PSA

I just came across an email in my inbox with the subject line 10 Potato Recipes Everyone Should Know.   And frankly, this has me looking over my shoulder to see if someone is watching me,  if perhaps Alexa or Siri are listening in and tattling on me.  It's either a huge coincidence, or I'm being spied upon.  And I'm certain that it must be the latter.

Since I'm clearly being spied on anyway, let me share a confession with you, a bit of a PSA.  No, I don't mean Public Service Announcement... although perhaps that would apply as well.  I mean Potato Spoilage Advice.

In my kitchen, I have a drawer where I keep onions (red and yellow) and potatoes (sweet and Yukon Gold).  It's a cool, dark, dry place.  And it's convenient.  And it's never been a problem before, although I have recently read that you should keep your onions and potatoes separated, because the onions will make the potatoes sprout.  And while I often digress in my Teapot Musings... this time it's not a digression.

A couple weeks ago, I decided to throw some sliced red onions on the grill.  I opened my onion-potato drawer, and peered inside.  All seemed well.  I had 2 red onions, 1 sweet potato, and a bag of Yukon Gold potatoes.  The potatoes on the top of the bag were clearly firm, and without sprouts.  To better reach the red onions, I picked up the bag of potatoes, which is when my whole world exploded.

Hmmm, I guess that's a bit of an exaggeration.  But it is accurate to say that the potatoes that had been on the bottom exploded, and I found myself holding a dripping bag of potato soup... with a couple of Very Sneaky normal-looking potatoes sitting on the top to fool me into thinking all was well with the world.
 



And of course the smell. There had been no odor at all when I opened the drawer, with the exception of a very slight aroma from the red onions.  But now that the potatoes had exploded... everything reeked.



But I'm not just posting to tell you my sad story, I'm here to tell you how the reek issue was finally resolved.  I suppose that would make this a PSA PSA.

First, everything needs to be washed.  That's not going to take care of the odor... it doesn't even come close... but it's a critical first step.  In my case, this included the drawer, the drawer above it and its contents, as well as  the cabinet the drawer slid into.

Next, I wiped down both drawers and the cabinet with vinegar.  Then I sprinkled baking soda everywhere and let it sit overnight.  Then I cleaned up the baking soda -- which smelled, of course, but that was a good sign.  Gave the sniff taste, and wiped everything down again with vinegar.  And then baking soda.  And then vinegar. and then baking soda. 

And after the fourth or fifth time, I deemed the cabinet and the drawer above the potato drawer, to be usable once again.  It took another week, with many more rounds of vinegar and baking soda, but I have finally declared the potato drawer to be odor free, and have returned it to its place in the cabinet.

Which brings me back to the post with potato recipes, and the serious underlying message. If you have potatoes, you need to cook potatoes.  And since tea is my answer to everything, I've manage to locate a recipe for tea-infused potatoes.

Hmmm... sounds interesting.  I'll give it some thought as I drink another cup of tea.