Sweet Potato Fries

Is it just me or are sweet potato fries one of the best inventions of all time? I mean, normal old french fries are amazing, but throw in sweet potatoes??? Whaaaa??? It totally blew my mind the first time I saw these. Granted the first time I got them was after I moved and lived somewhere other than the middle of a cornfield for the first time in my life. Maybe all that corn blocked the inspiration needed to dunk a bunch of sweet potatoes into a vat of grease and fry them until they were crisp and delicious.

This is a slightly healthier version of your typical sweet potato fries. I neither had a large vat of grease nor wanted to commit myself to the clean up after. I read this post on Smitten Kitchen and decided that this was one of the best things you could do to any kind of potato. They're really simple to make and so so good. John and I devoured them in approximately 3.29 minutes. No joke, I totally timed us.

Sweet Potato Fries
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen


3 medium sweet potatoes
salt
pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 400.

If you're into neat clean peeled fries, peel the sweet potatoes. If you don't care, leave the skins on and cut the sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch sticks. Dump the sweet potatoes into a pot of cold water and season with 1 tbsp salt. Bring the water to a boil. As soon as the water boils, check the potatoes. If you can easily stick a sharp paring knife into them, remove them from heat and drain carefully. The potatoes will be a little soft, so be careful not to break them apart.

Allow the potatoes to cool slightly. Brush a baking pan with about 1-2 tbsp of the olive oil, enough so that the potatoes don't stick. Then toss the potatoes with remaining olive oil, 1/2 tsp kosher salt and about 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper. Spread into a single layer onto the greased baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are slightly browned and crisp.

Enjoy!

P.S. I promise to not post anything about potatoes next time. Instead I will be talking about sugar. And yeast. And caramel. And it will be good.

Fall Lentils

This was my first experience cooking lentils. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while. Well, "a while" is sort of relative. I was standing in the bulk bin isle at the grocery store two weeks ago and realized everything was 10% off. So I started loading up on everything I'd been wanting to cook. And then I saw lentils and though "I should cook with lentils. Wouldn't I be super cool if I made something out of dried lentils?" And yes, thank you, I realize that the word "cool" in that phrase is also relative.

This dish is a little sweet from the sweet potatoes and ginger but it's also spicy from the jalapeno and the garam masala. It also made a giant batch and it was the perfect lunch for the rest of the week.

Curried Lentils with Sweet Potatoes
Adapted slightly from Smitten Kitchen, originally from the New York Times

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced (or grated, but I always just mince mine)
1.5 tsp garam masala
1.5 tsp curry powder
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
4-5 cups vegetable broth (I used all 5)
2 lbs sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/2 cup dried lentils
1 bay leaf
1 lb Swiss chard, center stalks removed and torn into pieces
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, jalapeno, garam masala and curry powder and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Stir in 4 cups of broth, sweet potatoes and bay leaf. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 25 minutes. Add up to 1 cup of stock as necessary if lentils look too dry. Stir in chard, salt and pepper and continue cooking until lentils are tender, about 30-45 minutes total.

Stir in parsley and serve.

Enjoy!