I’m astonished: it seems that we are throwing away more than half of our potatoes in Switzerland. A new report from ETH in Zurich shows that producers are wasting them, but consumers are the worst among the guilty parties. Did you know that we throw away 300 kg of food per person per year? Save […]
potatoes
Easter Saturday: Irish stewed kid with Guinness and prunes
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Tomorrow is the classic roast, gigot d’agneau, for Easter dinner at our house. I’ve been longing, however, for the Easter meal I had when I lived on the west coast of Ireland, young goat (kid) stewed gently in Guinness, with prunes, onion and garlic. A packet of kid, labelled “1/2 cabri”, nearly […]
The supremely vegetable-like tomato
Just as I was about to go out and plant my tomatoes, before realizing I should wait for evening, a friend sent me a NY Times article about the genetics of tomatoes. Nine years of genetic research were published this week in Nature, the journal. I burst out laughing when I came to this bit: […]
Hard labour: the vegetable patch, before and after
Three days of steady labour, aching bones and sore muscles: but check out that second photo! Visible weeds mostly gone, maverick potatoes, onions and garlic that we overlooked in the fall are also gone, soil is turned over and new onions, potatoes and garlic planted. We’re fairly manic about getting rid of the old potatoes, […]
Perfect Swiss gifts for potato lovers
by Ellen Wallace My first potato plant has just poked its head above the mound where it grows, and my thoughts immediately turned to that Swiss favourite, roesti. We grow enough potatoes to last the family from July to late January, and while my preference remains boiled and salted for fresh-out-of-the-ground spuds, roesti is an […]