I love mashed potatoes, always have. When I was young I even appreciated potato buds. You know, those dessicated flakes of potato to which you add boiling water and a pat of butter? I even liked those. Guilty. I have always loved their warmth, their smooth consistency– for me, mashed potatoes are the ultimate comfort food.
Well, nowadays my palate has become a wee bit more sophisticated than it was when I was seven. I still love mashed potatoes, but now will eat them mashed with buttermilk, with a sprinkling of chives, with the skins on, or even– mashed with another vegetable. Take celery root for instance, that often ignored vegetable sitting at the market next to the other root vegetables. It’s delicious!
This knobby vegetable is crisp when eaten raw, supple when cooked, and tastes like celery, without all of those pesky strings. [...]

Oh, it’s getting good around here. Since I have been back from California, I have been to the Union Square Greenmarket quite a few times, and each week, it gets a bit better. At first there were the ramps, beautifully spindly. Then came the green garlic, mild in flavor and hinting of spring, and the baby kale was soft and budding, soon to be replaced by bagfuls of gorgeous gem lettuces.
But I am a creature of habit. When the produce is this good, there is not an awful lot I want to do to it. (Except run home and eat it!) Yes, I buy the same goods week after week. The vendors recognize me by face, and I love this. In a city so large, teeming with both tourists and locals, it is nice to know that the potato man recognizes you. [...]