(Baked) Sweet Potato Fries

For the past four nights, we've eaten Spook Fork Bacon's Spicy Black Bean Burgers slathered with Vegenaise, avocado, and lots of mustard. "Beefy" vegan burgers between two impossibly thick slices of sourdough toast.

And what's a.l.w.a.y.s on the side?

These guys . . .

So much for variety in my diet, right?

There's not much difference between these sweet potato fries and roasted sweet potato cubes. It's all in how you slice them. The thinner, the crispier they get while baking. We're partial to spicy fries anything, so I tossed on a teaspoon of different spices I found lurking around the cabinets. The usual suspects, as you'll see below.

(BAKED) SWEET POTATO FRIES
Serves between 2 and 4, depending on the size of your sweet potatoes

What you'll need . . . 

• 2 large sweet potatoes 
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• Salt + pepper to taste
• Optional: curry powder, turmeric, paprika

Method . . .

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. (Hot, yes -- but unlike with roasting, you want to SHOCK them to crisp as much as possible.) Find a rimmed baking sheet. Doesn't have to be rimmed, but makes things easier.
2. Cut sweet potatoes in half and then each half in half. Then cut into fry shapes, as shown above. You don't want them too thin or too thick, if that is helpful at all.
3. Place chopped sweet potatoes onto the baking sheet and then drizzle with oil -- just enough to coat them. 
4. Sprinkle on your salt, pepper, and other spices. I didn't measure how much I used, but it was a good 1/2 teaspoon of each.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip over/stir around. Bake another 10 minutes -- again, stir + turn over. Then bake another 5 to 10 until you've reached your desired brown. We like ours rather dark.
6. Serve with ketchup or mustard or a sauce of your own creation.

// Random Tip:

Like I said, we've made these a lot recently. Some times, I refrigerate uncooked fries (just the chopped sweet potatoes) for the next day. I find when I bake them right out of the refrigerator, they get slightly crisper. It may very well be my imagination.

// Also:

I feel like tossing in some whole wheat breadcrumbs might add to the crunch in an out-of-this-world sort of way. I am planning on trying that soon.

And I'm sure this method would work well with other types of potatoes, too!


Check out the inexpensive + festive Valentine's Day DIY --||--> STAMPED ARROW T-SHIRT <-- b="">today on Writing Chapter Three. I'm off to make one for myself . . . and then I'm going running outside . . . where it "feels like" 4 degrees F. 

Do I win a prize? Probably not. But the shower after will feel amazing.

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Organization, Shoes, and Sauce

This is what our house looked like over much of the weekend. Now, I know I said it was messy, but I'm sorry to disappoint you. It wasn't THIS bad all along. This is just how it looked while we organized.

We pulled everything out of the cupboards. I mean e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.

I found many bulk mystery flours and other unidentified things. I used to label and date stuff, but lost my way this past year. What I've decided for both a cleaner kitchen and tighter budget is to stop buying exotic ingredients. For example, having bread flour, white flour, and wheat flour is more than enough.

We'll see how long this "rule" lasts. I've been known to get far too excited about food, toting home some new and weird thing to cook or bake with, only to leave it unused for years. Waste. What a bad habit!

Onto much-needed new shoes . . .


It's been a good 7 months since I've bought sneakers, and it was definitely time. Notice anything strange in this photo? Probably not. It's such a minute difference, even I didn't detect anything was off until we got into the car.

First: I decided to go with the Nike FREE 4.0s -- a slightly more minimal version than the Nike Run + 3.0s I've been sporting for the past several years. I'll be sure to review them once I get in some miles and see if there's any significant difference.

(My prediction? No major change).


Anyway, I wear an 8.5. While trying them on, I remember that the right shoe felt slightly snugger than the left. I figured it was because the anti-theft buzzer was on my right foot. I must have been blinded by my love for the magenta color because I ended up buying two different sizes!

(Strangely enough, this is the second time I've come home from shoe shopping with two different sizes. I have no idea why I didn't check before buying. In a rush, I guess.)

I plan to take them back tomorrow and actually buy them again, but online. I found a much better deal at Running Warehouse, where membership to our local runners club means an extra 15% off. I don't know why I didn't just do that to begin with!

Now onto one of my worst food photos ever.


I'll blame it on the iPhone. But really, I can't take a good photo of eggs no matter what camera I'm using. Just don't look at the eggs. Focus on the sweet potatoes. I made the Miso-Tahini Sauce featured on Emily's blog finally over the weekend. I am hooked.

Go make it. NOW! We have a whole jar full of it ready for dribbling and dipping this week. Ada's BIRTHDAY week, by the way. The girl took her first steps yesterday. You can read about them -- as well as the rest of our weekend -- on Writing Chapter Three.

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Crock Pot Meals: FAQ Response

The question: Do you guys have any good recommendations for prepare-in-advance and/or crock pot meals? I often have some free time in the morning and less in the evening, so I'm all about getting dinner ready in advance!

We love our crock pot. Especially when we were training for the marathon, we used it to make soups and other meals at least once a week. Here's my original post (from the METHOD archives) about this juicy, slow cooker vegetable curry.

This week has indeed been an experiment of how to get the most variety of healthy foods into my diet. I've found that using our slow cooker has (tremendously) helped me achieve success with this quest. It all started on Sunday, after I ran my weekly long run. I mused for those 2+ hours about how I'll ever be able to run 26.2 miles. I wasn't concerned cardiovascular-ly, really, because I'm devoting so much of my time and energy to that aspect. More nutritionally, I'm lacking these days. My diet has consisted mostly of white bread and cheese because I've become incredibly lazy (OK, and busy with work, tired with aforementioned running, etc.). So, Monday morning, I took charge -- throwing a rainbow of vegetables into the slow-cooker pot . . . seasoned it all with some spices and vegetable stock to make a soup that has lasted for lunches all week.

Tuesday, I made the vegetable curry (above) . . . and it stretched out to two dinner for us!

I've also discovered through all this veggie-love that I heart cauliflower. I don't know why exactly -- I always figured the white stuff was devoid of nutrition. But I was wrong, and if you'd like more information on why you should be eating cauliflower, just click here.

And here's what you'll need . . .

• Slow cooker/crock pot
• 2 medium-large sweet potatoes, skinned and cubed
• 2 cups cauliflower, chopped
• 1-1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas
• 1 package veggie Chik'n Strips (optional, but highly recommended)
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1 cup coconut milk (I used light)]
• 1 teaspoon raw sugar
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1 small jalapeno, finely chopped
• Bunch of cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• Soy milk (optional, see below)

Method . . .

1. Place the cubed sweet potatoes, chopped cauliflower, and peas in the slow cooker.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the vegetable stock, coconut milk, sugar, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, turmeric and curry powders.
3. Pour this mixture over the veggies and mix around a bit to coat.
4. Turn the slow-cooker on the LOW setting and cook for 4 to 5 hours. If you're in a pinch and would rather wait only 2 to 3 hours, you may use the HIGH setting. However, I've read that that makes it all a bit more mushy.
5. You may find that you want more liquid in the pot. If so, feel free to add splashes of soy milk as desired. However, note that the veggies will cook down.
6. If you plan to eat the meal the day you make it -- once it is ready, add the Chik'n Strips and heat until they are warm. I decided to add these last so they didn't get too soft. And, actually, we ate ours the next day . . . so I poured the vegetable curry into a big pot, heated it up again (on the stove) and THEN added the Chik'n strips.
7. Serve with naan (recipe coming later today!)
   

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