Sweet Potato Muffins

 

I am, generally, an organized person.  It may not seem like it if you were to look at my desk, but I always know exactly where things are (likely because I’m an only child and there was no one around to move something once I put it somewhere), I rarely lose things and I can pretty much remember details of where I need to be without writing them down. I say all of this to tell you that I rarely do more than glance at information, because I rely (overly so) on my ability to absorb it quickly and remember it.  Fortunately for me, I show up where I’m supposed to be 9 times out of 10, so I’ve had little need to reconsider my methods.  But that 10th time? That 10th time will always be when it truly truly counts.  The biggest “slip up” I’ve made was when I was supposed to get sworn in to the Illinois bar.  Weeks prior to the swearing in, the bar people sent a letter listing where you needed to go based on where in Illinois you lived.  For Chicago, it was McCormick Place on XYZ day at 2:30pm. Done.  I alerted relatives and friends and threw the paper into a pile.  

The appointed day arrived and I put on my new lawyer suit and went into work.  I told the partners that I’d have to leave around 2pm and wouldn’t be coming back for the day since a celebration at a Cuban restaurant was to follow.  I vaguely wondered why none of my classmates were around that morning, but I realized that they were probably smart and took the whole day off for this big event.  2pm rolls around and I pull out the letter so I could get the name of the room where the swearing in was supposed to be held. And what do I see?  The Chicago ceremony had started at 11:30.  My heart skipped a beat as I realized that I had just missed getting sworn in and I had no idea what that meant (these bar people are no joke.  To even take the exam you have to jump through so many hoops that I figured that they’d punish me in some way for missing it).  Tears, frantic phone calls and a speeding taxi ride followed.  I arrived at McCormick Place to see the janitors sweeping up left over flower petals and locking the doors to the auditorium.  My well-wishers arrived to find me sitting on the floor crying with nothing to show for the day but that crumpled letter.  You’ll be happy to know that I was able to be sworn in by a judge a few weeks later, but, while I still believe in my abilities, few people trust me to tell them where they need to be and when any longer.

This story has nothing to do with food other than to lead into another example of how I get something in my head and completely think it’s right and there’s no need for me to double check or think about it again.  Basically, I ended up making sweet potato muffins when, up to the minute I was about to put the sweet potato in the microwave, I thought I was making pumpkin muffins.  A coworker had given me a recipe for–the way I remembered it–pumpkin muffins a few years ago and given the autumn weather, I thought they’d be a happy treat.  I could even see the picture of the muffins in my head from the printout she gave me, but couldn’t find the recipe online and she didn’t remember it (likely because we were searching for a completely different recipe).  I finally found it this weekend when I cleaned out a folder full of dashed cooking dreams, with magazine recipes dating back to 1996.  I glanced at the recipe to make sure I had the ingredients, made out my grocery list and crafted the story behind the muffins based on the pumpkin picking I did a few weekends ago.  It was not until I was washing off the potato last night that it occurred to me that I was actually making sweet potato muffins instead of pumpkin ones.  How’s that for the power of suggestion (or my ability to kid (delude?) myself)? Even though I bought sweet potatoes, I still had it in my mind that these were all about the pumpkin… At least my efforts weren’t totally lost and I actually had the sweet potato.  And! I was right about the picture, so my long term memory seems to be fully functioning.  I take comfort wherever I can get it.

Anyhoo. They’re super yummy and moist and the cinnamon sugar coating is a nice addition, although I suppose if you want to be super healthy about it, you could leave it off.  And, I also suppose you could substitute pumpkin if your mind’s set on it…

Warm Sweet Potato Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar Coating (courtesy of Cuisine at Home)

Southeast Asian Curry, Demystified

I fell in love with Cambodian food on a trip to Southeast Asia a few years ago. After a blistering hot day spent climbing the ruins of Angkor Wat, a spicy coconut curry full of root vegetables and tofu really hit the spot. When I returned home, I looked up recipes for Thai and Cambodian curries, but was completely daunted by the list of ingredients—galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves—the list was endless. And then I discovered the handy little cans of pre-made curry pastes available at most Asian grocery stores. They come in a variety of flavors: red curry, green curry, yellow curry, and massaman curry, but I’ve found the red curry most closely approximates the dish I ate in Cambodia. While any brand will work, I have had the best results with Maesri, a Thai brand which has a picture of an older lady on it. While the instructions on the label say to use the entire can, I find that to be way too spicy for my western palate; I use half the can in my recipe. (You can save the other half in a small Tupperware in your refrigerator; it keeps for weeks if tightly sealed.) The canned curry paste does all the work for you, so no need to assemble all those exotic ingredients before starting.

