Buy Local!

The Metzger Heritage Farm cart at Costa's Shursave Food Shop in Coudersport has been re-stocked with our luscious certified organic potatoes.  By shopping locally and putting a bag of Potter County organic potatoes in your cart, you are supporting the local economy.

Here's a recipe tailored to our gourmet potato assortment. It's adapted from Gourmet magazine. With organic potatoes, you have no fears about pesticide residue on the skins, so why not just scrub them and leave the skins on?

Red White and Blue Potato Salad

1. • 1 cup chopped green onions, divided
   • 1/2 cup Greek-style plain yogurt
   • 1/4 cup sour cream
   • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
   • 2 Tb. white wine vinegar
   • 3 tsp. Dijon mustard
   • 2 teaspoons sugar
   • 2 teaspoons salt (divided)
   • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2. • 2-lb. bag of Metzger Heritage Farm Certified Organic Gourmet Potato Assortment
3. • 10-ounce package frozen peas, thawed
   • 1 cup crumbled blue cheese (about 4 ounces)
4. • Paprika
5. Whisk 1/2 cup green onions with yogurt, sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, sugar, 1 tsp. salt and pepper in medium bowl. Cover and chill dressing while preparing potatoes.
6. Place all potatoes in large saucepan. (You may want to chunk them in order to have them all be the same size so they cook evenly.) Add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Add teaspoon of salt. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium, and boil until tender – time will vary depending on size and variety of potatoes. Drain and cool to room temperature.
7. Cut potatoes into 1/2-inch-thick slices and place in large bowl. Add dressing, peas, and blue cheese; toss gently. Cover and chill at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
8. Sprinkle potato salad with paprika and remaining 1/2 cup green onions just before serving.

Potato Magic

Making mashed potatoes using a ricer is a concept I remember from my mother's kitchen. My 90+-year-old grandfather lived with my family for the last years of his life and he loved all foods old-fashioned – salt rising bread, codfish gravy, soft sugar cookies ... and riced potatoes. As a youngster (what did I know?), I considered the process a complete waste of time when one could whip up those spuds with an electric mixer!

I spotted a ricer at a kitchen store while Christmas shopping so I bought myself a little present. Since then it's had lots of use for it produces the fluffiest mashed potatoes ever! I've discovered yet another use for our gourmet organic potatoes. (Pictured here are our Augusta (a yellow fleshed potato similar to Yukon Gold and Butte Russet.)
The ricer looks somewhat like a very large garlic press and works the same way. Just put the cooked potatoes in the hopper and press through the holes into a bowl. Mix with warmed milk and melted butter and stir lightly to combine. By ricing, you avoid the gummy-ness that sometimes happens when you whip the potatoes and you also avoid lumps common with the use of potato mashers.
I used unpeeled potatoes for my first try and found that the skins get trapped in the hopper and make the job much more cumbersome.

In reference to my previous post, I appreciate hearing from all of you -whether you commented or messaged or emailed me. I would welcome additional comments/suggestions for we really are interested in bringing more efficiency to our fledgling operation.I'll leave you with this photo taken this beautiful sunny morning with our thermometer reading -4F.

Orchard and high tunnel blanketed in snow

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