Spiced Sweet Potato & Carrot Soup

Okay, I might have been exaggerating slightly when I said that chocolate cures all illness. There's definitely a place in my cold-fighting repertoire for vitamin C rich food.

And soup. And the combination of vitamin C therewith.

Can you tell that I haven't quite been healed yet? Can you hear my sniffling through the computer screen?

This makes a ton, so you'll have lots on hand in the freezer for emergency cold-fighting power (you know, should you be out of your first line of defence). If you want to keep things vegan, omit the yogurt and use olive or canola oil in place of the butter.

Spiced Sweet Potato & Carrot Soup

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 cups chopped, peeled carrots
3½ cups vegetable or chicken broth
3 cups water
1/3 cup plain yogurt, plus more for serving (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp parsley, minced

For added flavour, add one of the following: 1 tbsp orange zest and ½ cup orange juice (remove ½ cup water), ½ tsp curry powder, 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger

Directions

1. Heat 1 tbsp butter in a large dutch oven. Add onions and sauté until translucent and soft, about 4 minutes. Push onions to side of pan. Add remaining 1 tbsp butter to the center of the pan and let milk solids brown. Once browned, stir in cinnamon and nutmeg and stir just until fragrant.

2. Stir in potatoes and carrots, tossing to get butter over all the vegetables. Then pour in broth and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 35 minutes. Purée in batches in a blender or with an immersion blender. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in yogurt, if using, and serve in deep bowls with an additional dollop and a sprinkling of parsley.

A Lightened Up Breakfast Poutine

One of my absolute favourite brunch places in Toronto is Fire on the East Side. They do this artery clogging but totally delicious breakfast poutine that features pulled pork, poached eggs, chipotle hollondaise sauce and mountains of home fries.

It's insane. And totally delicious. And a luxury, because eating that much egg and butter isn't good for anyone.

Around lunch time today I found myself thinking about that poutine. I really, really wanted a poached egg and more sweet potato fries. But, I also didn't want mountains of calories. We had kale in the crisper, Ewenity Sheep's Milk Feta and a ton of cremini mushrooms.

Slowly, a recipe began brewing in my head. I'd nix the sauce (hollondaise or otherwise) and top a bowl of sweet potato fries with some sautéed mushrooms and kale. In order to keep the flavour of luxury though, I made the sweet potato fries with white truffle oil and some truffle salt. This added a great depth of flavour.

Truffled Sweet Potato Fries topped with Kale, Mushrooms, Feta & Poached Eggs

Ingredients

1 tbsp canola oil, divided
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 small bunch kale, tough stems removed and leaves coarsely chopped
10 cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 large eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white vinegar
1 oz feta, crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

1 batch sweet potato fries, made with truffle oil (if possible)

Directions

1. Heat ½ tbsp oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Sauté garlic for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add in kale and 1/3 cup of water, and let kale steam just until the water evaporates. Season with salt and pepper to taste, remove from pan and set aside somewhere to keep warm.

2. Wipe out frying pan, return to heat and pour in remaining oil. Sauté mushrooms for 5-10 minutes, or until liquid is complete evaporated and mushrooms are golden brown. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.

3. While the mushrooms are frying, heat 1" water in a small saucepan. Stir in 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp vinegar. Bring to a gentle simmer. A small stream of bubbles should just be breaking the surface. If you have an instant read thermometer, it should read about 200ºF. Crack egg into a small dish and gently slide egg from dish into simmering water. Cook, for approximately 3-5 minutes or until the white outside the yolk is just set. Remove carefully with a slotted spoon and set aside while you cook the next egg.

4. To assemble the poutine,  layer potatoes in two shallow bowls, sprinkling each bowl with a quarter of the feta. Top with kale and mushrooms, one poached egg on each dish and sprinkle with remaining feta.

An easy, lightened up breakfast luxury!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Love 'em? Me too. Nothing beats a crispy sweet potato fry. The problem with so many recipes is, because of the natural sugars inside that delicious spud, the outside burns before the potato cooks through.

Soggy sweet potato fries? Not lovable. Oh sure, I'll still eat them. But they don't make me jump for joy.

You could deep fry them. It's delicious, but certainly not as healthy.

So, you can imagine my joy when I pulled out these crunchy little babies:

Crispy, but not burned on the outside. Fluffy in the middle. My work here is done.


