Sweet Potatoes Four Different Ways

It's for good reasons that the sweet potato is the darling of the vegetable kingdom right now. Rich in fiber, it promotes gut health; test tube studies indicate it may be beneficial in fighting against several kinds of cancer. It has abundant antioxidants that decrease inflammation in the brain and elsewhere. Where the sweet potato really stands out is its supply of beta-carotene (which gives it the deep orange coloring) and which the body converts to Vitamin A. A cup of sweet potato cubes supplies an astounding 213 percent of the daily value of Vitamin A, a deficiency of which can lead to blindness. 

Just before the year-end holidays, I bought a 3-pound bag of sweet potatoes and wondered how I'd use them up. It turned out to be a no-brainer, as I found easy recipes in pages from the New York Times to my newest cookbook Make it Japanese. Here are a few different ways to cook sweet potatoes now which I've gathered just for you. Unlike eggs, they remain widely available in stores at reasonable prices. Enjoy!

Sweet Potatoes in a Soup

The popular Japanese American chef Rie MeClenny published her debut cookbook Make it Japanese in 2023 and rave reviews are still coming in. She includes a recipe for Dango Miso Soup with sweet potato in the book. On her web site is a recipe for Cream Stew, and sweet potato can be used instead of russets. Here's the link to that recipe. 

The cookbook's recipe is more complex, starting with mochi-like rice flour dumplings. It also uses a dashi and miso stock instead of a milk and chicken broth stock for the cream stew. But both of them feature vegetables, including potato, carrot, onion, and greens that come from the Western world. That is why many of her creations fall into the realm of Yōshoku, or Western-influenced Japanese cooking. 

Ube Mochi: Sweet Potato Pancakes! 

When it was first offered at Trader Joe's, Ube Mochi Pancake and Waffle Mix flew off the shelves. The Filipino-inspired recipe uses dehydrated purple yam powder which is not only a delightful hue but is nutritious and tasty. It makes a delicious breakfast pancake that is distinctively fluffy. And the mochi flour is made of rice, so it's gluten-free. Around the Lunar New Year, I made these savory pancakes with scallion (green onion) slices and a ponzu syrup with lime wedges. Another time, a sweeter version can be made with blueberries, topped with elderberry syrup. A third version uses the pancakes as a base with poached baby scallops in a sauce made with Alsatian white wine (that's an Alice Waters recipe). If you don't want to shell out about $35 for the TJ mix, there's a copy-cat recipe on the Kat Can Cook site, but it's not gluten-free. 

Sheet Pan Crispy Tofu and Sweet Potatoes

Here's a filling and meatless recipe from the New York Times. They really seem to love sheet-pan dinners, and this one actually uses two sheet pans! I streamlined things by putting the tofu and sweet potatoes side-by-side on one. This link takes you to the recipe without having to subscribe:
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019575-sheet-pan-crisp-tofu-and-sweet-potatoes?unlocked_article_code=1.2E4.r3ui.2rZhOroZ2ZHI&smid=share-url

Sweet Potatoes with Miso-Ginger Sauce

Deborah Madison is a renowned vegetarian chef, author, and teacher. I've adapted her recipe which is so easy and makes a great presentation.  You don't even need to peel the potatoes! Just scrub them well, halve them, and steam them in a pot with a steamer basket over 2 inches of water for about 30 minutes. 

While the tubers are steaming, make the sauce. Mix a tablespoon of garlic paste with an equal amount of ginger paste. Mix in 2 tsp. sugar or mirin, and 1 tablespoon each of unseasoned rice vinegar, light sesame oil, and toasted sesame oil. In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of miso and 1 tablespoon water until blended and add to the sauce, blending until smooth. 

Remove the sweet potatoes from the steamer and pat dry. Make a crisscross pattern on the cut sides. Heat a heavy skillet and then add a swirl of light sesame or other neutral oil. Place the potatoes cut-side down and let them cook for about three minutes until golden brown around the edges. Remove to serving bowls, swirling on the sauce and topping with black sesame seeds, scallion slices, or both. As you can see from the photo, I accompanied them with steamed soba (buckwheat) noodles, which are also topped with the sauce. Other side dishes could be spicy Asian greens or bok-choi and rice.

