New Year Sweet Potato Chili

Happy New Year!

I spent the day in fuzzy pajamas drinking Lemon Lift, Netflixing Sons of Anarchy, and taking naps with Newt (who, incidentally, talked his way out of a New Years bath).

I also started to take down my library Christmas tree

(which involves walking all of these glorious books back upstairs...). After a grueling two several trips upstairs with the smallish books from the top, I was famished.

So I ate some chocolate.

But then later, I actually made dinner.

You know what I love? When I already have everything in the house to cook dinner without requiring a trip to the grocery store. I'm getting pretty good at that. I'm flexible. I'm hip. I'm prepared like yellow mustard.

NEW YEARS DAY FACTS:
# 1. Today, it is cold and rainy in Texas.
# 2. I have about 46 pounds of organic sweet potatoes in my cupboard (not all of them went into that pecan maple sweet potato pie for Thanksgiving... that I ended up eating myself because pretty much the entire family doesn't eat sweet potatoes for some ridicu-reason).
# 3. I've been on my game with storing the fresh produce I can't eat right away. Basically, my freezer looks like a health enthusiast's dream.
# 4. OK. So, #2 isn't exactly factual. But I do have a lot.

So... what I'm getting at is this:

Sweet potato chili. I used this giantest sweet potato I had. It was probably a 3 pound potato. I peeled it (and then cheated and microwaved it for two minutes so it was easier to slice..... I can't be getting chopping blisters on New Years Day, ya'll). I diced it. I also diced some green bell pepper. I had some chopped onion and garlic in the fridge already from our Christmas Eve dinner. I rinsed some beans (sadly, no blackeyed peas though..). I had a bag o' red, ripe tomatoes and about a cup and a half of chopped greens pulled from the freezer. Chili powder and dried chipotle come out of hiding in the spice cabinet. Suddenly, this is getting real.

One of my resolutions is to be more productive this year. I want to get more done in a day. That goes for both work and the rest of life.

So I also ran the dishwasher.

I hope ya'll are having a fab night. And that no one else shoots fireworks to scare your dogs.

Double Sweet Potato Lentil Curry

 

Aaaahhhhh. Autumn. It's that beautiful time of year in the south when the temperature dramatically dips into the 80's and we begin craving all things cozy and pumpkin and spiced and comforting. Down here in Texas, there are a good many few of us who can't wait to slip into turtleneck sweaters. Amiright?? J/K. Lolz.

Actually, the weather is quite lovely in the mornings. Newton and I can run a solid 2 miles without alarming passers-by that one of us might overheat and die at any moment. So, our seasons here are a little screwy, but I accept you for YOU, Texas weather!

One of the many great things about my little CSA box, is that I don't have to think about what veggies are in season or out of season (despite the weather). The box just tells me.

Last week, my delivery included sweet potato greens, yellow squash, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, okra, onion, patty pan squash, and spaghetti squash. I was able to use three of those items in the recipe I'm sharing today, adapted from smitten kitchen and The NY Times.

What do I mean by double sweet potato? I used the one huge sweet potato along with the sweet potato greens. If you look at the recipes from SK and the NYT, you'll notice that they both used Swiss chard. The fact is, you can use any greens at all. Spinach. Kale. Turnip. Just get 'em in there.

This dish is warm and lovely. Some notes to make it a success:

• There are a lot of ingredients on this list, and a bit of chopping, but I assure you that the cooking part is easy.
• The trick is to get the lentils cooked through all the way. No one likes a crunchy lentil. No one.
• If you don't have garam masala on hand but you do have a plethora of spices, just make your own blend. See my version below the recipe box.  
• Don't skip the lime. 

Double Sweet Potato

& Lentil Curry

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 45 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

½ jalapeno, minced

1 teaspoon garam masala*

1 teaspoon curry powder

3-4 cups vegetable broth, divided

1 lb sweet potato, peeled and chopped into ½” cubes

¾ cup dried lentils (I used green)

1 bay leaf

2 packed cups chopped sweet potato greens

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground pepper

1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped

2 scallions, chopped

1 lime, zested

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onions until translucent (about 4 minutes).

2. Add garlic, ginger, jalapeno, garam masala and curry powder. Sauté for 1 minute.

3. Add 3 cups broth, sweet potato, lentils, and bay leaf. Turn heat to HI, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes. 

4. Add sweet potato greens, salt and pepper. If lentils look dry, add remaining vegetable broth.

5. Cook for 20 minutes longer, or until lentils and potatoes are tender.

6. Serve topped with scallion, lime zest, and lime wedge.

NUTRITION INFORMATION (Per serving):

Calories 220, Total Fat 4.0 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium: 1138 mg, Protein 5.7 g, Fiber 7.0 g

* Garam Masala: (this makes just enough for the recipe above, adapted from here)

• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp ground coriander
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
• very scant 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• very scant 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Aaaaaannnnndddd... Finally, DON'T WORRY ABOUT THAT SODIUM. The recipe calculator likely used a high sodium broth. To ensure your sodium intake isn't through the roof, I'd recommend using a low sodium veggie broth.

