Mauna Kea is a high point of all the Hawaian Islands. It is located on the big island (Hawaii) and from base (in the ocean) to tip is bigger than Everest!

Big taste too. The picture is rather small, but there are two potato halfs, one on either side of the potato mountain, just for presentation. The middle is a carved-out half pineapple. The potatoes inside the pineapple are mashed potatoes with fine diced pieces of pineapple 9that was carved out) and cheese mixed in and then baked at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Spoon the potatoe mixture into the pineapple and top with sweet basil or parsley for a beautiful dish. Use plenty of cheese and don't worry about the pineapple...it's great with potatoes! Like a sunny day at Waikiki!

Surf's up! Let's go.

It's gonna be a great day!

Mt Washington (sorry, no picture today)

A mountaineering dream in New Hampshire. A potato lovers dream anywhere.
Mt. Washington is not a high mountain (roughly 6500' in elevation) but it is home to some pretty challenging winds and weather.

It's much less challenging to eat Mt. Washington. Make, or buy some meatballs. Make your beef or (in my case) fake beef gravy. Put mashed potatoes on the plate, top with meatballs and gravy. Cover with shredded cheese and no matter what the weather, this will warm you up heart, soul and mind!

It's gonna be a great day!

Mt Shasta

Not far from the Ocean, not far from the redwood forests and part of the awesome mountain glory of N. California. Mt. Shasta is usually a two day climb that gives folks a chance to camp just below her summit at a spot called Lake Helen. This alpine setting will warm the soul and ans some tomatoe soup in a hollowed out mountain of mashed potatoes will warm the tummy.

Since Shasta is a volcano, let's spoon out the middle of a heap of mashed potatoes on our plate and put our favorite tomatoe soup in it. This is an awesome lunch and really should be on every restaurant menu. Try using these two Potato Mountain Spice Blends in this one: Herbal Wink and Veggie Pepper Parade.

Potato Mountain has a great tomatoe soup recipe as well but, we'll save it for another day. Be sure to follow Barney- The Potato Dog Thlog (thought Blog) at http://www.potatomountain.com/

It's gonna be a great day!

Mt Lady Washington

She stands lonely, next to Long's Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. Long's Peak gets all the attention and she is ignored while 1000's of hikers and climbers pass her gorgeous figure on the way to one of Colorado's 54, 14,000' + peaks.

Now I know Mt. Lady Washington is a long way from Popocateptl in Mexico, but here is why I want to name a great lunch entree in her honor usinf some of the leftover ingredients from our Popocateptl.

Lady Washington is a really an enormous pile of huge boulders. If you go to the summit you basically hop boulders forever until your on the highest boulder. The view is grand and you have it all to yourself. In this potato creation, my boulders are made out of chips and spuds.

I'm taking my leftover salsa from yesterday and serving it with a pile of mashed potatoes and a whole bunch of chips sticking out of the potatoes. Then I'll use the chips to scoop out boulders of potatoes, top with my side of salsa and eat with the passion of a hungry mountaineer. Maybe I'll even have some cheese sauce for dipping on the side next to my salsa.

What a great appetizer or even a meal! Hop to the Top! Skip with a Chip. Mt. Lady Washington is standing taller than ever today!

It's gonna be a great day!

Potato Mountain Salsa

It's Sunday.

Break From Potatoes?

Of course not, that would be a cardninal sin. But, that Popocateptl we made yesterday had a wonderful salsa with it and here is the recipe. I'm actually going to have it again this morning. This time I'll do it the n0n-fry method. Just put lettuce and tomatoes on the plate. Add a mountain of mashed potatoes (hot). Scoop out a groove in the potatoes and fill it with meat, beans just like a taco. Top with cheese. Add fresh homemade salsa to the top and stick some tortilla chips in the spuds. Baby. Baby. Baby! Yooooo...Weeeee. It's gonna be a great day!

6 Tomatoes

A Bunch of Cilantro

1 Orange Bell Pepper

1 Yellow Bell Pepper

1 Pablano Pepper

1 Anaheim Pepper

1-2 Small Chili Peppers or 1-2 tsp Chili Pepper Paste. (you may want to thin the paste with a little of the tomatoe juice so as to mix better).