Now, more than ever, it's time to grow food

Well. I have enough material for a whole year's worth of blog posts already so I'll start at Ground Zero. Your body, your home, your impact. There is no better year to start growing food or to expand your garden. You don't need to start big: a pot, a planter, a plot in your neighborhood. What's important is that each one of us starts to relearn what our ancestors knew: how to use plants to feed ourselves and each other. How to become more self-reliant and self-sustaining. How to ride out the storms which we are literally and figuratively facing. I'm here to guide you and give you confidence. As Senator Bernie Sanders says, "Despair is not an option!" 

Begin at home, in your own kitchen. Begin with your own body and that of your loved ones or friends. What do you like to eat? What sustains you? What keeps you feeling fit, alert, and healthy? Make a list, both of foods you like and those you would like to try or add. 

Now, where do these foods come from? Likely as not, they might come from Mexico or California. Sorry, less and less food comes from California as new home construction gobbles up more land. I bought some corned beef for St. Patrick's Day; it came from Uruguay. Most of our citrus now comes from Brazil and is grown on land that used to be jungle. Turkey is starting to send eggs to the US. We get wheat from Ukraine if the Russians will allow ships to depart. 

But the major exporter of food to the US is Mexico. And now their food is going to jump in price by at least one-fourth. So, growing a dooryard garden is not just a fun hobby, but also a way to keep your food expenditures reasonable. And, most of all, it chips away at that growing knot of worry, the food insecurity that many of us are starting to feel when we go to the grocers and see high prices and empty shelves. Following are some of the plants I recommend that you try growing. 

Radishes. Just kidding! I doubt if many of your food lists say radishes. But beginning gardeners are always urged to grow the pungent roots. I don't know why; they are not particularly easy to grow and mine usually are woody and tough. Let's try again. 

Lettuce. It's easy to grow, comes up in the early spring, is delicious and nutritious. It is a "cut-and-come-again" plant that you can harvest over and over. Baby spinach, mesclun, leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, and arugula are the varieties I recommend. Save iceberg for when you become expert, it is harder to grow and has less nutrition. 

Legumes. Beans and peas are easy to plant and grow, don't get many diseases, come up in early spring and have protein and other nutrients. If you don't like garden peas, plant snap peas. I'm going to experiment with growing peanuts this year and will report on my progress. Due to climate change, the mean temperature in my area has risen by two degrees and I am now in US Hardiness Zone 6, so I can technically grow those goobers. I'm looking forward to using my peanut harvest to make a wonderful African groundnut stew. 

Grains. There's one grain that I've successfully grown here in Central Colorado and that is amaranth. It's versatile, keeps well, and contains a lot of protein and nutrients. Best of all, one cup of cooked amaranth contains nine grams of protein, as well as antioxidants and fiber. One year my amaranth plant grew over 20 feet tall! I'm still planting seed from that plant. 

Herbs and Teas. Here it is early spring and we have been through three Arctic blasts that drove temperatures into the negative degrees. Yet, my parsley plants are green and thriving. They're cozy in a brick raised south-facing bed, covered by a black pot on frigid nights. Parsley is way more than just a garnish. It completes a wide variety of dishes, both visually and in nutrition and taste. Other herbs that are easily grown are cilantro, thyme (needs lots of sun), oregano, mint, rosemary, and tarragon. For tea, I grow hibiscus and roses. 

Onions.  Green onions (scallions) are easiest grown from sets, small bulbs that have been grown for one year. Red onions and chives are also easy to grow. If my onions haven't reached a sufficient size by the fall, I just leave them in the ground and let them grow another year. My soil is well draining so they don't rot. Garlic is another member of the lily family that is fairly easy to grow. I've had the best luck by planting it in the fall. 

Tomatillos. Gardeners are always fussing with their tomato plants. I've decided I'd rather grow tomatillos instead. In fact, I have a salsa garden with hot and sweet peppers, onions, and tomatillos. The large purple ones grow best for me. 

