Over the Garden Wall | Potatoes and Molasses

Potatoes and Molasses inspired by Over the Garden Wall. Recipe by The Gluttonous Geek.

“Oh, Potatoes and Molasses! If you want some, oh, just ask us. They’re warm and soft like puppies and socks filled with cream and candy rocks.” – Greg, Over the Garden Wall.

Greetings, fellow fans joined by existential dread, dadaist whimsy, and Cartoon Network’s Over the Garden Wall! Halloween may be over, but you don’t need any pants candy to enjoy today’s recipe for Greg’s favorite plate of starch and sugar. I’m talking about Potatoes and Molasses.

Click here to skip to the recipe for Potatoes and Molasses.

Sweeter than Algebra Class

Animated mini-series Over the Garden Wall follows two half-brothers’ journey after becoming lost in a supernatural forest called the Unknown. The story explores concepts such as self-actualization, realism, and despair through surreal, fairytale-like vignettes. For this post though, I focus on the third episode: “Schooltown Follies.”

In this episode, brothers Wirt and Greg stumble upon a victorian schoolhouse for animals in the middle of the forest. The school is failing, though, as the teacher Ms. Langtree bemoans her missing fiance, and plates of bland mashed potatoes only compound the animals’ misery.
That’s when younger brother Greg decides to take things into his own hands:

Over the Garden Wall‘s many stories feature characters steeped in either despair from inaction or blind optimism unseated from reality. Beatrice, Wirt, Ms., and Mr. Langtree already dismiss the world as a miserable place because it doesn’t stand to their expectations. When Mr. Langtree laments, “If only something would go right for a change,” he accepts his shortsightedness as powerlessness.

It’s interesting as Mr. Langtree says that he wants to do important work like “teaching animals how to count and spell” while failing to recognize that they are doing just that by playing instruments. Sure these frocked forest creatures may not know their p’s and q’s but are more than happy to play their a’s, b’s, and c-sharp’s while counting to four.  

The show points out in this that self-defeating pessimism often gets mistaken for realism. Pessimism often blinds one to other solutions. For instance, the answer to a bland plate of mashed potatoes should not be crying about not having any gravy. Not, of course, when there’s a perfectly good jug of molasses nearby.

As the brothers organize a successful benefit concert with these instrument-playing animals, Mr. Langtree realizes his error, reflecting that “I guess the world really is a sweet as potatoes and molasses.”

Filled with Cream and Candy Rocks

So I will say this about the upcoming recipe: it is not a perfect reproduction. Since it is my power to make a perfect batch of mashed potatoes, I will teach you how to make a perfect batch of mashed potatoes. You will need a strainer, vegetable peeler, and a potato ricer. In a pinch, though, a strainer and paring knife will also do the job. 

I used a mix of russet and red potatoes and rinsed them of excess starch before boiling them. While I highly recommend a potato ricer, you can also push the softened potatoes through a mesh strainer to avoid a lumpy or gluey texture. Finally, I mixed in some fresh rosemary for a woodsy taste.

While sure, you could pour molasses on these creamy spuds, why would you come to my blog for just a mashed potato recipe? That’s why I chose to make a shiitake mushroom-based gravy.

Why mushrooms? Most standard gravies are made from beef, pork, or chicken stock– it made sense to avoid animal cannibalism. Given that shiitakes are a forest mushroom, they may happen to stud the woodland paths through the unknown. Also, they are choc-full of those meaty amino-acids our carnivore friends crave.

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Oh, Potatoes and Molasses!

Potatoes and Molasses inspired by Over the Garden Wall. Recipe by The Gluttonous Geek.

Potatoes and Molasses

Serves 6 to 8.

Equipment: Stovetop, pot, potato ricer, strainer, saucepan with lid, and food processor. Optional: stick blender.

Ingredients:

Mashed Potatoes:
  • 2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 lb red potatoes, diced
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons fresh chopped rosemary
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • kosher salt
Molasses & Shroom Gravy:
  • 1/4 lb shiitake mushrooms
  • 2 large carrots
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 teaspoons mushroom bouillon (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup molasses
Garnish:

1/4 cup crushed walnuts fresh chopped rosemary

Instructions:

Make the gravy:
  1. Pulse the mushrooms and carrots in the food processor until finely minced. 
  2. Melt two tablespoons of butter in the saucepan over a medium flame, then add the carrot and mushrooms. Stir cook until softened, then stir in another two tablespoons of butter, the cornstarch, and the mushroom bouillon. 
  3. Pour in 2 cups of water and bring to boil. Cover the pan and lower the heat to simmer 8-10 minutes. 
  4. Strain and discard the solids. Then whisk in the molasses and kosher salt to taste. Or, if you prefer a thicker gravy, pour in the molasses and blend the mixture till smooth before adding kosher salt to taste. Turn off the heat and cover the pot to keep warm.
Make the potatoes:
  1. Rinse the diced potatoes in the strainer under cold water before transferring them to your pot. Fill the pot with cold water to cover the vegetables, then bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the temperature to medium and cook for 10 minutes while preparing your other ingredients. 
  2. Drain the pot and transfer the potatoes to your mixing bowl. Return the pot to the stove and melt 1/4 cup of butter into the heavy cream over low heat. Process the potatoes into the cream using the ricer, then scrape the whole mix back into the mixing bowl.
  3. Fold the rosemary and a few pinches of kosher salt into the potatoes. Serve with gravy and crushed walnuts.

The Gluttonous Geek