saucy lentils

 I had this at a potluck last week, and one would think I"d be lentiled out but I am not.  It was really good!  the maker just pointed me to the Washington POst recipe for saucy lentils, which fortunately has been repeated on other sites. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup lentils, cleaned
• 1 small onion, chopped
• (2 carrots: not in recipe but would be good!) 
• 1 T oil 
• 3 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1 T of ginger, finely grated or minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp salt (though check sodium level of broth) 
• 1 tsp-ish pepper  
• (1 T tomato paste - I skipped this)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cinnamon stick 

Clean lentils. 

Heat oil, when shimmering add onion, saute a few minutes until beginning to soften.   Add garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds, add spices, mix up.  Add lentils and mix up, then add broth and cinnamon.  

Heat up then simmer for about 35 minutes.  Remove cinnamon stick and smash garlic cloves into lentils.  

I served this over roasted sweet potatoes: cut in half, smear oil on cut side, rub together, place face down and cook at 375 for 25-35 minutes depending on size of sweet potato.  

Cook with yogurt, fresh cilantro.  Would also be good over rice, potatoes, dumplings, etc.  

black bean and sweet potato chili

For some reason, Jennifer Garner's videos show up on my FB reels.  I wouldn't say I'm a fan of her acting, or choice in husbands, but it is kind of fun to see her being silly in her kitchen.  I would totally hang out with her.  She was making this chili that I decided to copy and post here because I've been wanting to make something like this for awhile. 

 

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili by Foster's Market Durham 

 

Ingredients: 

1 Tbsp olive oil 

1 onion, chopped 

2 medium sweet potatoes, diced 

1 red bell pepper 

1 green bell pepper (poblano is always preferred for me)

2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced (I may try pickled because I have those on hand)

3 garlic cloves, minced 

3 Tbsp chili powder 

2 tsp ground cumin 

2 tsp dried basil 

1 tsp dried marjoram 

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 

3 bay leaves 

1 tsp kosher salt 

½ tsp ground pepper 

6 cups low-sodium veg broth 

1 (28oz) can chopped tomatoes  

1 (12oz) beer (I'd probably skip this as I never have beer in my house)

½ cup bulgur or barley 

2 (15oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained 

Garnish: cilantro, scallions, avocado, sour cream, cheese, lime wedges

 

Directions: 

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over med heat until sizzling hot and add onion. Reduce to low and cook, stirring often, ~10 mins. Add sweet potatoes, bell peppers and jalapeños, stirring occasionally, 5 mins more. Stir in garlic and cook, stirring, 1 min longer. 

 

2. Add chili powder, cumin, basil, marjoram, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, salt & pepper and cook, stirring, ~2 mins. Add broth, tomatoes, beer and bulgur (I used farro!) and stir to combine, bringing to a low boil. Reduce to simmer and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, ~40 mins. 

 

3. Remove bay leaves from chili and discard. Add beans, stir to mix and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are heated through, ~15 mins. Garnish with cilantro and scallions (avocado, sour cream, and cheese, if you have them! Maybe blue corn chips, yum) and serve warm with wedges of lime to squeeze into chili.

chipotle bean and sweet potato burritos

 These burritos were quite tasty and nice umami without cheese. 

Ingredients

Yield:10 burritos

• ¼ cup vegetable oil, such as avocado
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
• 5 to 7 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, roughly chopped
• 5 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 medium sweet potato (12 to 16 ounces), peeled and diced
• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock, or water
• 2 (15-ounce) cans beans, such as pinto, Great Northern, cannellini or a mix, drained
• 10 burrito-sized (10-inch) flour tortillas, at room temperature or warmed (see Tip)
• Mexican crema, or sour cream (optional)
• Tender greens, such as baby spinach, arugula or mesclun mix (optional; see Tip)

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Heat oil in a large skillet on medium. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and 2 teaspoons salt, and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the chopped chipotles along with their sauce and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about a minute.

