Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I lived my entire life missing out on one of life's greatest food sources.  I can pinpoint the moment when I decided I knew that I didn't like sweet potatoes, one Thanksgiving years ago.  I tried candied yams and knew without a doubt in my 13-year-old mind that I would never eat yams or sweet potatoes ever again.  NEVER.

And I held true to that for 16 1/2 years.

The truth is, I would still be in that boat if I did not 'need' to make Joy the Baker's sweet potato cookies for the baking group I am in.  And I would have been fine, like a kid is fine the first year or two of their life when their parents vow never to give them sugar.  But then one day they have chocolate cake or a brownie and their little brain says, "Hey, why have you been holding out on me, huh?!"

That was the conversation I had with myself this winter after those cookies: "Why have you been holding out on me?!"

Sweet potatoes are GOOD! Really good. In fact, so good that you will be seeing at least three sweet potato recipes in the next week or two.  Why?  Because I want to eat them ALL. DAY. LONG.

And the easiest way to do that?  Mashed sweet potatoes.  Takes 15 minutes (mostly while you are waiting for the potatoes to boil) and tastes like Heaven on a spoon.  No more living in sweet potato ignorance for me!

MASHED SWEET POTATOES

Ingredients

TipCuttng the potatoes into smaller cubes allows them to cook faster.

TipYou can subtract the amount of dairy as you wish.  Sweet potatoes are flavorful and naturually creamy when cooked.

• 
  1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/4 cup heavy cream 
• 2 T. butter

• 1/4 t. nutmeg

• salt and pepper, to taste

• 
  

Directions

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the potatoes until soft when pierced with a fork, about 12 minutes. Drain return to the pot.
2. Toss remaining ingredients into the pot and stir with a fork, until soft and creamy. 

COST: $2.20   COST PER SERVING (4): $0.55

Some Non-Stories and a Vegetable Frittata

This is normally the part where I tell you some story.  You know... I did this, thought that, and then BAM, here I am, eating what you see above.  But I don't have that today.  What I do have is a really great and EASY recipe that I love, and some pretty pictures to go along with it.  Or I could tell you about cutting open pig hearts with my students yesterday and all the blo---- ok, never mind.  Like I said, recipe and good pictures.  Sounds about right for today :)



This is one of those quick-fix meals that is super cheap as well.  Vegetarian to boot.  I like meat, don't get me wrong, but I like vegetables as well.  Speaking of vegetables...

Alright, quick story.  (This is me typing this, are you surprised?)

The other day I wrote on my blog about all that I had learned this year (which you totally read, right?  RIGHT?!), the very first one being that "veggies have flavor -- and it isn't Ranch".  And then later that night I saw that Google Translate had sent traffic to my blog so I clicked on in to find out what that was all about.  Basically someone in Brazil was reading my blog (Ha!  Caught you!) and needed it translated.  Super cool.  I am all over that.  Interested in seeing how well they did, I started reading through... Home = Casa, About = Sobre, so far so good.  And then I see #1 of what I learned:  "Vegetarians have flavor  -- and it isn't Ranch."  I am a cannibal and I didn't even know it!  HAHAHA! 

Ok, back to the recipe and pictures.  (Yes, this is how my brain works, and no, I do not have ADD.  My mind just runs in circles a lot.)

Four easy steps to make this frittata happen:

1) Cook onion and green beans over medium (with a tablespoon of olive oil) for 8 minutes.

2) Add tomatoes and cook again, 2 minutes.

3) Add egg/sour cream concoction.  Cook 2 minutes until the edges are set.

4) Put in oven on 425F for 8 minutes.

From start to finish, 20 minutes.  My kind of cooking!  My guess would be that it is probably yours, too.

Recipe taken from Everyday Food, March 2012

• Yield Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 medium red onion, diced medium
• 1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 tomato, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I did two.)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and sour cream and season with salt and pepper. In a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Add onion and green beans and cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender, about 10 minutes. Add tomato, and season with salt and pepper. Add egg mixture and stir to combine. Sprinkle with Parmesan and cook, undisturbed, until edge is set, about 2 minutes.
2. Transfer skillet to upper rack in oven and bake until slightly puffed and almost set, about 8 minutes. Heat broiler and broil until cheese is browned and bubbling, about 1 minute. Run a rubber spatula around edge of frittata and transfer to a plate. Cut into wedges and serve with potatoes and garlic (which will be in another blog post, so just serve with whatever you would like).

Cost: $7.92                   Cost Per Serving (4) $1.98

Baked Eggs in Chunky Tomato Sauce (Vegetarian)

If you are a lover of veggies, you have come to the right place.

Onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, spinach, and garlic... cook them up, drop eggs in the mixture, bake, and top with goat cheese and cilantro.  Ta-da!  It is really that simple, and quite amazing actually.  This is a recipe I would have never thought of myself, which makes me appreciate all of those cooks in the food magazine kitchens all the more.

 Let me warn you, however -- your house will smell like onion and bell pepper long after the food is gone.  As I was driving to work I kept smelling this oniony-smell so I rolled down the window to see if it was coming from outside, and then I realized that it was I that smelled like onion.  Or rather, my clothes did.  Clothes that were tucked away in my closet while I was cooking.  Curse of a small apartment, I guess.  At least it wasn't the smell of fish, right?

This brilliant recipe comes from the January/February 2012 issue of Everyday Food by Martha Stewart.

• Prep Time 20 minutes
• Total Time 45 minutes
• Yield Serves 4

 

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large bell peppers (red, yellow, or orange), stemmed, seeded, and diced small
• 1 large yellow onion, diced small
• 3 garlic cloves, minced  (I did six.  We love garlic.)
• 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 2 1/2 ounces baby spinach (2 1/2 cups)
• Red-pepper flakes (optional)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 large eggs
• 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium. Add bell peppers and onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and cook 3 minutes. Stir in spinach and pinch of red-pepper flakes, if using. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Transfer sauce to four 14-ounce gratin dishes or a 2-quart shallow baking dish. With the back of a large spoon, make 4 wells in sauce and crack 2 eggs into each. Bake until whites are set but yolks are still runny, about 25 minutes, rotating dishes halfway through. To serve, top with goat cheese and cilantro.

Cost: $8.67                    Cost Per Serving (4): $2.17

Practice Spanish, Save Some Money...

Way back when at the start of this blogging journey (Ok, it was like eight months ago, not eons ago, but still...) I made a proclamation that I like to spend as little as possible on groceries so I could spend my money on other things.  Completely true, so I said it.  And then I never really said much more about it after that.

Today as I unpacked my bags of produce for the week and looked down at my receipt I started wondering how much money I actually do save.  I mean, I know that I don't spend a lot, but I started to really ponder how much I actually do not spend that I would have spent had I shopped elsewhere.

See, I went shopping at Mi Pueblo.  Actually, between Trader Joe's (which has excellent prices on all non-produce items) and Mi Pueblo (my go-to for the veggies) I do a pretty good job.  Here is the thing about Mi Pueblo though: you have to be willing to practice that long forgotten high school Spanish.  Because chances are you might be the only English speaker around.  I took a friend their once and she said she felt like she crossed the border.  It is true, you walk in and feel like you are in Mexico.

Great!  I love Mexico.  Beaches, pina coladas, tacos... and fresh produce.  So why say no to it here?

Did you see that picture up there?  Two full bags of produce.  FULL.

As you might be able to tell, we try to eat a rainbow every week :)

Here is something you might not know about me: I am a number person.  I love seeing how much things cost/don't cost, the MPG I get every time I empty a tank, so on and so forth.  So of course I had to figure out how much this food would have cost me if I had shopped at Safeway AKA the "normal" grocery store.  See what I found:

DO YOU SEE THAT?  I saved $9.19 by just going to a place that speaks a different language.  And let me be the first to tell you, the produce there is FRESH.  And BEAUTIFUL.  And TASTY!

"So what?" you may think.  "$9.19?  That's not that much."  Well, if I save that much per week (give or take), that comes out to $36.76 per month.  What can $36.76 per month get you?  Another tank of gas?  A nice top?  Dinner out?

How about per year?  It comes out somewhere between $441.12 if you are counting by months (4 weeks/month) or $477.88 if you are counting straight weeks (52/year).  I don't know about you, but I could do a lot with $400+ .  That's a whole lot of eating out/ clothes/ bills to pay/money to put in savings.  Shoot, I could buy a ticket down to Mexico to practice some more of that Spanish! 

Ok, so maybe I look too far down the road, but hey -- I work hard for my money, don't you?  Why would I want to throw it away?  I don't, and more importantly, I won't.

Speaking of Mexico, I just went and dug out some pictures from our trip to Mexico two years ago.  It isn't only the produce that is beautiful...

My husband in the midst of playing soccer in the street with some local kids.  If you had any doubt of his nationality, this should clear it up for you.

October Unprocessed: Tears Shed (Over Vegetables)

 

These very words were uttered/typed by me six months ago.  It was a part of my cooking philosophy: be healthy, but don't be ridiculous. 

HA!

Funny how things change over time.