 

Fruit, nuts, and berries. Thanks to climate change, I can now grow tree fruit like apricots, peaches,  cherries, hardy figs, and persimmons. There's an excellent web site called The Food Forest Nursery that lists all the fruit trees, fruiting vines, bush fruits, and native food plants you can grow broken out by Hardiness Zone. One species that seems to be missing is currant bushes. Perhaps this is because not many people cook with currants nowadays. It's a pity. Strawberries grow well in my garden and make a nice ground cover under plants and bushes. I'm also growing Juneberries. They are like strawberries but with white fruit and red seeds. They are the sweetest berry I've ever tasted!

In the realm of nut trees, I've seen almond and pecan trees start to appear. And I'm growing a Yellowhorn Tree, which has amazing orchid-like flowers and edible nuts. The pinon pine tree has nuts that are quite a delicacy. Don't forget sunflowers, pollinator plants that supply nuts and oil.

Potatoes. I have grown potatoes for several years with mixed results. One year, they just disappeared, rotted or eaten by underground critters. But most years they do well. I get the highest quality seed potatoes I can find, such as German Red Potatoes. I cut them into chits, each with at least two eyes. I dry them thoroughly in a cool dark place on newspaper. Planted in trenches, they are "hilled up" as they grow for highest yield. This year, I'm going to try growing sweet potatoes too! 

What's missing: Brassicas. I haven't had very good luck with these due to aphids and other insects. And they take up too much room for the amount of nutrition they provide. In that space, I'm going to grow Asian greens instead, such as bok- and pac-choy. Melons: New species of watermelons are on the market now that are easier to grow. I'm going to try them. I've grown honeydew and cantaloupe and they are a lot of work with not a lot of yield. Winter Squash: While I love the summer and pattypan squashes as well as the Cinderella Pumpkin, the hard shelled winter squash are too much trouble to prepare in my book. Your mileage may differ. I also recommend the Delicata Squash which is easy to grow and has a thin, edible peel! 

What is the Deal With the Vilification of Seed Oils?

This is the most mysterious, to me, of all the crackpot ideas RFK Jr. has come up with. In my 70-plus years I’ve seen a lot of food fads come and go, but this takes the cake. Basically, opponents to seed oils are saying that animal fats, such as lard, tallow, and butter are healthier for you than “seed oils” a few of which they call “the hateful eight.” But some oils seem to be okay, such as olive, avocado, and coconut oils. Knowing that these ARE actually seed oils would seem to shoot a hole in the argument right there. But, here we are. 

Animal fats won’t kill you, at least not right away if you’re a healthy, active person, but most of us aren’t that anymore (Some experts put the obesity rate in the U.S. at 40 percent). But excess saturated fat isn’t good, not even for animals. Just ask a pathologist.

This article in the New York Times refutes the case of the seed oil vilifiers. Sure, we have rising rates of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses, but a big reason for that is the ultra-processed and fast foods making up more of our diet. These foods contain seed oils and some contain animal fats. They also contain ingredients such as sugars and carbohydrates that might be benign in other combinations but harmful when consumed as a regular diet. 

Seed or any kind of oil can be bad for you if it’s processed incorrectly, stored badly, or rancid (oxidized). So, I wouldn’t buy oil that is cheap, expired, or has no label. As with any kind of food, buying oil can be tricky. I couldn’t recall seeing a bottle of olive oil in my grocery store that was not “Extra Virgin.” So, I went off and checked out the oil aisle, which led to a couple of surprises. One: yes you can buy just plain olive oil. After the very first “extra virgin” gentle pressing of the oil, there may be several more pressings, in which the skins and pits are cracked open. The “pomace” that is left may be washed in water which is boiled off, leaving more oil. These oils, being strongly flavored, are hardly ever exported. They are used on the farm, processed into other foods, and for livestock feed. 

The other surprise was that even the “gourmet” olive oils are blends from a variety of countries. Labels often say “May contain oil from Argentina, Turkey, the United States, or Spain.” A bottle may be labeled “California Olive Oil” but that is just its brand name. 