2. Step 2

   Add the diced tomatoes and cook until they start to melt and get soupy, about 10 minutes. Add the sweet potato and stock, bring to a boil, lower to a steady simmer and cook until the sweet potato is fork-tender and the tinga is reduced and slightly thickened, 12 to 15 minutes. Add the beans, mash the mixture to your desired texture and simmer for 3 more minutes to heat beans through. Taste for salt.

3. Step 3

   Assemble burritos one at a time: On a work surface, spread a tortilla with 1 tablespoon crema, if using, then, using a slotted spoon, scoop about ¾ cup of filling on top of the tortilla near the edge closest to you. Top with greens, if using. To close the burrito, fold the left and right sides of the tortilla over the filling, then starting with the side closest to you, roll up the burrito, folding the top sides of the tortilla towards each other as you roll. Place the burrito seam-side down on a serving platter. Repeat to make remaining burritos. Serve immediately, with crema and salsa roja, if desired.

Tips

• If you’d like, warm the tortillas in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high until toasted in spots and pliable, about 1 minute each side.
• To freeze the burritos for later, omit the optional greens during assembly and place the burritos on a parchment-lined sheet pan as you assemble them, making sure none of the burritos are touching. Freeze the burritos for 1 to 2 hours, until solid enough to move. Once they are almost frozen solid, place in a tightly sealed container and freeze for up to 6 months. To reheat, wrap the frozen burrito in parchment paper and microwave for 3 minutes on high. Let stand 2 minutes before serving.

 

 

no added sugar sweet potato pie

 Trying to keep my added sugar consumption quite low, I'm surprised at how little there is for this on-line without adding artificial sweeteners - which, yuk. 

So here is my first attempt at no sugar added sweet potato pie.

For reduced sugar, I took this pie with the sugar cut to scant 1/3 cup.  That breaks down to (with full 1/3 cup), about 8.3 added grams of sugar per slice.  That is not bad compared to almost everything else.  I took it to Thanksgiving and it was very good.

But I also want to lean into my date paste and what a great sweetener it is.  It's worked so well with muffins.  I need to remember how I made it because it's great tucked back in the fridge for months.  I also need to remember the whole wheat pie crust recipe I used for this pie.  (I froze one crust, as it made two.)

So here is how I made this sweet potato pie, and I will rework it until I'm satisfied.

• 1.5-2 pounds sweet potatoes cooked
• 2 T butter
• 1/3 cup date paste
  
• 1/4 c. milk (any percent, half & half, evaporated, etc.) (note: this is cut from 1/2 cup because the date paste provides moisture)
  
• a bit of salt
• 1tsp+ vanilla
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• mace or cardamom or other spices
• 2 eggs

Bake sweet potatoes (about 3 medium) for about 55 minutes at 425 degrees.  Allow to cool and peel.

Blend sweet potatoes in a food processor.  Add butter and process some more.  Add the rest of the ingredients and process together.

Bake in uncooked pie crust at 350 for about 55 minutes. 

**

Verdict: DELICIOUS.  It was a little grainy, probably from the date paste that I had made in the food processor.  If it mattered (like taking to fancy company), date paste in the blender.  But I do not mind grainy in my pie (at all), so for me it's perfect!   The color wasn't even off, which I'd feared.  The date paste is a not very appetizing gray-brown, so I thought it would make the pie off-color, but it was like pumpkin pie, which people eat without complaint.)

kale-ground beef-sweet potato meal

 I like simple fare, and this using up of things I have on hand was very tasty and nutritious.  All sort of substitutions would work great.

Bake 

• sweet potatoes.  (New trick I learned: cut in half and cook in toaster oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  Perfect!)
  

Saute:

• onion (I used leftover 1/2 of a large onion)
• garlic 
  
• ground beef (3/4# or so, from a local farmer who grinds in organ meats - liver, heart)

 Once the onion is soft and ground beef barely pink, add:

• kale (I put in an equal amount of kale as ground beef, by eyeball; it was frozen)

Let it cook until kale is preferred texture.  Season with salt, pepper, etc. (I used garlic powder instead of cooking garlic in it.)

