Beyond Potatoes

Exotic flavors and foods were not on the dinner tables of those of us who grew up in the quaint farming community of Rexburg, Idaho.

Meat? Yes!

Potatoes? Absofreakinglutely.

Go ahead with your Idaho potato jokes if you want, but for those who grew up there, we knew the joke was on everyone else.

Each October during potato harvest season, the farmers would hire so many students to work the fields that the school board just dismissed the entire school district. Spud Harvest was a two-week school sanctioned vacation wherein students could choose to work on a potato farm or just enjoy a late extension of summer vacation. Those who chose to work would pass ridiculously long hours working on the combine or in the pit sorting good potatoes from the bad, or if you somehow found yourself in the upper echelons of agricultural society, you got to drive truck. Positions within the potato industry are ranked. Truck drivers were the envied few. They were paid more, got to drive (such a teenage privilege), and could listen to music on the cassette player of the truck. Plus, they didn’t get as dirty as the other peons, who would inevitably find dirt in their ears and boogers well into November.

My parents weren’t farmers and were even transplants from more cosmopolitan cities like Salt Lake City and Minneapolis, but we were still slaves to the culinary mores of the community. One of my mom’s favorite meals was simply a pan full of sliced potatoes and diced ham, which was covered with milk, seasoned and baked. That’s it.

The local dining in Rexburg included a JB’s Big Boy, a couple fast food joints and my personal favorite – the Kmart cafeteria. Their grilled (artificial) cheese was magical, and it’s saltiness was perfectly complimented by a Fanta Red Cream Soda. That was my favorite treat as a child.

Despite having naive taste buds, I somehow found my way out of Rexburg and into the world. I remember my first taste of hummus. I was 18. (18?! My kids have been eating hummus since they first knew the spoon). My taste buds quickly matured and soon I was eagerly lapping up pad thai, carne asada, dal, wasabi, tom kha gai and enjoying the biggest party that was taking place in my tummy.

Now, fifteen years later, I’m living in Los Angeles and go on a date with my husband every Friday night. We are trying to discover the multitude of ethnicities this city offers. Last weekend we ate Burmese food. Other recent dates found us at the Hare Krishna Temple cafeteria or eating ostrich at a Mexican restaurant in a Jewish neighborhood. On my list to try are Ethiopian and Syrian cuisine. The world is way too big and food is way too wonderful to limit myself to meat and potatoes, though I’ll never be too cultured or fancy to refuse a baked Idaho potato every now and then.

Rexburg has matured too. You can find sushi and Thai food there now and it’s actually quite good. I can find diverse flavors just about anywhere I go now, but I still love stocking up on “exotic” ingredients and making these dishes at home. Here’s one of my faves. Chicken Tikka Masala. It calls for ginger. I’m pretty sure ginger wasn’t even in our local market. I’m certain it was never in my mom’s kitchen. It’s always in mine.

Chicken Tikka Masala

This recipe was inpsired by my friend, Amber, a fellow spud digger turned Indian food lover.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Marinade
1 cup plain yogurt

1 T lemon juice

1 T minced ginger

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2- 2 tsp cayenne pepper, depending on your heat-titude

2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

3 tsp salt

3 Chicken breasts, diced small

Add to marinade and let rest for at least 1 hour. Discard marinade and cook chicken in a covered skillet (covering the skillet makes the chicken more tender), stirring occassionally (or skewer and BBQ) until done. Set aside and prepare vegetable mixture below.

1-2 cups cauliflower, cut into small pieces

1-2 cups carrots, diced into small pieces

1-2 c. frozen peas

Cook veggies until in oil or butter in a large saute pan until crisp tender. To the pan, add and cook for one minute:

1 T. butter

1 clove minced garlic

1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

Then add:

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp paprika

salt, to taste

Coat the garlic and peppers really well, then add:

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 cup heavy cream

Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add chicken and simmer 10 more minutes. Serve over hot jasmine rice and garnish with cilantro.

P.S. I found a great article on how to handle ginger

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