Over the past few years, I’ve seen mention made here and there of blue potatoes, but until a day ago I’d never seen them up close and personal. So when I stumbled upon them in the supermarket yesterday afternoon, I couldn’t resist buying a bag, of course, thinking it’d be fun to wow my kids with them.

When dinnertime rolled around, I could hardly suppress my glee at serving up plates of meatballs and blue mashed potatoes (they were more lavender than blue, really, but why quibble over details). The kids had strong reactions of their own, but nothing like the wonder and delight I had anticipated. Instead, they eyed the violet mounds of spuds with suspicion and me with distrust and flatly refused even to try them. What a bunch of lightweights.