1-2 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1 Finely Diced Onion (med)

1 Pear

Sat to Taste

Blanch 4 Tomatoes and Peel off skin. Puree or mash well until juicey and pulpy. Add Garlic, Chili Pepper Paste and Onion. Finely dice the Peppers and add to mix. Finely chop Pear and add to mix. Take last two Tomatoes, halve them and scoop out seeds. Dice and add to mix. Add cut up Cilantro. Stir well, further Salt and Garlic to taste.

Popocatepetl (Po-'po-cuh-tuh-'peh-tul)

A Mexican volcano that is closed to climbing permits because it is active. Oh, well, if it's as hard to climb as it is to pronounce and spell, then forget it huh?

At Potato Mountain we have a little tool we call the Spud Buddy. You can make one at home for this recipe and a zillion others too. Here is what it is and how it works...and how to make it.

Buy a small strainer with a handle. One that is about 5 inches, give or take, across. Then bend the handle so that you can dip the strainer. In other words it should look like the picture below.

After re-fashioning the strainer you can put a couple sheets of Filo (Phyllo dough) dough in the strainer and then fill it with the ingredients as stated below. It really makes a nice presentation and it tastes great. Use a tiny strainer to make small individual Potato Mountain's this way.

Now, let's go to Mexico and visit Popocatepetl.

Don't line your Spud Buddy until you are actually ready to fill it so it does not dry out and break up. It's kinda delicate to use. Read the directions on the package.

Fry meat or meat substitute along with some onions. Put your hot mashed potatoes in the Spud Buddy and then add some meat and onions. Put some cheese on top and then some more potatoes.

Now, close up the Filo dough and try to make it tight, but when you dip it in the hot oil (fryer) do not completely submerse it because you do not want the oil to leak inside and saturate the ingredients.

Fry until golden brown. Usually 2-4 minutes.

Have a plate loaded with lettuce, and tomatoe and roll out the Potato Mountain onto the plate. Add some tortilla chips to the sides of the plate and serve some homemade salsa on the side.

Si Senora. Tis Veeery Gooood!

I'll give ya my salsa recipe tomorrow. "It's to die for".... that's a terrible cliche' ain't it?

It's gonna be a great day!

Mt. Elbrus

Sarah Smith is a friend of mine with whose dog I do some behavior therapy. She makes these biscuits called sausage pinwheels. Her recipe was the inspiration for the Mt. Elbrus. Thanks Sarah! Say hi to Petey and Elly, (her two canine companions).

18,500 Feet and the tallest point in Europe, and Russia. Mt Elbrus and the Caucusas Mountains are the border between Georgia and Russia. Getting there I hear is difficult due to political and geopolitical tensions. Oh well, politics and greed might ruin a good mountain but they can't hurt a good Potato Mountain.

Russians are great with potatoes...even though they don't know how to make a Mt. Elbrus, yet.

OK, about the picture you're about to view. I send to you my deepest and most sincere apologies. I simply could not wait to eat most of last nights dinner while I fiddled around with a stupid camera. Mt Elbrus is kind of a potato biscuit and I made 8 of them. I could not put down my fork until I had eaten the first four of my five...I had to give my wife three.

MT Elbrus

Make a biscuit mix. I use 2 cups of self-rising flour and about 1/8 -1/4 cup oil. Stir it together until it is all clumpy then add 1/2-3/4 cup milk.
Final mixture should be soft and workable but not sticky. If too sticky, add flour.

Now flatten out (roll it) onto the counter and make a rectangle. Make it fairly thin, like less than 1/4 inch. Make sure you can flip it and that it is not sticking to counter.

Now spoon on an equal depth of mashed potatoes (chilled). Then add chicken (I use fake chicken) and onions. Load it up good with chicken and onion and press them into the potatoes lightly with a spoon. Now, roll it up into a loaf. Wrap it in wax paper and freeze it for 2-3 hours. It should not be hard frozen but 1/2 way frozen so you can cut it into about 1- 1 1/2 inch pieces. Place these flat on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes or more. Until starting to brown. Then sprinkle liberally with cheese, return to oven and turn off oven as it melts over the next few minutes. Remove from oven and serve with gravy! I use a fake chix bouillon, water and flour along with garlic and spices. So much for the old cold war, this baby warms up every bone in your body and every taste bud on your tongue. It was not even easy to get the picture you got, so cut me some slack.

It's gonna be a great day!