I\’ve been going hog wild in the kitchen lately. Between prediabetes and being at home much more, I\’m eager to try out many an idea.

Take the cauliflower potato cheddar mash on page 87 of the ADA Vegetarian Cookbook. The original recipe calls for russet potatoes; the so-called baking potatoes.

I first made the recipe as given in the book. Then I began to experiment with it! My next effort was made with sweet potatoes. It\’s not bad. Last night I went at it again.

My inspiration was a recipe I remember reading for something called colcannon. It was a sort of kale-potato mash. I don\’t have any kale on hand, but I did have two 10-oz packs of frozen spinach. So spinach it was.

I put the spinach in a 2-quart pot over very low heat so it could thaw while I scrubbed and peeled the potatoes; red-skin potatoes in this case.

I needed my 5-quart pot for the potatoes! While they were cooking, I squeezed the excess liquid (\”pot-likker\”) out of the spinach, and put the greens in a bowl. I saved the liquid to use in a soup or beanpot.

I didn\’t want to discard the potato water, so I took the cooked potatoes out of the pot using a large, slotted spoon. I had to put that potato water somewhere, and the most practical vessel at hand was my 1-quart pot. So I had three pots to wash up!

Anyway, I put the potatoes back into the 5-quart pot and used the back of the slotted spoon to mash them. In went a tablespoon of olive oil, plain yogurt, and some broccoli-cheese soup. Then I started mashing in the spinach.

The result is quite good. Now, what shall I go hog wild with next?