Pride Go Beforeth the Fall

     Well when my oldest son says that perhaps, I should take a break on the poem writing, he is like E.F.Hutton, I should listen!!  My oldest son is like an old soul, in a young man's body. I trust his opinion above everyone else. Because number one, he delivers criticism in a way, that never hurts any one's feelings. Second, he has written some really good poems. Not every line has to rhyme, sage advice from such an awesome kid.

     It has been real hot here lately, when I got out of church yesterday, it was 93 degrees. Driving home I noticed that the hydrangeas were all wilting, even the ones in the shade. That is an indication of a real hot day. The cicada bugs were already in full concerto. You know the bugs, that usher in the hottest part of the day.

     When it is that hot, your options suddenly slim down. Unfortunately, I have a major open wound on my leg, so I can't go to the pool. Isn't that so apropos? Hottest weather of the year, and Paige gets burned on son's 4 wheeler, so no swimming in the pool.

  Little secret though,  I did make a vow to never swim in the local waters around here anymore for three reasons. One, the horseflies ate me alive once, and two I swam in a beautiful place called Putney Falls, a really gorgeous place to swim but,  I had a leech attach itself to the bottom of my foot. Thirdly, refer to number two, plus I get creeped out by the stuff floating around under the water, that I can't see.

     Amazing as you age, your brain still registers, the young you. Even though , in the morning, your knees creak, you did not sleep well and the new ailment du jour, is the bottom of your heel is giving you trouble. If I had a nickle for every time I got up and diagnosed myself with a rare disease, via the "Internet", I would be a rich woman. Truth is, I am just aging.

     When you get older you love to take shortcuts. Being a chef, I love to take shortcuts in cooking. I do it all the time, here is one that I do: Two cans of  Bush's beans, with 1 pound of  bacon, cooked and crumbled into the beans. Save the bacon grease to saute a chopped onion in, drain the onions and add to the beans. There you have doctored up beans that did not take hours to make. (still love your beans., Mom) But that is not recipe.

This recipe is for my bestie Jasmine a.k.a Princess Buttercream.

Jasmine's Bruschetta with a few Paige Twists (the no hassle way)


1 loaf of Hannaford's Wheat Frnech Bread
1 container of Hannaford's Pesto Pasta Sauce
1 vidalia onion, julienned
3 cloves of garlic,minced
1 bag of Baby Spinach
1 container of Backyard Cocktail tomatoes cut into slices
1 8oz package of Galbani, Fresh Mozzarella, cut into slices
1 package of Perdue Short Cuts Grilled Chicken
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
Fresh basil leaves, I got my from my garden, cut chiffonade (thin strips)
Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste.

In a saute pan heat the olive oil and saute the onion and garlic, until caramelized. Add the spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted and set aside. Cut your french bread in half, and then cut each half lengthwise. Divide the pesto sauce evenly between the four parts and spread. Now that the spinach mixture is cooled, divide it up between the four pieces, add the tomatoes cut into slices and the chicken. Divide up the fresh mozzarella evenly over the four pieces..LOL (it is not an exact science, just do what feels right). Bake until crispy and the mozzarella has melted. Top with the fresh basil and enjoy!

 We are all worms, but I do believe I am a glowworm.  ~Winston Churchill

Caution, Bumpy road Diet Ahead

     I hate dieting!!, can I say that on here? It makes me short-tempered, unhappy and scary angry. However, if I wasn't partying gastronomically, I would not be in this situation. I feel like I need to complain to some secretary working in the office of "Thyroid Dysfunction", her sole job is to listen to complaints, no talking, just agreeing and consoling. Yaa that is the office I need, What is the number?.

     A guy cut me off in traffic today, and I saw it playing out even before it happened. He was impatient, and I am on a diet, not a good combination.  He kept nosing out, of course he is not nosing out in front of the car, in front of me. That guy has a beamer and from Connecticut too much liability. I bet we can all guess what I did? He cut out in front of me, I layed on the horn, he flipped me the bird. God, it is great to live in America!!! Land of the " Is that yours?", and "Are you in line?". 

     Instead of inventing 3-D television, don't you think healthy doughnuts are long overdue? I should stop talking about doughnuts, otherwise I might romance getting in the car, and driving across the street, because it's dark and I don't want to get run over to get doughnuts. I heard if you have a Diet Coke with it, the calories go in reverse? Ha I wish, that is my problem, I adhered to the Diet Coke rule too rigidly.

