Japanese Potato

On Friday, this adorable kid in her ridiculously cute uniform, got to dig potatoes at Yochien.

I know, you've seen this photo before, but it is so stinking cute, it never gets old!

She had to wear rainboots and to bring a shovel.  Her pants got dirty.  She said she collected 6 potatoes, but she only brought 2 of them home.  One was enormous, and the other was tiny.  They were the purple skinned variety that grow here.  I had gotten once at the grocery store to try it out and I had discovered it was NOT like a regular Idaho spud.  It was more like a sweet potato in texture and vaguely in taste.  I had chopped it up and cooked it in broth for a Chicken Pot Pie and it was quite delicious in that. But it was not entirely what I had expected.

Rylee had been asking if we were going to eat her potatoes.  I am so sad I did not take a photo of her with her potatoes.  She was very excited about them.  I finally remembered to do something with them, and tonight I attempted to make sweet potato fries.  I confess, it was a colossal failure.  Purple Japanese potatoes are not interchangeable with sweet potatoes either.  Trying to cook them like a sweet potato resulted in a very tough, crunchy exterior and a dry, fibrous, yet soft interior.  However, not a tasty thing to eat.  Very bland, and that dry, fibrous texture was not conducive to fine dining.  I am sad.

Next time, I will dice them and cook them in broth and put them in my Chicken Pot Pie again.