All of My Interests (Food & RPGs)

[lydamorehouse]

 
Image: My amazingly accurate-looking potato candy.

No, those are not tiny potatoes. That's candy. THAT I MADE TO LOOK LIKE POTATOES*. I mean, the candy itself does have potatoes in it, but it's really mostly powdered sugar (rolled in cinnamon). 

*all caps because I need y'all to appreciate that I actually spent an inordinate amount of time (with a toothpick and a chopstick) making these appear potato-like.

I made this candy because, so long as the blizzard continues to hold off, I am planning on heading over to a friend's house to finish up a one-shot of the Old Gods of Appalachia RPG. I've been a fan of the podcast for awhile, which I hesitate to recommend if only because it's a horror podcast. But I will say that I think one of the reasons it makes a good RPG is that, unlike a lot of horror stories, there are magics and talents people can have in the podcast that will keep the wolf from the door. That feels somewhat atypical of these kinds of heavy-on-the-body-horror kinds of show to me, and I really like it.

At any rate, the potatoes came about in part because I'm playing a kind of bard character (speaker, but this basically is a bard, but without music). He's a recent Irish immigrant, having fled the partition of Ireland (May 1921). So, this fits the character very nicely AND it's gluten-free, which is a requirement for one of the players. 

If you want the recipe, it's here: https://www.bakespace.com/recipes/detail/Mom%27s-Irish-Potato-Candy/46624/


Image: a pile of very potato-looking CANDY

Comments

[leia_solo]

They look good.

[lydamorehouse]

They LOOK good I will admit that they might look better than they taste as they are kind of just basically SUGAR bombs.

[leia_solo]

Awwww!

What????

[dreamshark]

Are you saying that the second picture is POTATO CANDY, not real potatoes??? That's incredible!

Now I want some! It sounds like the inevitable next evolutionary step in the halvah - marziapan story. You take a staple food, grind it up and mix it with sugar, then mold and decorate it so it looks like something else. And then you gobble it up because it is improbably delicious.

Re: What????

[bibliofile]

> You take a staple food, grind it up and mix it with sugar, then mold and decorate it so it looks like something else.

I like that description! Because it also describes cake pops, though they are cake (a staple to some) mixed with frosting. A friend and I coated some lumpy ones with cocoa and called them potatoes for a mockup scene from The Martian. Your potatoes look much more realistic!

Re: What????

[minnehaha]

"Are you saying that the second picture is POTATO CANDY, not real potatoes??? That's incredible!"

I Too came here to say exactly this. Also, the mashed potato candy of my youth (early 70s) was potato mixed with sugar, yes. Then rolled out to a rectangle, spread with something like peanut butter, and the rolled back up again. The presentation was slices off this potato/peanut butter log, a swirl-centered disk.

K.

Re: What????

[lydamorehouse]

And yes, there is an alternate, old-fashioned recipe that is as described with peanut butter and rolled up.

Re: What????

[lydamorehouse]

I am so impressed with myself in terms of how they look.

HOWVER. I will say that I can't entirely vouch for the taste. I noticed many other recipes included coconut and I could see how that might help them not just be sugar bombs of death. I could really only eat one or two of them before I was like, "Whelp, that's my sugar intake for the month!"

[sabotabby]

Those sound and look so good!

[lydamorehouse]

They are a good illusion, but they are not actually tasty. I mean, let me rephrase, they are tasty, just not something you can eat a lot of.

[naomikritzer]

I literally thought you had taken a picture of the potatoes you used for the recipe. AMAZING.

[lydamorehouse]

Thanks! I spent a stupid amount of time making these look potato-like. STUPID AMOUNT.

[sartorias]

they DO look Liki mini-spuds!

[lydamorehouse]

Thank you!!

[pameladean]

Those are really accomplished! Do they taste good? I suppose they must, potatoes and sugar, what's not to like.

P.

[lydamorehouse]

mmmmmm, they are tiny bombs of TOO MUCH sugar. (Although, they are vegan, so you could try making them yourself.) I mean, they are good, but I think a person should probably cut the recipe in half and then cut it in half AGAIN. It makes way too many given how sweet they are.

[elainegrey]

I do not think i understand this concept of "too much sugar" (but yeah, one pound of sugar). I wonder how the potato starch compares to buttermints I may have to experiment.

[cateyespecks]

Interesting to see a recipe for Irish Potato Candy in which the coconut is optional. I have actually never seen them made without it before!