! Hashcapades

Unless family or friends are about to order a domestic beer, I’m not often catalyzed into the flurry of activity that has possessed me this past week. All it took was one tweet, less than 140 characters, I might add, to catapult me into “action Jackson” mode. (A trebuchet may have been more accurate because the feeling was visceral and medieval, yet exhilarating!)

Simply put, Julia Moskin, a reporter for the Dining section for the New York Times, wrote about potato hash. Her article, “The Humble Plate of Hash Has Nobler Ambitions,” encapsulates in one line the very core of my obsession to see potato hash have its due in the annals of cooking history; to be considered worthy of its own dedicated tome, preferably one I write and publish!

Thus was born this blog, hashcapades, to focus on a culinary tradition mindlessly relegated to breakfast and leftovers. No, this is not to be its legacy, which dates back to at least the 15th century with a Portuguese recipe, Picadinho de Carne de Vaca, or Beef Hash. You see, the legacy of potato hash is being created every day around the world and the article Julia Moskin wrote calls me like a siren song to explore its intricacies and share my interest in the topic, which began in 2007.

You’ll notice that my blog is still thin from those early recipe days and seems to be populated most recently with Hashcapades, adventures to sample potato hash in the amazing restaurant scene that Portland now nurtures. Please be patient. The skeletal structure will be fleshed out, filled in and polished, one post at a time.