you eat their leaves. Potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers—all nightshade. I read long ago that if you have arthritis you shouldn't eat these foods—it will make your pain worse. Some people avoid the nightshade family for just this reason. There are many reasons not to eat certain foods and not all of them apply to everyone. What I mean to say here is eating is personal. It can be mindful, which it hasn't been for me in a while. Lately I've been more frantic, as the details wind down from the divorce—I seem to be keying up. Yesterday I secured new insurance—for the condo and the car. Together they are $70 more than before, mostly because I'm in a different county, not because I'll be single soon. My advice is, if you are working out the details of your expenses, be sure to call your insurance agents first. It's not a given that your policy will remain the same. Your support payment could be calculated low.

Okay then, when you dig your potatoes, use a pitch fork, not the wiry tined one, but the thick pronged one. Dig carefully so you don't puncture the potatoes. Of course, you will puncture some. Eat those right away. Potatoes grow pretty much directly under the plant and around it perhaps one foot. Chef George at NCI said you can grow a substantial amount of fingerlings in a 5 gallon bucket, they'll just fill that thing up. I don't suppose I could plant them now and have them come up in the spring. That happens naturally—then I wouldn't have to remember whether it is Good Friday or not. That's when you plant, you know.

Okay then, happy day,

Flower