Put sweet potato on plate, serve with ground beef/kale and sides (I added sauerkraut and feta).  

It makes enough for about four meals so I'll have it for breakfast the next few days.

*I got this from a local farmer, and they added in organ meats (liver, heart). 

sweet potato fries

 Sweet potato fries, from here.  Very tasty.

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1teaspoon garlic powder
• 1teaspoon paprika
• 1teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

1. Heat the oven to 400.
2. Cut the sweet potatoes into sticks ¼ to ½ inch wide and 3 inches long, and toss them with the oil.
3. Mix the spices, salt and pepper in a small bowl, and toss them with the sweet potatoes. Spread them out on 2 rimmed baking sheets.
4. Bake until brown and crisp on the bottom, about 15 minutes, then flip and cook until the other side is crisp, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

 

sweet potato pie ("vegetable protein dish")

 Looking for less sugar always, this is what I've come up with:

• 1.5 pounds sweet potatoes cooked (so a bit more raw)
• 2 T butter
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. milk (any percent, half & half, evaporated, etc.)
• a bit of salt
• 1tsp+ vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• mace or cardamom or other spices
• 2 eggs

Bake sweet potatoes (about 3 medium) for about 55 minutes at 425 degrees.  Allow to cool and peel.

Blend sweet potatoes in a food processor.  Add butter and blend some more.  Add the rest of the ingredients and blend together.

Bake in uncooked pie crust* at 350 for about 55 minutes.

*I want to figure out a nicer pie crust than usual ones, which don't excite me.  Graham cracker crust?  Shortbread? 

sweet potato hash

This was a very tasty way to use up bits and bobs.

Ingredients

• sweet potatoes or white potatoes (I used 1 medium sweet and 2 smaller white)
• onion chopped
• kale or other vegetables (used about 2 c. worth)
• a meat that will render fat (had a lovely chorizo a friend gifted me)
• garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, pepper

Dice potatoes and boil about 15 minutes. 

Cook meat and render fat; remove.

Cook potatoes in the fat for about 15 minutes, season.  Remove.

Saute onion and kale.  Then add back in the other ingredients.

Would be lovely with an avocado on top, but the one I had was not good.

sweet potato buttermilk pancakes

Soak together overnight:

• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup yogurt or buttermilk
  

In the morning, stir in:

• 1 cup cooked sweet potato (or drained contents of 1 pint jar of canned sweet potatoes)
  
• 1 egg
• 2 T melted butter 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans 
  

sweet potatoes in tomato sauce with chickpeas and brown rice

 The other day I made tchieboudjenne, and .... it wasn't nearly as good as I remember from Senegal (not surprising).  But my favorite part was the big chunks of white sweet potato that had cooked in the tomato sauce that the broken rice was then also cooked in. So I'll try to recapture that, changing rice to brown and adding garbanzos.  Not sure the best time to add them so will try this way. 

• 2 white sweet potatoes - peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1/3 c oil
  
• Onion, sliced thinly
• 2 cloves garlic
• scotch bonnet pepper or similar hot flavorful pepper
  
• small can tomato paste
• bouillon, salt, pepper
• garbanzos, 1 jar
  
• 1 c brown rice 

Heat oil and slowly cook onions.  When onions are translucent, add the tomato paste and cook about five minutes (stirring to avoid burning). Grind together in mortar garlic and pepper* and add; cook for a couple minutes.  Add bouillon and pepper (and salt).  Add 4 cups water, bring to simmer. 

Add in the sweet potato chunks and cook until tender, then use slotted spoon to remove and set aside.  

Add rice to tomato mixture, lower heat and simmer covered to cook about 45 minutes.  

Stir in a can of garbanzos and let sit for about ten minutes.  Eat with chunks of sweet potatoes.