Happy fall, ya'll!

Chipotle Sweet Potato and Black Bean Taco Salad

I often think that having a second one of myself at home would be pretty great. I'm fun. I'm easy going. I cook. Right now, for example, my stomach is grumbling so loud that it could possibly be mistaken for the thunderstorm outside because it's after 10 am and I haven't made anything for breakfast. (But wait!! I have showered and combed my hair, so let's not go making any assumptions about how productive I will be today.) So, anyway, while this girl lays on the couch wondering what to eat, the other Lindsey would've already made some sweet potato almond butter muffins and the house would smell like fresh baked yum.

Yeah. Since that's not happening... I do have another sweet potato recipe that I'm pretty excited to share with ya'll this weekend. It's sweet. It's smokey. It's spicy. And guacamole.

My recipe is inspired by this one, written by Erin of Naturally Ella. These tacos have made their way into our bellies a few times already. The first time we made them, I was so pleasantly surprised by the flavor combo that I didn't for one second miss the cheese or sour cream that generally adorns your average taco or taco salad.


This go 'round, I decided to skip the tortillas and mix everything together with some salad greens to increase leaf intake (it's all about the beans n' greens, ya'll) while cutting the refined carbohydrates. With a little extra lime juice and a big dollop of guacamole, I didn't need to add salad dressing, but a light avocado vinaigrette would work really well here (if you are so inclined to make some, try blending avocado, white wine vinegar, lime juice, and olive oil with a little S&P).

Did you know that chipotle peppers are really just smoked jalapeños? These babies truly supply the flavor to this dish and cannot be substituted or omitted. Chipotle peppers come either canned in adobo sauce or dried. J and I both keep the dried variety in our respective spice cabinets. While this kind does take a little time to rehydrate and we miss out on the adobo sauce, they're super cheap and so easy to pull out  at a moment's notice (without an extra trip to the grocery store). If you purchase the canned variety, you should omit the water and add the adobo sauce to the blender instead.

Intimidated by the heat of chipotle? The spice is toned down a bit with the addition of honey, but you should probably use a small pepper (or half of a large one), or de-seed a dried pepper if you are not sure you can handle the spice. Definitely use less chipotle if you are reducing recipe. For the guacamole, you may also choose to substitute a de-seeded jalapeño for the serrano since jalapeños are not quite as hot.

 Chipotle Sweet Potato & Black Bean Taco Salad with Guacamole

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 30 min

Servings: 6

INGREDIENTS:

Salads:

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 medium sweet potatoes, cubed (about 3 cups)

4 cloves garlic

1 dried chipotle pepper, rehydrated in ¼ cup warm water for 30 minutes

1.5 Tbsp honey

Juice of 1 large lime

29 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

Guacamole, for serving
10 cups salad greens - or - 12 corn tortillas
avocado vinaigrette, optional (see text)

Guacamole:

2 small, ripe avocados

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ large onion, chopped

1 serrano pepper, minced

¼ cup cilantro, chopped

1 roma tomato, seeds removed and chopped

Juice of 2-3 lime wedges

¼ tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Add onions, garlic and sweet potato. Saute for 4 minutes.

2. In a blender or food processor, liquefy the rehydrated chipotle and water with honey and the juice from one lime. Add the chipotle sauce to the skillet and cover. Cook for 10 minutes.

3. Add black beans to the skillet and gently mix to combine. Cover and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes or until sweet potato is cooked through.

4. While sweet potato mixture is cooking, prepare guacamole. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mash with a fork. Add lime juice and salt to taste.

5. Spoon sweet potato mixture over salad greens (or into corn tortillas) and top with guacamole. Serve with a lime wedge and a cold beer.

NUTRITION INFORMATION (per salad serving, 6):

Calories 337, Total Fat 10 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium: 192 mg, Protein 12.4 g, Fiber 15.2 g

Try it this week! As I alluded, the original recipe is for sensational tacos, so if you are in the mood for un-salad, by all means - grab a couple of tortillas and get busy! I recommend small corn tortillas over flour. You won't be disappointed. Either way, the final addition to this delicious tasty fest is a cold beer with a slice of lime. Dos Equis is my favorite. Obvi. 

Speaking of XX, we should probably add that to my invisible grocery list. If I had another Lindsey around here, she'd probably be writing this down and making plans for dinner tonight. Just sayin'.