We consumers have grown lazy about reading labels. We’ve grown used to having the FDA—the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—do our inspecting for us. That’s another thing we’ll have to change now that it looks like RFK, Jr. will be in charge of our health. There may not be an FDA, an EPA, or other watchdog to make sure food makers do what’s right. It may soon be impossible to determine who the good guys and the baddies are until it’s too late.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/09/well/eat/seed-oil-effects.html

Summer Solstice Reflections

It's either midsummer, or the start of summer, according to your perspective. Many regions have already suffered heavy heat waves. People are firing up their barbecue grills and tossing together summer salads with ingredients like corn, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers that are not actually in season yet.This has caused me to think: what are some crops that farmers can now grow in places that used to be too cold for them? These crops would need to be ones that are in demand now or may grow in popularity in the future. Here's the list I came up with. 

Sweet Potatoes

Parsley

Rice

Millet

Hibiscus/Jamaica

Tea

Amaranth

Tamarind

Bananas

Coffee

Paw Paw

Persimmons

Dahlias

Artichokes

Hemp

Sunflowers

Moringa 

Soybeans

Rubber

 

 

 

 

Persimmons Perhaps?

 

I was shopping at Safeway one fall day when I came upon a man who was quizzically looking over a display of fresh produce. He looked up and noticed me and asked, "What are these?" When I told him they were persimmons, he asked, "What do you do with them?" 

What, indeed. I told him to start by eating some out of hand, and then pairing them with some nice cheese. But I could have gone further, as a former Midwesterner, about this fruit native to the central and Eastern parts of North America. Diospyros virginiana, or Common Persimmon, is the variety known in the U.S., while the Eastern Hemisphere has a different variety, D. Kaki, grown in Japan and other temperate regions. 

 

One of my favorite cookbooks, now out of print, is Judith Fertig's Pure Prairie. Recipes for persimmon ice cream, cookies, and flans are included. Some varieties need to be fully ripe to be edible and delicious but other varieties can be eaten when firm and with the skin on. The pulp can be used like applesauce to add moisture and richness to baked goods. It can be preserved by freezing. Or, do like Indigenous people: dehydrate it and use to make fruit jerky, or mix with meat and berries. 

The nutritional and medicinal benefits of persimmons are legion. This document from the National Institute of Health documents the many benefits of persimmon leaves. Potassium, phosphorus, Vitamin C, antioxidants, fiber, anti-inflammatories...you name it, persimmon has it! Read more.

But, how easy are they to grow? Short answer: very easy. In fact, some people talk about them as if they were zucchini, setting out baskets of the fruit and imploring neighbors to take some. The large shrubs/small trees send out a deep tap root and are drought-tolerant once established. They thrive in regions with moderate winters. Treat them as you would peach trees. 

The Japanese really know how to appreciate persimmons. Check out this poem, "The Persimmon Tree in Winter." During the short three weeks in fall when the persimmons ripen there is a holiday festival atmosphere throughout the growing regions. Bands of people go from house to house with baskets and expandable poles with cutting blades on the end. Some varieties are hung in attics and dried. 

I'll leave you with a recipe for a persimmon appetizer: On a mini-baguette slice, arrange a spoonful of persimmon pulp with a smaller spoonful of creme fraiche. Scatter three pomegranate seeds and sprinkle a few fresh rosemary leaves over the top. Colorful, nutritious, and tasty.

 

 

A Culinary Tour of Ancient and Modern Japan

 

A Cuisine to Love:

Learning from ancient and modern Japan

 

I’ve treasured Russ Rudzinski’s Japanese Country Cookbook that I obtained from some forgotten bookstore in Kansas City during my early 20s. It’s long out of print but there are many copies available from used booksellers. It’s a work of art as much as a cookbook. One reviewer wrote, “I, too, have the Mingei Ya cook book. I bought it at the restaurant after dining there just after my 21st birthday (it was my first legal drink).

 

“The place was fantastic. One truly felt that as if you were dining at a Japanese country inn. Tatami mat floors, no chairs and remove your shoes at the entrance. Kimono-clad waitresses served you and their English was so bad that ordering was often accomplished by pointing at menu items. You want a fork and knife? No such things existed at Mingei Ya. The food was sublime. It was one of the best dining experiences I have had in my life. And the book has been used ever since.”