A note about tofu: If you use tofu straight from the package, you will get a flavorless, spongy mess. I’ve discovered that the best way to prepare tofu is to freeze it in its package, defrost it, remove it from the package, wrap it in paper towels and/or a dish cloth, place a heavy book on top of it, and press it for at least six hours. While this may seem like an elaborate process, it is really quite easy and just requires some forethought. By freezing and defrosting the tofu, the molecular structure of the tofu breaks down and allows more water to escape during the pressing process. By pressing the tofu, all of the flavorless liquid gets discarded, making the tofu ready to absorb whatever delicious flavors it gets cooked in.

If you are a chicken eater, boneless, skinless chicken thighs work just as well in this recipe in place of the tofu. If you are watching your fat intake, reduced fat coconut milk (available at Trader Joe’s) will do the trick just fine. If you have some squash or pumpkin you would like to use, they will work just fine in lieu of the potatoes.

• 1 Tbs. cooking oil (olive or vegetable will do)
• 1 onion, cut into chunks
• 1 package of extra firm tofu, frozen, defrosted, pressed (see note), and cut into chunks
• ½ can of red curry paste, found at your local Asian grocery store (I use Maesri brand)
• 1 can of coconut milk (reduced fat okay)
• 2 cups broth (veggie or chicken, depending on your preference)
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into big-ish chunks
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into big-ish chunks
• ½ cup of peas (optional) (frozen okay)
• 2 glugs of fish sauce (optional)
• Lime juice to taste
• Cilantro to taste

Heat the oil on high in a pot. Add the onions and sauté until brown. Add the tofu, flipping each piece over occasionally until browned on all sides. Add the curry paste, sauté for just a minute, then add the coconut milk and broth. Stir to create a uniform mixture. Add carrots, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and peas, adding a little bit of water to cover if necessary. Now would also be a good time to add a glug or two fish sauce if you are using it. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then turn the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, until the carrots and potatoes are cooked through. Sprinkle with lime juice and cilantro and serve piping hot in a bowl accompanied by basmati rice. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Sides To Be Thankful For

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the idea of friends and family coming together for a communal meal and being grateful for each other and whatever else it is they cherish most on this earth. Yet, while my earliest Thanksgiving memories involve lots of love, the food left something to be desired. My mom had the turkey down pat, put the side dishes were an afterthought. Cranberry sauce was gelatinous goop fresh from a can; sweet potatoes hid cowering under marshmallows. This Thanksgiving, I’m giving cranberries and sweet potatoes their proper due with these healthy, quick and easy recipes that perfectly complement the main event.

Quick Cranberry Compote

•    One 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries
•    Juice of one orange
•    Grated rind of one orange
•    2 Tbs. honey
•    1 cinnamon stick
•    2 apples, peeled and cut into chunks
•    ¾ cup water
•    1-2 Tbs. brown sugar, to taste

Put all the ingredients in a pot. Simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If compote starts to stick on the bottom, add some water. Taste, and add additional brown sugar if needed. Remove cinnamon stick and serve hot or at room temperature.

Serves 8 as a relish.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

•    2 large or 3 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
•    1 red onion cut into chunks
•    1 Tbs. olive oil
•    ½ tsp. salt
•    ½ teaspoon paprika
•    ½ teaspoon cinnamon
•    ½ teaspoon tumeric (optional)
•    2 Tbs. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 425. Spread sweet potatoes and onions in roasting pan or baking track in a single layer. In a small bowl, mix salt, paprika, cinnamon, and tumeric with the olive oil. Pour mixture on top of sweet potatoes and onions, making sure to evenly coat them. (Tongs come handy here, as do bare hands, though the tumeric can stain.) Put in oven and roast at 425 for 40 minutes, until sweet potatoes are tender but not mushy.  Sprinkle brown sugar over them, toss, and place back in the over for 5 minutes, until the brown sugar caramelizes over the sweet potatoes. Serve hot.

Happy Thanksgiving!