Take with a Grain of Salt
Stir one teaspoon of vanilla essence into a cupful of mashed potato, add a pat of butter, sift in a few cups of icing sugar, a tablespoon of cocoa and you may come close to making Mad Murphy’s famous Potato Coconut Roughs.
The recipe’s one of several spud snacks that Val (aka Mad) Murphy offers on her potato tour, From Paddock to Plate, a ride around the loamy hills of Thorpdale, in western Gippsland, an hour out of Melbourne.
On tour, dear Mad can promise you the secrets of potato ice-cream, after-dinner potato mints, five-star wedges, vichyssoise and maybe potato popcorn if you’re well-behaved. She also shows you how the little beggars are plucked, washed, brushed and buttoned in their jackets
The tour is Mad’s bid to boost a beleaguered industry. Ever since super-client Coles ventured into South Australia for their bags of tubers, Thorpdale taters have been in relative tatters. So the crop needs propping, and Mad’s solution is a field trip with a twist.
For more dirt on Mad’s potatoes, inquire at the Yarragon Visitors Centre at 123 Princes Highway on 03-5634-2451. And arrive hungry.