Mrs. WM81 shopped at Costco this morning, bring home "stew beef", which we haven't had in a while. Her request was for pressure cooked beef, so it got a lot of mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Plus a homemade Gyros seasoning. Served with red and yellow mashed potatoes.
Funny story -- we had been married for well over 10 years before Mrs. WM81 learned of my aversion to boiled potatoes.
While growing up, our family garden was larger than most building lots in the USA today, and my dad grew a LOT of potatoes. The house I grew up in had a coal furnace originally, which my dad replaced with an oil furnace in the 50's. He cleaned out the coal bin (if my memory is correct, 6' wide by 8' long with a 3' retaining wall. That became the potato bin. Yes, that is a LOT of potatoes when full.
My parents grew up during the Great Depression, and food was a problem for many. Potatoes were easy to grow and stored well, so it was a common food source. Long after WWII was over, my dad grew a lot of potatoes so he'd always have food for his family. His family always had food, but he can recall his mom giving neighbors 50 lbs of potatoes as they were starving.
As a result, we ate boiled potatoes 6 days per week. My mom made spaghetti sauce every other Saturday, and we had rice on alternating Saturdays. I lived for those days!
Since moving out on my own, I have NEVER voluntarily peeled a potato.
Mrs. WM81 loves mashed potatoes, so we do them. I refuse the peel the potatoes, so we clean the potatoes, then cube 'em and boil 'em with the skins on. My mashed potatoes always have skin, as it gives it some flavor and texture. Mrs. WM81 thought it was weird the first time we did it, but after 30+ years together, she agrees that we do not peel potatoes.
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