Baked Sweet Potato Fries

(based on an Alton Brown recipe from Food & Whine)

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato, peeled
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tbsp all purpose flour (approx)
1 tbsp canola oil
 seasonings: sea salt, curry powder, smoked paprika... the choice is really up to you.


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425º.

2. Cut the sweet potato into equally sized widths (I did about 3/8th of an inch square). If you have a mandoline, this is a great time to pull it out as it will allow you to cut the potato evenly.

3. Place the sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Toss with egg white, then sprinkle with flour and toss again. You can add a little more flour if the mixture looks too runny, but try to avoid that if you can. Sprinkle with seasonings and toss a third time.

4. Drizzle a parchment lined baking sheet (or two) with oil, and place potatoes on sheet(s). Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, flipping half way through. If using more than one sheet, bake at the top and lower thirds of the oven, rotating halfway through when you flip the sweet potatoes over.

Totally Awesome Sweet Potato Chips

I cannot claim responsibility for this brilliant recipe; I found it over on the blog Everyone Is Vegan via Taste T.O.'s weekly blogger round up. So, I guess you could say then, that the people over there found it.

Long story short: you can make awesome, crispy Terra Chip style chips in your oven.

I know, it seems impossible.

But, never question a girl whose favourite food is potato chips and who happens to have given them up for Lent. If there's an awesome substitute to be had, you'd better believe I'm having it. These are ah-may-zing. I've made two batches thus far and they're just... drool. My new favourite snack.

Once they're baked, I don't know how long they'll keep for, as we've never managed to keep them around for more than a few hours.

In fact, I only have pictures of the first batch, because the second one (yam with our favourite curry powder) got inhaled too quickly.

This batch was made with Korean sweet potatoes. They have a really interesting grain to them as they bake up.

Sweet Potato Chips

(from Everyone is Vegan)

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato, peeled
1 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil, melted
¼-½ tsp kosher salt
(optional: mix in ¼ tsp spicy curry powder with the salt)

Directions

1. Arrange racks in oven so that you have one in the bottom 1/3rd and one in the top 1/3rd. Preheat oven to 200º. Line two large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Use a mandoline to slice your potato lengthwise into long, thin strips. You want them to be about 1/16" thick. Resist the urge to make them too thin at the start, because as they cook, they'll lose their moisture and have the potential to become too thin and more like a wafer than the crunchy potato chip that you're after.

3. Toss with coconut oil and place strips on sheets. If you can avoid overlapping, awesome. If not, don't worry about it, you can fix that later. Sprinkle with salt (and seasoning if you're going that route).

4.Bake in oven for 3-4 hours or until totally dry and crispy. Don't be afraid to let them go even longer if they are even the slightest bit chewy. Turn (and separate) slices every hour or so to get even crisping.

5. Brag to your friends about your accomplishments.

Recipe Repeat

If truth be told, we don't have a lot of recipes that go into regular rotation at our house. I've posted this one before, but we've probably had it 2-3 more times in the period since I first posted it. It's so worth another mention. The Sweet Potatao-Chard Quesadilla dish is one of those recipes where the balance of flavours is just so damn tasty that, not only do you not miss the meat, you also won't miss the dairy.

I swear, sweet potato and chipotle chiles in adobo sauce were made for each other. And as we now have natural light around dinner time, I totally meant to snap a picture of the quesadillas, but... you know. Eating comes before blogging sometimes!

If you have time, check out the Guess the Jelly Contest over on Uncanny Preserves. Correct answers are entered into a draw to win a jar!

We're having a district review of our school tomorrow, so if you don't see a post up, it's only because I spent my evening prepping for being judged! I promise, though, that my favourite homemade donair recipe will be going up later this week. We got it from a newspaper back when we lived in New Brunswick back in the '80s, and it's been in the repetoire since then.

Leftovers for Lunch

I had half a sweet potato sitting forlornly on the second shelf of my fridge. I don't remember using the other half, but judging from the state of affairs, I probably used it about week or so ago.

As I look out the window, I can see the wind outside is whipping the snow off the roof of the house next door. It's been doing that all morning, which makes me very happy that I have a PA day today and I get to hang out with my massive pile of marking inside.

Of course, I spent all morning not marking but thinking about lunch.

I knew I wanted to do something with that sweet potato and the organic brown rice I'd just picked up from the new health food store on Bloor.

And something to do with the bag of mushrooms I'd bought on Monday but hadn't touched at all since.

I knew I wanted a bit of heat. Something Thai-inspired felt like the way to go.