     So this new diet that takes an honorable mention to the low-fat. no-fat, no-sugar, low-sugar, all organic on a Tuesday when the moon is full. But there is one catch, that is rather attractive! This diet you have to follow just 6 days, on the 7th you can pretty much go all in.  But here are the rules. 1# no white stuff, that means flour, cheese,cereal, pasta, potatoes. 2# Don't drink your calories. 3# no fruit whatsoever.  and Hallelujah on the 7th day, you can go crazy!!. This is my kinda diet, although today I wanted to ram my car into the knucklehead that had the audacity to flip me the bird. Working good so far. Seems to me, all I need is a loaf of bread and a stick of butter.

     So now that I have turned over a forced new leaf, I want to share the ways to anger your tormentors eating without the Carbohydrate crutch. If you stopped and looked at what we shovel down our pie holes it includes lots and lots of carbohydrates. I never realized how many carbohydrates are in the supermarket, until you have to avoid them. Guess what I bought today???, nope not carrot sticks, brown rice crisps nope, I bought pork rinds!!!, yep the exact thing that 5 years ago, advertising said "Might as well eat a gallon jar of mayonnaise", haha who is laughing now?, no carbohydrates or sugars!!! I love science.

     This is not a post about eating pork rinds, because we all can. Only I just realized it a mere 2 hours ago. It is about lentils. They are a favorite of mine, and from what I hear, NOT A CARBOHYDRATE. I like lentils, and the flavor is something that I could work with. The recipe that follows is my breakfast every morning. I scramble two eggs, with some salsa and lentils and I am set. Surprisingly it holds me until lunch.

Lentils

1 package lentils (1 #)
3ozs butter
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
8 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan melt butter and saute onions and garlic until onions are translucent. Add lentils and toss, add can of diced tomatoes, stir well. Add chicken stock and cook on medium low heat until lentils are soft. Season and enjoy.

     People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas.~ Author Unknown

Who ate the last hot dog?, and where is the ketchup?

     This time of year, I run into people that I haven't seen in a long time. Usually in the frozen food section of the local supermarket, I do a lot of my catching up this way. When you live in a small town, you are bound to run into someone you know. A trip that was supposed to be 20 minutes turns into two hours, the perfect environment for socializing. Supermarkets are excellent places to share dinner ideas. I am always in search of great recipes. The quicker the better, I say. Working full time and taking care of a family, makes it a bit challenging to be a Julia Child in the kitchen. My boys require 3 components to their food. 1. kid-friendly, 2. tastes good, 3. recognizable. No fancy food, no frills and certainly no foreign words. So you can see my dilemma, when organizing dinner.

     What follows is my version of the Mother's Survival Guide to feeding Boys. First and foremost, be sure to have ketchup on hand at all times. Ketchup is the favored condiment of men. It goes with almost everything and you can never purchase too much ketchup. If you by a freak of nature run out of ketchup replace with the following ranch dressing, mayonnaise or barbecue sauce.

     There comes a time when your husband might bring home a Ziploc bag, with an unidentified white paper wrapped brick inside. Don't panic, it is only some animal that one of his buddies successfully caught. Living in the country, I have seen those Ziploc bags more than once. Myself, I would rather eat USDA approved meat, but that is just me. Thankfully,  my husband and sons reserve venison steak breakfasts for when I am at work.
     Every man's kitchen should have emergency items that can be put into use, when Mom tries to serve girly food like tea sandwiches and wraps. Make sure you have white bread, not any of those birdseed types, just good old white bread. With that white bread, you should have a variety of items. Hot Dogs and or Bologna is the epitome of sandwich meat, the recipe should not be messed with. Plenty of tuna when the bologna runs out. American cheese, not Havarti, not Pepper Jack, just American.  Have on hand plenty of eggs, you never know when they will get in the deviling mood.

     All cupboards should include lots of macaroni and cheese, not the fancy kind, just Kraft, and plenty of it, because that is just a snack. Cans of Chef Boyardee, cans of baked beans, smoked oysters, pickled herring and any other canned meat that Mom hates.
     Make sure that during dinner, that you have game scores available on a moments notice. If you have small kitchen like me, it would be wise to stand off to the side, if the opposing team scores. In fact in a perfect world, there would be a TV in the kitchen, and a hamper. One stop shopping, makes life less complicated. The recipe that follows is my Macaroni and Cheese, but it is important to use Wisconsin style cheddar, or rather yellow cheddar. For some reason kids have this idea, that all macaroni and cheese that is white, in fact, is really not mac and cheese! Stick with yellow cheddar, yer all set.

