Archive for the ‘Sweet Potato’ Category

Quinoa: African Peanut Quinoa Soup

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

African Quinoa Peanut Soup_ForkFingersChopsticks.com

If you haven’t tried quinoa yet, this toothsome African peanut soup will surely lure you in. It has a slew of nutritious vegetables in a creamy, peppery broth with lovely bits of crunchy quinoa. The soup makes the rotation in my comfort food repertoire several times during the cold-weather season because it is both healthy and decadent.

Although quinoa is native to the South American Andes region (read about its origins), it is now cultivated around the world – from Colorado to the Himalayas to Ethiopia and other areas of East Africa. This dish has a definite African influence – the use of nuts to thicken the stew, and staple ingredients such as sweet potatoes and okra. Frankly, it’s the peanut-based sauce that makes this dish a stand-out. If you don’t like peanuts, you won’t appreciate this dish. But, for nut fiends, you’re in for a treat.

Yes, I’m one of those people who eats spoonfuls of nut butter just because I can. So, when I came across the original recipe for this soup online at FoodDownUnder.com several years ago (the original recipe is no longer on the site), I knew I had to try it. Over the years, I’ve fine-tuned it:  the recipe below is more aggressive with spices and chiles; it also has more veggies, peanut butter and quinoa; and, the consistency is that of a soup rather than a thick stew.

This recipe doubles easily and has been a hit at parties with vegetarians and meat-eaters. It’s a great way to introduce quinoa into your diet. And, if you’re already eating the “Mother Grain,” its a must-have recipe.

Tidbits on Quinoa:

  1. As quinoa cooks, the pearls of germ separate and form tiny spirals. The cooked grain is tender, with a slight crunchiness from the germ (see spirals in image below).
  2. Colorado, with its high altitude and cold climates, was crucial testing ground for introducing quinoa to the United States in the mid-70s. Don McKinley and Steve Gorad, founded the Quinoa Corporation in Boulder, Colo., and first planted quinoa seeds in their backyards and eventually in plots in the San Luis Valley. However, most quinoa sold in the United States is imported from South America.
  3. A quinoa plant can grow to anywhere from three feet to over ten feet tall. Plant stems can be straight or branched, and seeds can vary in color from white, yellow, gray, light brown, pink, black to red.

(more…)

Print & If you liked this post, please share:
  • Print
  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Google Bookmarks

Sweet Potato: Jamaican Sweet Potato Curry

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

Jamaican Sweet Potato Curry_ForkFingersChopsticks.com

What kind of sweet potato person are you? A. Eat sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving meal and don’t eat them otherwise; B. Eat sweet potatoes year round; C. Don’t eat sweet potatoes. I predict most folks fall into the holiday eater group and these lovely tubers get ignored the rest of the year. What a shame because they are nutritionally loaded with Vitamins A and C. And, the better part (for some), they taste great even under the simplest of cooking methods (boiled or baked) and without added fats and spices.

Here, however, we’re using the spice rack . . . Jamaican style! Sweet potatoes are simmered in a warm spice mixture common to Carribbean cuisine:  ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, cloves and allspice. Then, it’s made luscious with coconut milk. For an added touch of Caribbean influence, I’ve added okra and I served it all on a bed of sautéed kale, since it was easier to locate in my neighborhood than the Jamaican spinach callaloo.

This is a vegetarian curry that can be enjoyed as a main or a side. It’s nutritious comfort food when the weather outside is frightful. It is hearty akin to the consistency of a thick butternut squash soup. And, the taste  is deep – the Indian influence is certain. Each spoonful makes me close my eyes and long to transported to an island far away.

The recipe is adapted from the Jamaican Fish Curry recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks, The Caribbean: Central & South American Cookbook by Jenni Fleetwood and Marina Filippelli (2007). It’s definitely a go to book for Caribbean cooking with make-you-want-to-cook recipes, beautiful photography and easy instructions.

Enjoy! With this dish I bet some C. types would convert.

Tidbits on Sweet Potatoes

  1. The origin of sweet potatoes is believed to be located in Central America with its ancestral roots in the Mexican wild yam. They have been cultivated for more than 5,000 years, although fossilized remains in the Andes date back 8,000 years.
  2. Sweet potatoes were the second most important root crop in the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1920, per capita consumption was 31 pounds. In 1999, consumption dropped to a mere 4 pounds per person.
  3. China grows about 87 percent of sweet potatoes grown worldwide; with nearly half used as feed for animals. Asia produces 6 percent, Africa 5 percent, Latin America 1.5 percent, and the United States 0.45 percent.
  4. Sweet potato flesh comes in a spectrum of colors: white, yellow, purple, red, pink, violet and orange. Nutritionally, all varieties are good sources of Vitamins C and E as well as dietary fiber, potassium, and iron, and they are low in fat and cholesterol. The orange and red fleshed sweet potatoes are an excellent source of beta-carotene (Vitamin A).

Source: Encyclopedia of Food and Culture.

(more…)

Print & If you liked this post, please share:
  • Print
  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Google Bookmarks

Sweet Potato: Andrea’s Easy Sweet Potato Pie

Sunday, November 22nd, 2009

Sweet Potato Pie_ForkFingersChopsticks.com

Sweet potato pie is relatively new to my Thanksgiving repertoire. I grew up with pumpkin pie for the holiday and, to be frank, I never really dug it. It was pretty much bland and boring in my book. However, years ago when I began dating my, now, husband and had Thanksgiving with his family, I delighted on an entirely different Thanksgiving feast:  greens, black eyed peas, corn bread dressing, macaroni and cheese, and yes, the consummate of Soul Food desserts – sweet potato pie.

The bold nutmeg, cinnamon and sweet potatoes won me and my momma over instantly. Since then, I’ve been making sweet potato pies for Thanksgiving. I’ve tweaked my recipe over the last several years. It’s almost home-made (I buy a lovely frozen crust). Actually, it’s more like six because I bake enough pies to share with my large, extended family across two states. I can make pie crust from scratch, but why? Sometimes in life, shortcuts are worth it. I’d rather go for a walk than sweat the small stuff, especially with the stress and extra calories that come with the holidays.

This is an easy recipe, it just takes a couple of hours to do the boiling and baking. Don’t worry, you don’t have to hover over the stove, you can multi-task with this one. Don’t be tempted to buy the canned puree; that short cut is not worth it.

And, one more thing, this pie is damn good! There’s never a leftover, except for a few crumbs, if even that.  This year, I’m topping it with home-made vanilla whipped cream and an extra dash of nutmeg. Note at our house, we enjoy sweet potato pie beyond Thanksgiving and the holidays, it’s delicious with a hot cup of tea, chai or coffee. I like mine room temperature and the husband likes his cold.

Tidbits on Sweet Potatoes

  1. There is some confusion between sweet potatoes and yams, particularly in the U.S. In American grocery stores, what are marked and we understand to be “yams,” including the garnet and jewel varieties, are actually sweet potatoes.
  2. Sweet potatoes spoil quite easily, especially when bruised and wet. Keep them fresh for weeks by storing them in a cool dry place like a pantry or cellar. Do not wash before storing since moisture speeds up spoiling. Do not refrigerate as well.

(more…)

Print & If you liked this post, please share:
  • Print
  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Google Bookmarks