Baked Sweet Potatoes

The story here is that my grandma Ruth (yoga teacher extraordinaire, health nut, Epstein family matriarch, and true Florida-lover) found a great produce stand at her local farmers' market and when I was down visiting last weekend, she highly recommended the sweet potatoes, so I got some :) They're not just sweet potatoes- they're YELLOW sweet potatoes- and they sure are sweet! They sat in our pantry for a few days, then I scrubbed them down, cut off the ends, poked a fork into them a couple times and put them in the oven at 350 for about an hour. The end result? Sweeter-than-you-can imagine, fluffy but moist potatoes that Kyle and I both enjoyed!

Note: I didn't do anything to the skin aside from washing it. It wasn't as tasty as some other potato skins that I've had and was even really tough in spots. Normally, I'd eat at least some of the skin, because I know there are some good health benefits, but it was not easy to eat this, so I didn't. Next time, I may put a little olive oil over it- maybe it was a little burnt? Oh well, the inside was so good, it didn't matter!

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos

Adapted from Clean Food by Terry Walters, this recipe was a very welcome and colorful winter dish during what can sometimes feel like a very earth-toned food season. I was shocked at how quick and easy assembly was. Walters provides a recipe for cashew cheese as a vegan topper (below), but I used about a half cup of a cheddar Colby mix.

Ingredients:
3 sweet potatoes or yams
3 tablespoons lime juice
1.5 cups black beans (I used 1 15 oz can of great northern beans, since it was all I had on hand)
1/2 red onion diced (I used a whole red onion)
1 large tomato diced (I used a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes since they're not currently in season)
8-10 soft corn tortillas (I used whole grain flour tortillas)
1.5 cups prepared salsa
1/2 cup corn (I switched the corn/salsa ratio and used a 15 oz can of corn and a half cup of salsa)
1/4 cup chopped scallions (I didn't have this, but that was probably for the best with all the red onion I used)

Directions:
1. Bake sweet potatoes for 45 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit while you prep your ingredients. Remove and cool enough to peel.
2. Mash peeled sweet potatoes with lime juice.
3. Fold in black beans, onion and tomato.
4. Spoon filling into the center of each tortilla, roll and place, seam side down, in a shallow baking dish.
5. Spoon salsa over top and place under the broiler (mine was at 500 degrees Fahrenheit) for 3 minutes.
6. Remove from broiler, top with corn and cheese and broil for 2 more minutes (I did 4 since I had extra corn).
7. Remove from broiler again and top with chopped scallions.

YUM.

I will make sure I have black beans on hand when I try this again. I just didn't think ahead to soak and cook dried beans. The great northern beans weren't bad, but they weren't quite right. Also, I think a half cup of red onion, or using a small onion is good enough. I'm a huge fan of raw red onions, but a whole medium onion definitely lingered as an aftertaste. I think I will stick with the salsa/corn switch next time I make this, but I can't wait until it's summer and I have some fresh tomato to use in the sweet potato mash. If you use frozen or fresh corn, Walters recommends you blanch it before using.

Cashew cheese:
(which I intend to try next time, since it seems like it will only add to the awesome nutritional content that this dish has to offer)

1/2 cup cashew pieces
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon canola oil

Grind cashews to a fine meal in a food processor. Add nutritional yeast and process briefly to combine. Add oil and process until you have a moist meal (do not over process or meal will become dough-like). Set aside to use as topping during step 6 above.

Sweet Potato and Barley Chili (Slow Cooker Recipe!)

taken from The Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Judith Finlayson

Step one can be done ahead of time and kept in the fridge for up to 2 days (just add an extra 1/2 cup broth before cooking since the barley soaks up liquid from sitting).

Ingredients:
1 tbsp oil (I used vegetable)
2 onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano (I skipped by accident)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup barley (I upped to ~3/4 cup)
28oz coarsely crushed tomatoes with juice
1 cup vegetable broth
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-in cubes (I only had 1)
2 cups cooked red kidney or black beans (I used a 15 oz can, but the recipe says that 1 cup of dried beans, reconstituted and cooked works as well)
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp lime juice (dissolve the chili powder in this)
1 jalapeno pepper minced, or 1/2 to 1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced (the chipotle makes it smokier - amounts can be adjusted to desired spiciness, I used ~1 tbsp jalapeno relish that I always have in the fridge)
1 green bell pepper, diced (this was optional so I skipped)
finely chopped cilantro for garnish (I didn't have, but it sounds yum)
sour cream for garnish (also yum)

1. Dissolve chili powder in lime juice. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring until softened (~3 mins). Add minced garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add barley and toss to coat. Add tomatoes with juice and bring to a boil (my crushed tomatoes were more like a sauce, so I only heated until it bubbled briefly in order to keep from over-thickening). Transfer to slow cooker stoneware.

2. Add vegetable broth, sweet potatoes and beans. Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours or on High for 3 to 4 hours, until barley and sweet potatoes are tender. Stir in chili powder solution, jalapeno pepper, and bell pepper, if using. Cover and cook on High for 20 to 30 minutes, until flavors have melded and bell pepper is tender (since I didn't use the bell pepper, I only did 10 minutes). To serve, ladle into soup plates and garnish with roasted pepper strips, if using, and sour cream and cilantro.

This recipe turned out delicious. It was nice and hearty and included a grain so I didn't bother adding any sides - it was a great stand alone. I'll probably serve it again tomorrow night with Baked Hominy and Cheese. My recipe book says it's easily halved, and we got ~6 servings out of it. Of course, the ace in the hole for us is that it's Sadie-approved!