Sweet! Potatoes

Farmer Tom had an abundance of sweet potatoes this week, and so I stocked up.  Well, stocked up as far as a family of two is concerned.  I bought four massive potatoes and spent $2.00 total.  I'll probably go back this week and eight to ten more to last us for a few months.  Tonight, I made some amazing sweet potato quesadillas, for which you can get the recipe at www.animalvegetablemiracles.com/Recipes.html.   Don't be afraid of the swiss chard in the recipe, I'd never had it before and it was fabulous!  I told my husband, "Your body is thanking you for giving it all these vitamins and nutrients!  It will have to force out all the toxins from bad food."  To which he said jokingly, "No, all of my cells are armed with pitchforks saying, 'give me sugar!'"  Well, at least he ate it and didn't even think it tasted bad.  He got creative and tried it with salsa and with a banana slice on top.  I'm all for experimenting with your food - that's what makes it exciting! 

Anyway, our goal for today is to make sweet potato puree for quick and easy meals or side dishes all winter long.  Did you know that sweet potatoes are one of the healthiest vegetables in existence?  So much good stuff inside these little orange sweeties!  Farmer Tom's sweet potatoes were so fragrant that they smelled similar to cinnamon as I was peeling them.  Yummmmm!

Sweet potato puree is easy!  Peel the potatoes (the more the better - get them while they're fresh!).  Chop them up into medium sized cubes.  Roast or steam and then mash 'em up with a potato masher.   (I have a vegetable steamer that I just plug in and forget about and is dishwasher safe.  I highly recommend getting one.)  Let them sit in a bowl to cool while you do a few things on your to-do list.  Then spoon into pint-sized sip-locks and freeze.  (Keep one in the fridge for lunch tomorrow)   When you want to use them, you can thaw them just like the pumpkin and mix in some brown sugar (or local honey from your Amish friends) and cinnamon for a side dish.  I also recommend mixing them with some diced chicken and putting in a puff pastry or try out the quesadilla recipe.  

Kids and husbands love sweet potatoes when they are fresh and full of flavor.  And their bodies love them too!  My freezer is now full of easy-peasy sweeties!