Kid friendly, Kid tested, Kid approved Macaroni and Cheese

1 pound box elbow macaroni(stay away from the trendy wheat and multi grain, they know!!)
1 cup chicken stock
3 cups milk
3 ozs butter
3 ozs flour
2 tsps mustard
2 healthy dashs of hot sauce
4 cups of sharp cheddar cheese
1 small onion diced fine
salt and pepper to taste
10 saltines crushed finely
2 ozs melted butter

In a pot bring 4 quarts of lightly salted water to a boil, and boil the macaroni for about 10 minutes, or until tender. When done, drain and set aside. In a sauce pan melt the butter and add the onion and saute(onion has to be small, so kids radar can not detect) cook until the onion is translucent. Add the flour and turn the heat down, so flour does not burn. Cook for 2 minutes, this is done to remove the flour taste. Add the stock and milk and whisk on medium low heat, more on the low side(so you have more control), until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and season with mustard, hot sauce and salt and pepper.  Add 3 cups of the cheddar to the hot sauce and whisk until smooth. In a large bowl add the cooked macaroni, season again with salt and pepper, add the last remaining cup of cheddar, mix well. Add the sauce and mix until well incorporated. Place in a well greased oven prove dish, and top with the crushed saltines mixed with melted butter. In a 350F oven cook until crumbs are browned.

Probably nothing in the world arouses more false hopes than the first four hours of a diet.~Dan Bennett

Stuffing the ballot.

     The month of November brings the elections of our leaders, the honoring of our veterans, and the return of Libby's Pumpkin, Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce, and my personal favorite Bell's Seasoning to the supermarket shelves. The supermarket is a well oiled machine of suggestion. You may just be going in for milk, and come out with mulling mix, apple cinnamon air freshener and that "spray on your windows" fake snow. That is what supermarkets do best, they target people like my husband and I. This time of the year, we are attracted to any catalyst that will launch us into the mood. What better place to get in the spirit than at your local supermarket.

     Yesterday, I was waiting in line to pay for my groceries, and I noticed the once abundant display of Halloween paraphernalia. It now looked desolate and abandoned, and an employee was moving it all to it's final resting place, the 50% marked off cart. Upon further inspection, another employee was pulling up the rear with brightly colored items of red, gold, and green. In front of me, where only a mere month ago, were ghost pez dispensers and marshmallow pumpkins, now held chocolate Santa's and snowmen pez dispensers.  You never see the oompa loompas of the supermarkets. You know, the ones that roll the seasonal merchandise out, luring you in to buy Glistening Snow Glade. But I digress....
     The big dinner, is kinda like the big game for my husband.  Each aspect complimenting the next. Stuffing is the big dilemma for me at the moment. Part of me, is rooted in tradition and another part of me is looking for change.  I think my husband is too, because when I got my "prized" Food Network Magazine, November addition, it had 50 mix and match stuffing for your turkey. That was when I heard the word "cornbread". My husband really wants the cornbread, but I must confess something,...every time I think of cornbread stuffing, the slimy, salty, gloopy oyster seems to rear it's ugly head in my vision.  I must get over that and think outside the box.

     Working in the restaurant industry, I have seen my fair share of stuffing recipes. Some were really good, like maple roasted garlic and pecan stuffing, while others were terrible, like sausage and whatever you could find, to bind it together stuffing. When you have the pleasure of working with Executive Chefs, you figure out early on, that some are collecting a paycheck, while others really love food and are genuine in conveying that to the public. In my years working for a local restaurant, there were just a few Executive Chefs, that I completely respected. I instinctively knew who, I should pay attention to, and who I should give lip service to. I learned valuable information relating to Thanksgiving, in all those years.    

     Behind the scenes are magic, just let me tell you that. We, the kitchen staff arrive early, coddling each entree to the best of its ability.  Temping lamb, turkey, pork, prime rib, and still representing those that only eat seafood or no meat at all. Most of us, have family at home, trying to adapt to our lifestyle.  They sit patiently at home, waiting for a phone call, or the crunch of the pavement, when our cars arrive home. Putting off their holiday, because they love us. They manage the home front, fielding all questions that may arise, because of our absence. It is the business, and they, our spouses or significant others know that.  It truly at times, is the nature of the business. My husband, bless his heart, knew this and he put up with more than he should have. There were many holidays that I called and said "Well honey, it is going to be a little longer." It killed me to make that phone call, because I looked at my comrades and they were in the same boat as myself. We were an anomaly, a ship without a captain.