It didn't have to be pretty. It just had to taste awesome.

Sweet Potato Mushroom Thai Stir-Fry

Ingredients

1 tbsp canola oil
½ sweet potato, peeled and cut into matchsticks (the thinner you cut them, the faster they'll cook)
1 shallot, peeled, halved and sliced
4 large button mushrooms, sliced*
one handful baby spinach, trimmed
one palmful cilantro, chopped
cooked brown rice

Marinade/Sauce

2 tbsp fish sauce
4 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
¼ - 1 tsp sriracha

*For the record, I quartered half of mine and sliced and marinated the other half. Next time, I'd slice and marinate all of them.

Directions

1. Mix all marinade ingredients together and add sliced mushrooms to it. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or so.

2. Heat oil in wok over high heat. When shimmering, add sweet potatoes and shallots. Stir fry for 5 minutes or until sweet potatoes begin to colour and soften.

3. Add in mushrooms and marinade. You may wish to throw in 2 tbsp of water as well, to help the sweet potatoes cook. Stir fry until sweet potatoes are desired tenderness.

4. Add in spinach and stir fry for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until spinach is wilted.

unwilted

wilted

6. Remove from heat, stir in cilantro and serve over hot rice. Makes enough for 2.

Add a lime slice for bonus flavour!

Nutty Oat Bread with Maple and a Bonus Soup Recipe

This is my second batch of the bread, and, barring some potentially over-toasted nuts, I think the tweaks I made this time round were big improvements to the loaf. Of course, this second one I was making for my family, not for a party, which meant that (of course) it turned out much better.

I should probably do this in reverse: test recipes on family, perfect for company.

As much as I thoroughly enjoy getting my hands dirty and taking out my frustration on dough, the fact that I'm still in Ottawa and have access to a bread machine (and am currently sporting an awesome blister from my failed croquembouche attempt) means I don't have to knead away. And I choose to take the easy way out.

Nutty Oat Bread with Maple

(Loosely adapted from Canada's Best Bread Machine Baking Recipes)

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups milk (1 cup milk, 1/3 cup water for traditional/non bread machine recipe)
1¼ tsp salt
3 tbsp maple syrup (the real stuff please, none of that Aunt Jemima nonsense)
2 tbsp butter (if you have walnut oil, which I didn't, you might want to use it instead)
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour (or bread flour)
½ cup quick cooking (not instant) oats, large or medium flake
¼ cup finely chopped nuts (I recommend either walnut or pecan)
1½ tsp bread machine yeast (if you're not going the bread machine route, I'd just use 2¼ tsp regular yeast)

Directions Bread Machine

1. (Totally optional, but highly recommended) Preheat the oven to 350º. Place oats and nuts on a baking tray and bake, stirring frequently for 10-15 minutes or until brown. Hello flavour country!

2. Measure ingredients into baking pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Insert baking pan into oven chamber. Select Dough Cycle. Let the machine do its thing.

3. Remove dough to a lightly floured surface. Let rest for 10-15 minutes.

4. Form the dough into a loaf shape (we're talking free form here). Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and let rise 30-45 minutes or until doubled in volume. Add a few decorative slashes to the top here, if you're so inclined.

5. (Totally optional step #2) Gently brush the top with water or milk and sprinkle with a few extra oats. 

5. Bake at 375º for 35-45 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. If you have an electric thermometer, you can test with it to see if the loaf is done. Once it reaches 190º, you're golden.

6. Let cool on rack before digging in!

Directions By Hand

Repeat as above, but substitute the following for step two!

2a) In a large bowl stir together1/3 cup warm water (about 100-110º) and ½ tbsp maple syrup. Once dissolved, sprinkle yeast over the top of the surface, and set aside for 5-10 minutes, until yeast blooms (gets all foamy).

2b) In a saucepan, stir together milk, butter, salt and remaining maple syrup and heat just until butter melts. Pour into yeast mixture. (Be sure that the milk mixture isn't too hot! Don't forget that yeast is a living thing and can be killed by high heat at this stage.) Stir together.

2c) Using a wooden spoon, stir in whole wheat flour, oats and 1½ cups white flour. Turn onto floured board and knead for 10 minutes, adding additional white flour, 1-2 tbsp at a time as needed. Form into a ball.

2d) Place dough in a greased bowl, rolling dough to coat with grease on all sides. Cover with tea towel and set aside in a draft free location to rise for about an hour, or until doubled in bulk.

