The Irish potato feast; Let's eat

A year ago today, we enjoyed a summer in Ireland. Having no idea what 2020 had in store-from job loss to growing an acre garden. One of our favorite contributions to this year's harvest was our Irish potatoes. Here's to a 365 day adventure of our humble Irish potatoes.

It's not everyday that you can take a memorable experience on holiday, and use it to feed your family the following year. In this moment, for most of us, the state of the world now has us fatigued and hungry. This week, along with traditional summer favorites, the star of our family's dinner is the Irish potato. Why the potato?

If you are like me, when the words Irish potato roll off your tongue, you are triggered to think of famine. While the potato disease and politics of the 1840's allowed a million Irish citizens to starve, the Irish potato has more to it's story. I want to offer a new narrative for this Irish staple, one of friendship and feasting.

Last year, my husband and I traveled to Ireland for the first time for our summer holiday. It's as breathtakingly lush, friendly and charming as you've heard. We forwent the big city tours for more rural landscapes and cultural experiences. Our tiny rental car in hand, we were bound for Limerick, Ireland to visit my colleague and friend, Dan Cahill over at Cahill's Irish Farm Cheese. Dan wasted no time in planning our afternoon. When he learned that I was into woodworking at a previous trade show, he drove us out to the country to meet a skilled bowl maker and wood carver, Michael Curtin in Tournafulla. The introduction to our visit was by a local dairy farmer, who supplies milk to Dan for cheese making, and is a neighbor and friend of Mr. Curtin's.

Craftsmanship as it turns out, is Mr Curtin's specialty. He has access to intriguing ancient oak- 1000 year old "bog wood" found in farming fields that would be turned into bowls. We had a chance to visit his wood shop and see his current works of art in progress. I absolutely loved this piece-a carving of his daughter's face.

As we made our way to the garden, he showed us the greenhouse with it's beautiful cherry tomatoes and climbing summer grapes.

He then made his way for his pitch fork, and he offered us a turn at harvesting potatoes and onions out of his garden. I was a little nervous, having never harvested potatoes. How deep does the pitch fork go? Will I accidentally stab one? It turned out well, and I harvested my very first set of potatoes in Ireland. Before we said farewell to Michael, he gave us a collection of his hand carved wooden bowls, and the onions and potatoes we had harvested. He suggested we cook them up for breakfast before heading back to the US. How could we say no?

That night, as we hung out in our Airbnb overlooking the ocean, I wished I could take these potatoes back home to grow. Back in Jackson, we were just learning so much about planting, but we'd never grown potatoes before. We considered the consequences and decided that we would pack up the potatoes in our suitcase: bound for Georgia. The next afternoon, we'd sneak in two Irish potatoes into the US. I'll admit, I found myself feeling only a tiny bit guilty. In all honesty, we thought we'd eat them that week. But, in the end, we put them in the back of fridge, and thought, half-heartedly, if they make it to February, we'll plant them.

One made it. One humble potato with three tall spouts. So we trimmed the potato into three pieces, carefully mounding them in the garden, tending to them through the winter. To our delight, they began to spout. As they became mature plants, they flowered. As Spring approached Summer, it became time to harvest.

Recalling our Irish harvest, we dug in our pitch fork to the shock of dozens of potatoes. In fact, we were overwhelmed at how many potatoes came off just one potato plant.

Looking at the harvest from one of the plants, I am a little overwhelmed at the fondness for the farmer, and for the gift of being given food.

Now I am growing Irish potatoes, and selecting a few to store to plant for next year. I urge you to visit your local farmers market this weekend, and in doing so to grant yourself the opportunity to get great produce, grown by them for you. Get to know them by their first name, and learn about where their farm is.

Perhaps visit, and if you can, grow some of the seeds from the plants you buy from them. Connect your garden to theirs, not only for the purpose of communion, but to feed your family when you need it most.

My name is Hannah Thompson. I live in Jackson, Georgia with my husband, 3 chickens, 3 cats and 2 adorable dogs. I garden our acre "hobby farm" and intend to enjoy this precious gift called life.

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