Fifty-two thousand eight hundred pounds of potatoes!

I've been sick (again) and out of work for the past couple of days.  But while I've been stuck at home my boy has been busy shoveling potatoes.  52,800 pounds of potatoes to be exact.  I didn't believe it myself until I saw the 18 wheeler truck - it was filled from top to bottom from one end to the other with the biggest brownest yummiest looking potatoes ever!  I wish I had remembered my camera that day!

My b/f David has a friend whose grandfather is a truck driver.  He does runs for a local company called Snack Alliance.  Evidently when a truck comes in they take a sample by taking 5 pound buckets of potatoes and cutting the tubers in half.  They count the number of spots on the inside of the potatoes and if it's above a certain percentage then the potatoes can't be used because they'll leave dark spots on the chips.  There is nothing wrong with the potatoes - they just can't be made into chips.

So what do you do with nearly 53 thousand pounds of potatoes?   You put a sign at the end of the driveway and you sell them!  Once again I didn't have my camera, but the boys put up a sign that said, "25 cents for a grocery bag, 50 cents for a feed sack, and $5 for a truckload."  It didn't take long for people to start pulling in.  By the second day the boys were giving the potatoes away and oddly enough they made a lot more money in tips that way!

David said that on the second day a vehicle from the local jail showed up.  The officer/foreman asked David and his friend if they would like to take a break for a while.  The temperature has been in the 80's the last couple of days in Tennessee so of course the boys said yes.  So the officer put the inmates up in the truck to shovel their share of potatoes.

Can you believe how big these things are?!  I can't wait to make baked potatoes!  I like to rub the skins with butter and then sprinkle them with salt and then put them straight into the oven.  My Mom like to wrap hers in aluminum foil before she puts them in the oven, but I think that is technically steaming and not baking.

I like them uncooked as well.  I wash and peel them and then cut them into slices and sprinkle salt on top.

Here's something that's a little different, but still mostly on topic.  How many of you out there have heard of a potato nail?  I don't see them as much anymore, but maybe your Mother or Grandmother used them?

I found these on Amazon, but they are not in stock atm.  I guess you could use a metal skewer the same way, but most of the ones I've seen are too long for a potato.  Anyway, I hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday - ttyl blogland :)