Author: Brandia Deatherage | Published: May 31st, 2011

    Growing up in the Deatherage household, wasting food was not an option. "Our enemy is Waste," is a phrase my father often repeated with the weight of the world behind it. I suspect this was something he learned from his parents: Sue, the collector of all things nostalgic and beautiful; and Bob, who bought his produce the day before it spoiled from off the rolling cart at the grocery store.

    My father was raised around furniture from estate sales and eating bread from the wholesale bakery. He lets my mom handle the purchase and use of all things fresh and new. Like the inherent procrastinator he, and all us Deatherages are, my father does best in the kitchen when pressed for time; when he is forced by necessity to create a dish from ingredients that are about to expire.

    Whenever my mom would cook an oversized pot of mashed potatoes for dinner, there would invariably be a few cups of hardened, sticky mash left lining the walls of the container. That is where my dad came in. The next morning, he would scrape the leftovers into a bowl, whisk in milk, flour and an egg--and voila! Potato pancakes for breakfast. Another meal down and nothing wasted.

    To craft potato pancakes into a suitable dinner, it helps to give them a fancy name, like Latkes, and a savory filling. Since my family is of the Jewish tradition, it seems fitting for us to eat Latkes, a customary Jewish fare, from time-to-time. Jewish people generally cook Latkes on Hanukkah, frying them in oil, reminiscent of the miraculous oil which provided light in the Second Temple of ancient Israel for eight days.

    It's alright, if when I said "Latke," your mind went to Andy Kaufman's character, Latka, in the 1970's TV sitcom Taxi. A commemoration of the life of Andy Kaufman could provide a fine back-story to our family's potato pancakes, as well. "Thank you, very much."

    Jews comment on the evil of waste in one of their Holy books, The Talmud: "This is the way of pious and elevated people... they will not waste even a mustard seed, and they are distressed at every ruination and spoilage they see, and if they are able to save, they will save anything from destruction with all of their power... Every person is obligated to master his inclinations and conquer his desires." (Book of Education, Mitzvah 529 on Devarim 20:19)



Latkes with Savory Mushroom and Red Pepper Filling
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
3 cups leftover mashed potatoes
1 cup flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten
Filling (recipe follows, begin prepping before doing anything else)
Herbed cream cheese (recipe follows, begin prepping after pouring marinade on mushrooms and peppers)

Directions
Mix together potatoes, flour, baking powder and milk at high speed. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix in beaten egg at high speed. Melt 1 T. butter in small nonstick pan at medium/high heat. Before butter burns, pour large round circle of potato mixture onto pan. Let edges of pancake/latke set and turn heat to medium/low. When pancake/latke is firm enough for a spatula to slide underneath without risking its composition, flip it.

Herbed Cream Cheese

Ingredients
4 oz. cream cheese
½ cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions
In a small bowl, press chopped parsley into cream cheese with a fork. Let soften on counter, while making filling and latkes.

Savory Filling: Roasted Red Bell Peppers, Portabella Mushrooms and Red Onions

Ingredients
2 large portabella mushrooms
1 large red bell pepper, halved and seeded
½ of a red onion
¼ cup, plus 1 T. balsamic vinegar, divided
¼ cup, plus 1 T. extra virgin olive oil, divided

Directions
Lay mushroom caps and red pepper halves on foil-lined cookie sheet. Drench them, especially mushrooms, in ¼ cup balsamic and ¼ cup of olive oil. Let sit and marinate while prepping everything else. Julienne and sauté onion with 1 T. balsamic and 1 T. olive oil. Place cookie sheet with mushrooms and red peppers under broiler. Flip both after the skin on the top side of red peppers blisters and separates. After the other side of the peppers gets charred, remove the tray from oven and julienne mushrooms and peppers. Mix together mushrooms, peppers and onions.

To assemble:

Spread half of pancake with cream cheese. Top with vegetable mixture. Fold pancake over and microwave for 30 to 45 seconds. Serve hot.

    This article provided courtesy of our sister site: Beaufort County Now

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