The Great Potato Project of 2014

     Okay, so I know potatoes are not a very exciting topic to be writing about on a blog. I am a realist. I suspect half of you are about to click right over to the next blog.... BUT WAIT! Potatoes are kind of exciting when you make a Zero Waste Project of them. Zero Waste is the buzz phrase these days. Everyone is trying so hard to use less packaging, waste less food, be more efficient... in general, do more with less all the way around.
     I, too, try to practice zero waste by using the old adage "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse, and Rot". However, I wanted to do more. I wanted to waste less. Thus, we set the stage for, ( insert trumpet fanfare here), The Great Potato Project of 2014! Essentially, I decided to see what could be accomplished if I didn't toss anything from a 50 pound bag of potatoes that I bought at Save-A-Lot.
Let us begin...

50 pounds of happiness!!!! bag was shredded and sent to the compost pile.

This is what we begin with, a 50 pound bag of potatoes that I ripped into, composted the bag, washed the spuds in the sink, and began working through until I thought my fingers would fall off.

Old Hickory and my taters, just getting started.

Coming to a boil.

A whole lotta mashin' going on!

Fully Mashed!

     I chose to make mashed potatoes, as you can see in the photos. And of course, there was way more than just the one pot-full. It was just more manageable to do this project in smaller loads, rather than all at once. I added no salt or seasoning of any kind. These are just plain old potatoes. I then put the potatoes in measured increments into Food Saver bags, vacuum sealed, and froze them for future use. Now when I need potatoes for a casserole topper or just want mashed potatoes in a hurry, I pop a bag in the fridge to thaw. I could have chosen any number of ways to use the potatoes, and probably will try french fries and hash browns next time, but for now I needed to get ahead of the dinner-time game by mashing them.

Dehydrating mashed potatoes.

 After dinner I decided to take the left-overs and put them in the dehydrator. I feel that this is one more way to try to keep waste at a minimal. Once dried, I whirled them around in my blender to make a nice powder. I could use the powder as a soup thickener or I could add milk or water back and make mashed potatoes again. It really would work great added to flap jacks or fish cakes also. Hmmmm.... endless possibilities.
Next, don't toss those peelings! Because if you do, then you miss out on all the yummy goodness of fried tater skins!

Oh My Gosh! Somebody stop me!

     I had heard about "tater skins" for years and never thought to make my own. Why not? Because my mother and grandmother never saved the skins, so I didn't bother with it either. Can you believe it? All those years of wasting such a tasty treat...never again. And speaking of wasting...

Don't throw out the potato water!

Don't throw out the potato water. Again, my mother, nor grandmother saved the water after cooking potatoes. Down the drain it would go. When I told my mom that I saved the water, she just sort of looked at me like I had lost my mind. In all seriousness, potato water is great for making yeast breads or sour dough starter, for use in the soup pot, and for making potato starch. I set these containers in my refrigerator until I could get back to them, but I did indeed get back to them the next day when I made yeast bread and soup.  I had also thought to can the liquid for use as a vegetable stock or a thickener for soups, but time wouldn't allow when there are so many things that need canning this time of year. I just couldn't work it in. The good news is that it was all used up in the bread and soup the next day. No waste!
I am already thinking of the next 50 pound bag and all the things I can do with the potatoes that I didn't get to do this time around. The list is ever growing since I am now actively looking for ways to use up the broth, as well as hunting down potato recipes and freezing/canning instructions. The thing I like most of all is that the project was a huge success. I give myself an A+ for zero waste. Everything from the bag to the peelings was completely used up. No waste.... zero... a great big nothing! Perfection!

Traveling at the speed of life.