Priorities

I hate to admit it but my 7 year old daughter has an unfortunate distaste for potatoes.  She doesn't like them mashed, baked, scalloped, au gratin, raw or even french fried.  I feel like Sam-I-Am.  I try not to let her see my disappointment because I know I have to be strong for her sake.  If not for her love of pickles I would probably burst into tears at every meal. 

Recently, however, she was introduced to Tater Tots and, saints be praised, she loved them!  Those heavenly hash brown nuggets of pure gold have finally dulled my aching heart from an innocent child's errant food preference.  Don't take me the wrong way, she is a delightful little girl and I wouldn't trade her for anything.  But for me, not liking potatoes is similar to telling a Star Wars fanatic that you don't like Yoda!  Potatoes are to the food pyramid what Yoda is to the Force.  They're not the only food, but they are the most completely awesome food!  They can complement almost any meal or they can be a meal all by themselves.

Of course, being from Idaho, I not only love to eat potatoes but I also love everything about growing potatoes.  From its humble beginnings in a petri dish to the adorable micro-tubers to the delightfully parallel rows of mature vines in the field, the potato holds a special place in my heart.  Potato harvest was always something I looked forward to even when I was too small to participate.  I use to love to ride in the potato trucks and the tractors with anyone who would let me tag along.  As soon as I was old enough I jumped at my first chance to actually take part in a potato harvest.  I spent long hours standing in the middle of a cyclone of dirt otherwise known as the potato harvester before I was old enough to drive a potato truck.  Thinking back I question the wisdom of having a 16 year old behind the wheel of a 50,000 lb vehicle, but it was a thrill!

I guess that's why I had such a gut wrenching reaction at my daughter's disdain for such a primal part of my adolescence.  But that's all in the past.  I feel a renewed kinship to my little prodigal daughter.  Next I will introduce her to that blessed combination of condiments known to fellow Idaho and Utah natives as Fry Sauce.