2e) Proceed to step 3.

Bonus Recipe: Root Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 parsnip, chopped
1 sweet potato, roughly cubed
2 potatoes, roughly cubed
4 cups broth (I used leftover turkey stock)
juice of ½ lemon (or orange)
salt and pepper
3 leaves sage finely minced (optional)
1 green onion, minced (optional)

Directions

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and celery, stirring until beginning to soften.

2. Add parsnip, potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until tender.

3. Working in batches, puree soup in a blender until creamy (for a slightly coarser texture, use a hand blender)

4. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. For a sweeter soup, you might want to try orange juice instead of lemon.

5. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped sage and green onion. Serve with the Nutty Oat Bread!

So you need to detox...

With Christmas parties and baking in full swing, I know that many of you, like myself, are going to overindulge. I'm just not one of those people who even wants to say no to a tray of shortbread cookies, or sausage rolls.

Heck, I received about 7lbs of various chocolates from my students! (I left them in my desk at school to get me through the cold, dark, Canadian winter.)

So, when Kat was over on Thursday, we made this totally awesome Sweet Potato, Chard and Mushroom Quesadilla thing. It was bursting with bright vegetables and black beans mixed with chipotle in adobo sauce. We opted to turn these into baked burrito type things rather than quesadillas, which added a nice crunch without the addition of two much fat.

So, when you're looking for something to clear out all the sugar and fat from your system, this is the recipe for you!

A little cilantro wouldn't go amiss!

Sweet Potato, Chard, and Mushroom Vegan Quesadillas

From showmevegan.blogspot.com

(Makes 3 gigantic burritos)

1 1/2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
8 ounces sweet potato, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large chipotle in adobo, minced
freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
15 ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 large cloves garlic, minced
5 baby bella mushrooms, diced
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile
1 bunch chard, stems discarded, leaves sliced
1/3 cup water
3 whole wheat tortillas


Prepare the potatoes by covering with water in a pot and boiling until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain. Mash them in a large bowl using a potato masher, adding chipotle in adobo, 1/2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, kidney beans, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

In a large skillet (with a lid), heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Saute garlic and mushrooms for about 5 minutes, then add cumin, ground chipotle, and salt to taste for about 1 minute. Add chard and 1/3 cup water. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer until liquid is reduced, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Spritz one side of a tortilla with extra virgin olive oil. Turn over and on the un-spritzed side spread a layer of the sweet potato mixture. On half of the tortilla, spread half of the chard mixture. Then fold the tortilla over so that the stuffings are inside the tortilla like a sandwich. Heat through in a skillet over medium heat, turning several times, until browned. Prepare the second tortilla in the same manner. Keeping a close eye on things, broil under the element for a few minutes, until brown. Flip over and repeat on the other side. Serve with salsa and avocado slices.

Sweet Potato Fries with Curry Lime Mayo

Sunday's dinner consisted of flank steak sandwiches - homemade whole wheat bread, Boston lettuce and the juices from the sliced steak - and sweet potato fries. Now, sweet potato fries have been a pain in the butt for me. I haven't been able to get them crisp enough. Today, though, I think I finally got the recipe right!

Sweet Potato Fries with Curry Mayonnaise
Photography by Matthew Kimura (Canadian Living)

 Sweet Potato Fries with Curry Lime Mayo

2 sweet potatoes cut into strips 3/8 inch wide
¼ cup flour
¼ tsp paprika
½ tsp coarse salt
2 egg whites, beaten until frothy

2 tbsp mayonaise
2 tbsp sour cream
juice from ½ lime
¼ tsp curry powder
salt and pepper and sugar to taste

Directions:

1) Preheat over to 425 and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
1) Blanch the sweet potato strips in boiling water for 1½ minutes. I did this in two batches.
2) Remove from water and dry on paper towel (or, if you're out, use a tea towel).
3) Mix flour and paprika together in a bag or any sealable container you might have on hand, add potato strips in batches. Remove from bag, shaking off excess flour. Gently toss in egg whites mixture and place on baking sheet. Be sure to make sure you've left lots of room between each fry. This will help make sure they get nice and crispy instead of steaming.
4) Sprinkle with coarse salt and place in oven for 20-25 minutes, turning fries over half way through.
5) Meanwhile, mix remaining ingredients together in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
6) Remove fries from the oven, and serve with the flavoured mayonnaise.
7) Marvel at your culinary ability and bask in the awe of your husband.