the sweet potato

the sweet potato has quickly become a staple in our diet. it was some years ago when i asked kristin to start cooking me sweet potatoes instead of the red potatoes she normally made. kristin thought she didn't like sweet potatoes & kept up the act of making two separate batches of potatoes for each of us - we normally had potatoes with our buffalo burgers. one night she tried the sweet potato & since she's never looked back.

given that we usually only ate sweet potatoes with our buffalo burgers, we didn't eat them all that often. things changed when kristin started this vegan thing though. she mashed up some sweet potatoes in preparation for the upcoming holidays. she mixed them with soy milk & they were amazing. after thanksgiving we probably had mashed sweet potatoes 3 or 4 times a week. the task of mashing up sweet potatoes took its toll though & it become just to much work.

before long we had a new sweet potato recipe (we have danielle to thank for this) that would make things easier for both of us --- sweet potato sticks (some call them sweet potato fries, but given that they aren't fried why would we call them that?). very simple & oh so good! cut up a sweet potato, drizzle olive oil & fresh ground pepper over them, & then bake them in the oven.

crazy as it may sound i stumbled upon an even simpler recipe that i would have never thought to do - baked sweet potatoes. one of the guys in my office, kearney, brought in a sweet potato this past week & baked it in the microwave. since this event i've made 6 baked sweet potatoes for the both of us. kristin likes a little sea salt & fresh ground pepper on hers, i just like my plain.

just when i thought it couldn't get any better we enjoyed the best dinner either of us have ever had at casa tonight. lentils, rice & quinoa mixed with beets, the best greens ever, & the best of all - sweet potatoes with toasted walnuts! we asked for their sweet potato recipe & like ever other recipe we now have it is amazingly simple. slice up the sweet potato (they leave the skin on), dribble on sesame oil, sea salt, & bake until ready. the entire meal was so good that i ate 3 & 1/2 plates - good thing today was my long run. i can't wait until i see sweet potatoes on casa's menu again.