     Imagine that, it took me 21 years to get off the insanity ship. I finally said enough!  In the chef world, unfortunately that equates to a lesser paying job, but the moments that I have watched my children see the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and open the Christmas presents, that I could hardly keep secret anymore, are far more priceless than, temping the roast leg of lamb while waiting for the guests to arrive. You swap adrenaline for family, you settle down. I have been waiting for this all my life. What follows is a saltine cracker stuffing recipe, in honor of my grandmother Barbara Landers, one thing that she knew how to do was stuffing.

Saltine Cracker Stuffing

1/4 cup butter

1 large onion diced

6 stalks of celery diced
4 cups of crushed premium saltine cracker
1 cup chicken stock
2 tsp Bells seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
dash of pepper

Saute onions and celery in butter until golden, pour 1 cup of chicken stock and sauteed vegetables over crushed crackers and toss. Add 2 tsps Bell's seasoning, salt and pepper and toss. Stuff turkey or don't stuff turkey as desired.

I love chicken. I would eat chicken fingers on Thanksgiving if it were socially acceptable.~Todd Barry

Healthy fries~oxymoron?

Healthy, what is your definition of healthy?  Here is the Merriam-Webster definition~ adjective: 1. enjoying health and vigor of body, mind or spirit. 2. evincing health. 3. conducive to health and 4.(my personal favorite) prosperous, flourishing not small and feeble.
 Its funny how we all sat in health class being saturated with information on being healthy, and I can say half of us were listening, surprise, surprise I was in the non-listening group. When you are 13 and 14 years old the last thing on your mind is being middle-aged. In fact, it never enters your mind, because the mind is cluttered with being liked, accepted and having fun.  Wisdom is a thing of the future. We are still muddling through life trying to discover what we want to be.  I wanted to be a chef, I adored Julia Childs and Martin Yan, and every Saturday afternoon, I was planted in front of PBS (before the days of Food Network and the Cooking Channel) to watch the magic. In the those days, I learned how to make Buche de Noel and my father learned that I could destroy the kitchen and launch frosting on the ceiling.  Wisdom it comes much later, along with cellulite and laugh lines.
The thing is, we all at some point question our own mortality and the consequences for living like there is no tomorrow. It happens, we get up dust ourselves off and get right back on that horse. We get our own personal do-over, this is my do-over.  I am going to do over cuisine's guilty pleasures and with hope and faith lose weight in the process.
So let's talk french fries....love them with gravy(no more of that) and cheese..let's make them healthy:

2 good sized russet potatoes, peeled or not
Olive oil to lightly coat
McCormicks rotisserie chicken spice
salt to taste

Preheat your oven to 450F, and scrub your potatoes, they were lying in dirt.

Peel or not peel your potato, but cut each side so the potato resembles a rectangle.  Slice the potatoes lengthwise in slices about 1/2 inch thick.  Stack the slices on top of each other and cut into 1/2 inch sticks.Pat the sticks dry with a paper towel and place in a bowl and toss with olive oil and chicken spice.  Place the potatoes in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until crispy.  Season with salt and serve.  You can add some granulated garlic,cayenne and Parmesan cheese to in the words of Emeril "Kick it up a notch!"


I'm trying to eat better. And, I do feel wise after drinking tea.  After eating vegetables I just feel hungry.~ Carrie Letat

Hey, Alfredo it's Wednesday, Prince spaghetti Day!!!!!