No, today did not find me boiling chicken bones to make broth, but it did find me boiling vegetables to do the same thing.  It is a part of this whole October Unprocessed dealio I've got going on... I had to find a substitute for this:

Oh, how bullion cubes have come to rescue so many times!  Vegetable, chicken, or beef -- it doesn't matter.  They have been a staple ingredient in my cooking.  Countless risottos and various soups, among various other food items, have been put on my table thanks to these little packaged squares of salty-goodness.

But look at that ingredient list.  Clearly I was putting more than just risotto and soup on the dinner table.  Today was the day I took my stand.  It was time to make risotto, and I needed to do it without the aid of Knorr or Herb Ox.  And it turned out to be a success. 

You want to know a secret?  I cried a little when I tasted it.  Yep, I did.  For someone who barely knew how to boil an egg when this journey began, this is a huge milestone in my cooking life.  For the first time I felt like I was actually making something, not just putting things together to get the desired result.  I can create food out of plants -- and not just salad!  Take that, Kraft!

It is so easy.  First, take a whatever vegetables you have in your fridge (ideally with carrots, celery, and an onion, plus whatever else you have).  I had carrots, half a cucumber, some celery, garlic, and collard greens, so I just used those.  Cut into pieces and then saute for about 5-10 minutes.  Add a teaspoon of salt and two quarts of water.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for an hour.  Strain out the vegetable pieces.  Will make about six cups.  (I used three for my risotto tonight and saved the other three for later.  Next time I will make more and freeze it, I just wanted to make sure I liked it first!)

Meet "Couve" -- better known as "Kale"

This is the leaf of couve.

Couve, or as we call in America -- collard greens and kale -- is my husband's favorite vegetable.  For the longest time we didn't know the translation in English and so he lived without it.  But about three months ago I found out what is was online, hopped in the car to go shopping, and brought him home some.  You should have seen his smile.  BIG.  He, in response, immediately hopped onto Skype, called down to Brazil to talk to his mamae, and got her recipe for it.

Once again, three simple ingredients:

One great side dish:

There's nothing to it, really.  Just chop the leaves into small strips and cut the garlic up, as well.  Saute the garlic over medium-low heat, add the couve and a dash of salt, and cook for about a minute or two.  That's it!  How simple, huh?  And quite tasty, to be sure.

COST: $1.40                   COST PER SERVING (4): $0.35 

A Week of New Recipes -- Day 6: Salmon with Lemon-Dressed Veggies

Veggie lovers, behold!  I have found the perfect summer dinner.  Perfect.  And there is no exaggeration there.

This was, by far, the easiest and most tasty recipe this week.  The asparagus soup is probably the one that could give a run for its money on the tasty side, although I am not sure which one would actually win, but this meal, WOW.  Great taste, fresh ingredients, and super quick and simple.  So simple, in fact, that it was a little like A B C or 1 2 3... 4.

ONE --  Cook the potatoes       TWO -- Make a simple vinaigrette 
THREE -- Roast the potatoes and asparagus         FOUR -- Toss all together

And FIVE I guess -- Add cooked salmon on top.  Ta-da!

This seriously took me about 25 minutes from start to finish, and half of that time was free time waiting for things to cook.  My only disappointment was my salmon.  I am a great salmon cook-er.  Usually I just sprinkle some lemon-pepper on top and broil it on high for about 7 minutes.  EXCELLENT salmon, my friends.  This recipe had me bake it, which I think would have been OK except I went all cheap-o and bought frozen salmon.  The cheapest frozen salmon, not the kind I usually buy.  Tried to save a buck and I was met with lots of white ooze on my salmon (which is why you will see no close-up the fish itself, I want to spare you).  So next time I will make these veggies, broil my salmon -- FRESH SALMON -- like normal, and enjoy one of the freshest meals mother nature has to offer.

My trusty sidekick for this week.

One more day of this new recipe week and I will be done... so far so good.  Let's see what the next meal has in store for me! 


But for now, enjoy this on a nice summer evening.  You will not regret it. 
Scores?  10 and 10. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 pound small red-skinned potatoes (about 6), quartered lengthwise
• 2 cups white mushrooms (about 5 ounces), halved
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 bunch asparagus, cut crosswise into thirds (about 2 cups)
• Four 6-ounce salmon fillets with skin
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• Grated peel and juice of 1/2 lemon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. In a large, ovenproof skillet, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the oven and roast for 10 minutes. Stir in the asparagus and roast in the oven until the asparagus is crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, rub the salmon all over with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the salmon, skin side down, on a foil-lined baking sheet; roast until opaque in the center, about 10 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the parsley, garlic, lemon peel, lemon juice and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Toss with the roasted vegetables and serve with the salmon.

(Recipe from rachaelray.com)

COST = $14.70        PER SERVING (3) = $4.90