Holy Cow! I do agree with Olympia Snow.

I have to admit that I do not often agree with Olympia J. Snowe, senator of the great state of Main. However, this morning I caught in the Wall Street Journal a letter of hers in praise of the lowly potato, and lo and behold I am on the same page.

 Being of German descent, I hate it when the tuber of the New World is maligned. In most cases the food reviewers knocking this ground-growing night-shade tuber do not have their facts straight. Well, Olympia in this morning’s WSJ edition had all of the facts right. She blamed, just as I do, the trimmings for the extra calories and the fat content of a meal. So, enjoy a naked baked potato with chives and fresh salsa and lose a few pounds.

I pose the hypothesis that Europe, without the potato, would have never been able to support its populations and in Russia, Catherine the Great who always discerned a great thing when she saw it, marveled at the potato’s possibilities. So go forth—and enjoy.