A quarter-century ago, that canny U.S. organization the National Potato Promotion Board, declared February to be National Potato Lover’s Month. This, as Rebecca Rupp observed in her fascinating book, "Blue Corn and Square Tomatoes," (1987), was nicely timed to overlap Valentine’s Day. Alas, for the lowly spud, this was nothing more than a clear case of blowing their own tuber. No such claim has survived to the present day, at least not here.