I Heart Potatoes ... I think they heart me too :-)

Cute lil heart shape, huh? I got this at Reser's in Oregon on another fact finding trip for How'd That Get On My Plate?. We went to the processing plant where they make potato salad and there was this huuuuuuuuge holding bin out back. It had some jillion pounds of potatoes in it, but I couldn't see them. I asked if I could climb the ladder to the top to look inside and Steve, my guide said sure. I did the climb with him and scanned the scene ... millions of potatoes fresh from the field were just hanging out waiting to be steamed, peeled and diced into salads and one potato sat on top of all those millions and stared right back at me! I didn't even tell Steve I saw it I just said ... "can I walk over there?" (the bin was surrounded by a landing). He said sure, and I hustled over to my potato lol ... you see me type my??? I'm corny, huh? So, there it was in my hand and that's when I asked if I could keep it, he said sure! Turns out, it's a two-sprouter or something and it wouldn't have made the cut(pun) anyway. Glad I saved it from the pig-feed ... I'm taking it home to my dude, slice it thin and putting it in a round casserole in a fan .. gonna make something yummy for him, with a heart shaped tater. Another guide told me they had one that looked like Prez Nixon and kept it in the office for awhile until it went bad (there's a joke in there ... just read the sentence over, teeheehee). I think potato farmers should do a boutique market of these two-sprouters because everyone thought my tater was cute and then on top of that, turns out there are many that come along like that. Next on the tour was the part I like ... sampling the product. In this case .. 18 DIFFERENT TYPES OF POTATO SALAD!!! Take a look! Really there's more, they just gave us a mini sample of some of the blends they make. That's my plate I'm pointing to. I took a scoop of each sample.


My faves were the "Red, White and Bleu", which had bacon as the red and bleu cheese as the blue. I ate it and didn't even check the spelling, some people spell it "blue" and it is still acceptable. Then I think my next fave was the Bavarian because it reminded me of German Potato Salad and then rounding in third was the Creole which was packed with black pepper! What A food heaven I walked into. Lunch was next and I didn't eat a thing because I'd already had plenty of salad and then one of our tour guides celebrated a birthday right before lunch and you know that means cake!! Happy birthday Chef Barbara! And WOW Kayleigh on the raspberry butter cream cake!!! Special "Hi" to Rachael ... cook on girl!

Right now, I'm at the airport gettin' my wifi on and I can't wait to take some ty-p and nap all the way home. Big day tomorrow as the movers arrive only hours after I land ... what a tight schedule, but when it's over I will be so happy to have a new kitchen.

Today, we drove to somewhere outside of Pasco, WA to visit Kiska Potatoes. In the farm country is where we were ... deeeep in the country. I hung out with the farmers and even got on the back of the tractor to sort potatoes as they came right from the earth!


I stood up there on the right and rode in the tractor cab as well. I was having so much fun I didn't realize maybe it'd be a good idea to don a mask and safety glasses like the farmers, cuz when I was done I looked down and all I saw was dirt. A thick layer of dirt all over me! lol And I was chawwin' on gritty teeth for hours. We stopped on the way back to Portland to get gas and I took the opportunity to ... how do I say this ... is this the right place to type this?? Ever hear of a "w----'s bath"?? ... Well, I haaad to, I couldn't stand sitting in that car so gritty and then I thought no way was I gonna get on the plane farm-stinky!

Anyway, got clean and ran next door to get a burger, but they had a 20minute wait and we were on a schedule, plus my food 6th sense told me the 20 minutes wouldn't be worth it, hate to say. So, not 1 minute later we ran into a taco truck right off the highway -- courtesy of a wrong turn!! My luck on street food this week was grrreat like Tony the Tiger!! Take a look at my pollo tacos, after a bite. I almost forgot to share the story :-).


They were juicy and yummy and the green sauce is what it was supposed to be, real spicy with a teeny tang. Yummy!!! Alright, don't forget tomorrow morning a new episode of Cooking for Real. This week it's PB&J pancakes with the "J" being a very delicious sauce that is great on ice cream and in tea as a flavoring as well, but this week, it's on top of panny cakes! Hope you enjoy and heck, hope I enjoy too ... only been in it, haven't seen it :-). Have a great rest of the weekend and I hope to post soon after I move. Thanks for all the comments and I really appreciate the support. This is such an amazing ride and I've really worked for it for some time, you being here with me is what makes it cool. No "me" on TV without ya! Spread the word and tell a stranger about the shows, you may meet a foodie!!