*I don't have a mortar/pestle and I don't want to go to the grocery store, so I'm going to use a food processor to very finely chop up the garlic cloves and 1/2 bell pepper I have in fridge. 

vegetable breakfast bowls

 Sweet potato-kale-zucchini breakfast bowls from here, with some adjustments.  It's ... very tasty.  Almost too much because I had a heavy hand, worried about vapid vegan fare.  It also took over two hours to get together and it only made enough for 2-3 meals, so definitely not something to do on a work morning, but a nice Saturday morning activity (and I wonder if I could roast vegetables at my office kitchen).  It's just about restaurant quality, TBH. 

#1 - savory granola (I omitted everything in italics and it still turned out great)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons ground flax meal
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/3 cup raw buckwheat groats
• 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds or hemp seeds
• 1/3 cup coconut flakes
• 1/3 cup golden raisins optional
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Dash cayenne pepper
• 1/3 cup aquafaba or liquid from a can of chickpeas; substitute an additional 1 1/2 tablespoons ground flax mixed with 1/4 cup warm water
• 3 tablespoons safflower grapeseed, or olive oil
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F and line one or two baking sheets with parchment. Mix the flax, oats, buckwheat, all of the seeds, coconut flakes, raisins, and all of the spices/seasonings together in a large mixing bowl.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the aquafaba, oil, and maple syrup. Pour this wet mixture over the granola mix and stir well to combine everything evenly.
• Bake the granola for 20-25 minutes, stirring a few times during cooking to ensure that the granola at the edges of your baking pan doesn't burn. Allow the granola to cool completely before transferring it to an airtight storage container.

 

#2 - turmeric tahini dressing

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon tamari or nama shoyu
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated finely on a microplane, or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 small clove garlic grated on a microplane or finely minced (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
• 1/3 cup water (to desired consistency)
  

Mix together. Note: the flavor is intense.  This will be good on a salad with chickpeas and the savory granola.

 

#3 - roasted vegetables

I did sweet potatoes and zucchini per her recommendations.  Other vegetables could work.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Chop zucchini, mix with oil & salt and pepper, put on pan.  Peel and chop sweet potato, toss with oil and salt & pepper (other spices as desired).  I put it all on one pan and roasted for 30 minutes.  That was a little too long.  

 

#4 - sauteed kale - from here.

Heat oil in skillet and cook 2 cloves garlic until soft (not colored).  Add in 1/2 c. stock and chopped (young, soft) kale and bring to a boil.  Cover and let cook 5 minutes. Remove cover and cook until liuid evaporates.  Add 1T red wine vinegar (2T was too much) and salt/pepper to taste.

 

#5 - Assemble bowls with vegetables, granola, and dressing. 

sweet potato hash

I'm in a refrigerator-clearing phase and landed on sweet potato hash for breakfast (and leftovers for most of the rest of this week).

I looked at this for some guidance but mostly went off script.

Preheat oven to 400.

Saute for about 10 minutes:
-1 onion (I used 1/2 onion that's been in fridge a long time)
-3-5 sweet potatoes (I shredded but next time I think I'll chop into small cubes)

Add in and cook about another 8-10 minutes:
-sausage (I had some spinach/feta sausage from a sale in the freezer; any kind is good)

 Put on top and let it steam for about 5 minutes
-some greens (I used the mizuna that was starting to bolt in my garden, a leftover spinach salad from earlier in the week, and the last of the refrigerator spinach)

Mix it together, then make indentations and add:
-eggs (duck eggs from friend are perfect!)

Bake for 10-15 minutes.  I did just over 15 minutes and the yolks weren't runny at all. 

canning sweet potatoes

It seems like every listing of how to can sweet potatoes involves cooking them first and using a sugary syrup.  I don't want to do either of those.  I just want to can what I can get inexpensively on sale when it's available.  I use it for the dog or I could use it as an ingredient.  Obviously I don't want botulism or any other issue, but cooking first seems silly.