Why is it that the only time we have a rich alfredo sauce, is when we eat out? Tell Olive Garden your staying in tonight.
What is alfredo and more importantly how can we make it? Alfredo sauce has had it's toes in Italian cuisine for over 100 years. The story is that this dish was invented by Alfredo di Lelio as a variation of Fettuccine al burro, or fettuccine with butter. The butter was added both before and after the fettuccine was put into the bowl, it was known as doppio burro(or double butter). Alfredo di Lelio made his dish triplo burro (triple butter) which was the double the butter before the pasta went in and butter after.
In 1927, newlyweds Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford put Alfredo Sauce on the map. Upon returning to Hollywood, news spread of this wonderful meal. Their picture of eating the dish is proudly displayed to this day. After Alfredo di Lelio's retirement in 1938, the new owners the Mozzetti Family retained the integrity and name of Alfredo.
Alfredo di Lelio had such an impact on Italian cuisine that businessmen tracked him down even in his retirement, to offer building him a new restaurant. He acted as the face of the new restaurant, attracting all of his old customers, their photos adorning the walls of the "new" restaurant, 30 Piazza Augusto Imperatore, just a few blocks from where it all began.
Fettuccine Alfredo has become the staple of Italian-American cuisine. There are many modifications of the original recipe and America tends to use less butter but added cream. The cheese in my opinion really makes it, I use Parmigiano-Reggiano but you can use Romano or Asiago which are similar dry Italian cheeses.
What I do is usually saute a finely dice onion and garlic in about 1 1/2 ozs of butter, then I add 1 1/2 ozs of flour and mix well over low heat. Add a combination of 1 cup heavy cream and 1 cup chicken stock and cook until thickened. When it is thick, turn off the heat and add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. At the very end, I love to add what chef's call a "final liaison" this, simply put is just one egg yolk mixed with 2 tablespoons heavy cream and then mixed into your finished sauce. This makes your sauce richer, it's a no-brainer. For my friend Ann-Marie at this point you can make the Anglo/Franco version of Carbonara, the fresh peas are added for color and you can either use bacon(which I did at the Putney Inn) or pancetta. Just a quick little diddy about Carbonara, it is said that it was created as a tribute to the Carbonari(charcoalmen), the secret society responsible in the unification of Italy. Why charcoal you say? The black pepper prominent in the white sauce resembles charcoal.

There is no sight on Earth more appealing than the sight of a woman making dinner for someone she loves.~Thomas Wolfe

We're not in Kansas anymore Risotto, okey-dokey gnocchi!!

Well, what is risotto and gnocchi? Let's begin with risotto. It is a traditional Italian rice dish cooked with stock and flavored with cheese, Parmesan being the most widely used. The name means literally "little rice". The rice used for risotto is Aborio a medium grain rice. It is cooked briefly in a fat(butter,olive oil..etc) to coat the rice, then white wine is added to deglace and will be absorbed by the rice. The liquid is evaporated and stock(chicken,beef,veg depends on what you are making) is added in small amounts while stirring continuously, this loosens the starch or amylopectin outside of the rice grains into the surrounding liquid, which creates the rich creamy texture that risotto has. Properly cooked risotto is rich and creamy but still has a wee bit of "al dente" in the center of the rice grain. The cheese I think, can be subject to personal preference, because living in Vermont we have some killer Cheddar and a nice finish of cheddar can be nice. The cheese acts as an enhancer, added at the very end.

Now for Gnocchi, what is it? Gnocchi is Italian for a thick soft noodle and dumpling. They are made from semolina,flour,potato and bread crumbs. The word gnocchi means "lumps". It has been a traditional Italian pasta since Roman times. Because we are an amazing race(humans), we have taken the guesswork out of even thinking about making gnocchi. These great little dumplings are available dried, frozen or fresh, vacuum sealed stamped with a kiss to your local supermarket. The trick about gnocchi is that they are a "takes practice" pasta, patience helps here. The best gnocchi recipe is just 4 ingredients :boiled russet potatoes(amylose starch=starchy) combined with minimal amounts of flour(too much makes the gnocchi heavy) a pinch of salt, one small egg lightly beaten. You need just enough egg to act as a binder, and still we are not using an excessive amount of flour about one cup to 2 pounds of potatoes. Excellent additions to gnocchi are tomato sauce,pesto, melted butter and cheese. The best part about gnocchi treat them like a blank canvas and color you meal to suit you.

The bagel, an unsweetened donut with rigor mortis. ~Beatrice and Ira Freeman

Playing Nice with Rice.

So, my co-worker yesterday confessed that rice is a little befuddling to her, because when she cooks it at home without using a rice cooker it turns hard and not fluffy like Chinese takeout.