 

A review of four recipes from the book: https://www.dispatch.com/story/lifestyle/food/2017/10/11/japanese-recipes-yield-flavorful-dishes/18330453007/

 

About chicken mizutaki from Craig Claiborne in the NYT 1981:

https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/25/garden/q-a-106757.html

 

Another book about Japan that I keep close at hand is Just Enough by Azby Brown. It describes, in many illustrations and writings, the simple wisdom of late Edo-period Japan, when people lived in close harmony with nature. Sustainability was built into all they did. You used the resources available to you on your homestead, with very little added from outside.There was no such thing as waste. Even the "night soil" was carefully collected and used on the crops.

 

We can learn so much about food and sustenance from Japan through the ages. How about the World War II era in the United States, when many Japanese people were confined to internment camps? The book Tabemasho! Let’s Eat! By Gil Asakawa covers this in a lighthearted way. Leave it to the Japanese to make do and adapt to adverse and changing situations. He writes that they even made tasty dishes from such wartime rations as corned beef hash, Vienna sausages, and Spam. In fact, even today, Spam appears on the menu at upscale Japanese restaurants.

 

Asakawa writes that interred Japanese people even grew soybeans to make their own tofu, miso, and soy sauce.

Reflecting on A Revolution in Eating

 

I've spent the better part of a year reading the book A Revolution in Eating by James McWilliams. This 387-page work not only chronicles the methods of surviving, sustaining, growing and thriving in the early years of Colonial America and the West Indies, but it also shows the strategies of the different regions in creating their agriculture and economies. 

First Contact

As (mostly) British immigrants arrived in the New England colonies, they were helped by Native Americans to survive the first cold winters. Before they could plant crops and raise livestock, the colonists were at a loss as to how to elude starvation. But the Native Americans showed them how to hunt, forage, and fish. Many of the British knew how to hunt but thought of it as sport only. Hunger pangs convinced them to think and act otherwise. In addition to foraging for greens, roots, nuts, and berries, the Native Americans showed the newcomers how to reap a harvest from the seas and waterways during all seasons of the year. 

Kindness and Trade

McWilliams quotes the journal of Gabriel Archer, who journeyed up the James River in 1607. Archer recounts how a small group of Native Americans followed their boats for about six miles carrying baskets of dried oysters, mulberries, nuts, fruit, corn, beans, and mulberries. They traded these to the travelers in exchange for metal objects, beads, and cloth. Forty miles later down the river, Archer's party "found our kind Comrades againe" and were well supplied. 

Still later, the party embarked to watch a Native American man planting corn, beans, peas, "tobacco, pompions, gourds" and more. A feast with the chief Powhatan featured roast venison, a land turtle, and cakes made from the tuber "tuckahoe" (pictured at right), which was somewhat like cassava. Everywhere, food could be had. The skies teemed with geese, duck, and other game birds, and fat turkeys roamed. In the waterways, there were abundant fish populations such as herring and shad, and shellfish such as mussels, crabs, and lobsters.

Accounts like this opened my mind to the fact that a wealth of biodiversity existed at the time of the coming of the colonists. By supplying food during winters and shortages as well as teaching the settlers how to sustain themselves in the New World, Native Americans often made the difference in whether settlements succeeded or failed. 

Accepting New Foods

The book's early chapters divide the Colonies into regions and explain the distinctive cultures and practices that emerged. In New England, settlers worked hard to transplant British practices, planting wheat and orchards, raising traditional British cattle and sheep. But they also found it necessary and were eager to accept certain foods of Native Americans, primarily corn and game animals. 

 

Fishing operations in the Chesapeake Bay region. Credit: Smithsonian

 

In the West Indies, the economy grew up around the cultivation of sugar cane, with large plantations established by the immigrants. These plantations were labor-intensive, leading to the enslavement and importation of many people from the Western part of Africa. These workers were often given plots of land to farm for their own use, so they planted crops from their homeland and developed a cuisine that grew from the one they had left behind. 

The other two regions of Colonial America, Chesapeake Bay and the Mid-Atlantic, were hybrids of the two extremes of New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Tobacco became the sugarcane of the Chesapeake, and although many other crops could be grown, their use was neglected in favor of the lucrative leaves. The Mid-Atlantic region took the same path with rice. 

The book has been exhaustively researched with a 20-page bibliography. I'll probably be referring to this book for the rest of my life, so I'm glad I purchased it! 

 

 

Cornelius Galle: Hunting Geese with Pumpkins