So, I followed some information here and here, and came up with:

Chop sweet potatoes into chunks and put in jars; fill jar to bottom of rim with boiling water.  Process at 10 pounds of pressure for 65 minutes for pints.

sweet potato pie

Well, it was a debacle. The sweet potatoes are not orange, one didn't mash properly, the butter was all chunked in the pie. I have no pastry blender and my kitchen is about 300 degrees at all times. The only pie tin to buy in this entire city is a flimsy aluminum one. The oven doesn't work right - thank goodness I have an oven thermometer, because one millimeter adjustment takes it from 400 degrees to 200 degrees, and I am not exaggerating. Then I had to turn the oven off midway through baking so we could go shopping at the market (which was really a trip), and that's of course after the pie spilled and overflowed all over the oven floor.

But. The paramour's cousin came over to teach me to cook some Liberian dishes (eddoes soup and gravy for eddoes) and my contribution was the sweet potato pie, and he loved it. "Please, let me be here to learn how to make it with you next time. And we'll make potato greens." Deal!

So, I just followed these two recipes so I'll just give full credit.

Sweet potato pie

Ingredients

• 1 pound (2 cups) sweet potato
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions

1. Boil sweet potato whole in skin for 40 to 50 minutes, or until done. Run cold water over the sweet potato, and remove the skin.
2. Break apart sweet potato in a bowl. Add butter, and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Pour filling into an unbaked pie crust.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Pie will puff up like a souffle, and then will sink down as it cools.

Crust

8 Tbsp (1/2 cup) Chilled butter
1 1/3 cup Flour
dash Salt
2-3 Tbsp Ice water

Cut the butter into 8-12 pieces and place in bowl. Add the flour and salt and use a pastry blender to mix the butter with the flour until it’s the size of small peas. (If you don’t have a pastry blender, you can use two forks or your fingers.)

Using your fingers, mix in the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix just until it holds together, only a few seconds. Press the dough into a flat disk.

Sprinkle a little flour on a cool, dry surface and place the dough on it. (Note: if you’ve made the larger recipe, take about 2/3 of the dough for rolling the bottom crust.) Rub a little flour onto the rolling pin so it won’t stick and roll the dough in a rough circle a little larger than the diameter of your pan. If the dough sticks, sprinkle on a little more flour. The dough should be about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.

Use a spatula to loosen the dough from the surface, and fold it in half and then quarters to make lifting it easy. Place in the pie pan and press to shape. If you’re so inclined, use your fingers or a fork to make a pretty edge on the crust.

roasted sweet potatoes with thyme

(I apologize that I'm a horrible photographer.)

Taken from here, with some modifications.

• 3-4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1"-1 1/2" thick rounds
• 2-3 tablespoons melted butter (or olive oil, but butter & sweet potatoes is a match made in heaven!)
  
• 1/2 - 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
  
• 2 small cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt

Mix it all together. Lay out rounds single layer on a pan and cook at about 400 degrees for about 40 minutes.

roasted beets and sweet potatoes

from here ... so good!!

• 4-6 medium beets, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 (or so) cloves of garlic
  
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 3 medium sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
• 1/2 - 1 large (sweet) onion, chopped (needn't be sweet)
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. In a bowl, toss the beets with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to coat. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet.
3. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and sugar into the sweet potatoes and onion, coating well.
   
4. Bake beets 15-30 minutes in the preheated oven (20 minutes was insufficient). Mix sweet potato mixture with the beets on the baking sheet. Continue baking 45 minutes, stirring after 20 minutes, until all vegetables are tender.

***
This is super yummy and really hit the spot. The trick is to get fresh, local produce and let it stand on its own.

By the time the beets were no longer too crunchy, the sweet potatoes were too soft - so I'd cook the beets longer alone or chop even smaller.

Also, I cooked this in an oven that was 425 for 1/2 hour and then 350 degrees - I don't think temperature really matters and you can roast them at any temperature.