Well lets tackle the structure of rice first, the varieties second, and rice cooker versus just plain old-fashioned stove top cooking.
Rice falls into 3 categories. 1. White rice which makes up about 90% of rice consumption, this rice has its bran and hulls removed and is enriched or rather injected with various vitamins and minerals
2. Brown rice has double the fiber and contains more vitamin E and magnesium, this rice has the hull but not the bran. But Whoa,whoa, whoa!!! What is the bran and the hull anyway? When rice is harvested it contains a tough outer shell called the hull, rice millers remove parts of that and we have brown rice, still further, millers remove the rest of husk or bran and we have white rice.
OK, so we know what the hull and bran is, the third type of rice you see in supermarkets is converted rice. You know, Uncle Ben's and Minute Rice. This rice is parboiled or pressure steamed before milling thus making it higher in nutrients.
So now let's explain the grain types. First there are the long grain varieties, they include Basmati,Jasmine, Texas and Carolina. This rice is high in amylose starch. So in layman terms that means that when the rice starts to cool the starch sets or hardens like potatoes. We all love Chinese takeout the first night, but the next day what is the first thing we throw out its the white rice!!! Solution, little water and gently warm in the microwave(not sure anything can be gently warmed in the microwave) and voila instant Chinese takeout quality rice the next day.
After long grain we have the medium grain, these rices include aborio(risotto rice). Medium grain are high in amylopectin which in a nutshell when cooked does not harden. Lastly, we have the short grains which also is called sushi rice or Glutinous rice, this rice is very soft and is sticky when cooked, due to the higher levels of amylopectin than its counterpart the medium grain.
Last let's talk about rice cooker versus the stove top. I think we all have become accustomed to our gadgets that make our lives virtually stress free. You know our Forman grills, frappe machines, Belgian waffle makers, and my favorite the Slap-Chop. Really I think I just need one of those Blue toothy things. Here is the skinny for those of us that do not have the time to dedicate to cooking rice on the stove or in the oven(my personal favorite) using a rice cooker would be the logical solution.. Most models are induction heated and with advent of technology have more wiz bangs and snap doodles. You can select your texture and presoak without even breaking a sweat. So I guess we can sum it up to a personal preference on behalf of the cook. I myself have the time to cook rice in the oven. However, my friends may not. Choose a rice cooker that fits your family's lifestyle. Remember more expensive is not always better. Choose one with the Induction Technology and easy to understand and operate features.

Rice is born in water and must die in wine.~Italian Proverb

Baked versus Mashed?

What team are you on? Baked or Mashed? My family would say mashed is the way to go and there is no other way. While I myself prefer a fluffy baked potato with creamy butter and sour cream. But who knows, Yankees or Red Soxs?This an age old battle that sadly has no clear winner.
Potatoes can be a bit mysterious and with the advent of hybrids choosing can be a daunting task. Did you know there really are no Idaho potatoes? The real story is that Idaho grows primarily Russet potatoes. So, when you see an Idaho potato know that it is really just a russet.

For our golden rule, K.I.S.S (keep it super simple) potatoes fall into two very distinct categories baking and boiling. The chief difference between the two is the starch. Baking potatoes have a high starch content called amylose starch, and boiling potatoes have a low starch called amylopectin, key word here is PECTIN this compound is what is used to make jams and jellies. So, when you want to make a soup, don't use a russet or baking potato, the result is a potato that breaks down and falls apart. Rather use a boiling potato or white potato(called in the grocery stores).
Cooking stats: a baking potato or a potato called a starchy potato has a dry mealy texture, but when cooked turns light and fluffy, these potatoes are high in starch and low in sugar and tend to be long and have coarse dimpled skins .VERSUS: the boiling potato or also called a waxy potato due largely in part to their waxy flesh. These potatoes are smooth and generally have thin skins. Boiling potatoes are low in starch and a favorite of my family.
These potatoes are the soup potatoes, the ones that make a great potato salad, you can barbecue them and never worry that they will lose their shape.
But what about these other characters that play a part in the battle? I call them the fence-riders. Yukon golds, Peruvian purple potatoes and New potatoes These potatoes are moist like a boiling potato and can be baked or fried and not fall apart in the cooking process.
Potatoes get a bum rap from our low-carb dieting friends, it does not mean they are bad for you. They are fat-free, cholesterol free, low in calories and sodium free. Rich in vitamin C and contains more potassium than a banana. A great antioxidant to repair the damaging effects of "free radicals", a good source of fiber and contains less than 10% of the daily allowance of carbohydrates. So what is all the fuss about? We over think diets and food. Just eat and be merry.

Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie.~Jim Davis