Bacon and Sage Sweet Potatoes with Maple Syrup

I began this blog because I want to help my friends find REAL FOOD to eat. I'm a stay at home mom with a 4 year old boy so my days are busy with a bundle of energy. Each afternoon we go to Taekwondo lessons and during the day I'm trying to sort our an attempt to homeschool. My husband works in emergency medicine so when he goes to work it's either for 12 or 24 hours. Sometimes he'll work at one of the bases outside of town and he'll be gone for a few days at a time. What I'm trying to convey is that I have a notebook of recipes but I don't always have the time to take perfect photos to go with each one. As the little one gets older I'm hoping to have more time but for now I'll share what I can. Some posts may contain photos taken from my cell phone camera and others may not have any photos. In the future my goal is to go back and remedy this situation but for now I'm going to share recipes as I create them.

These potatoes were FANTASTIC and I'll be putting them on my holiday menu for years to come. Since I gave up added sugar almost a year ago my taste buds have changed and most things that are sweetened for the regular population are entirely too sweet for me. I honestly can't believe that we add sugar and marshmallows to sweet potatoes. They are so incredibly sweet already. So, here is a savory version to balance out the sweetness.

4 sweet potatoes peeled and diced
7 slices of thick sliced bacon
2T of Nutiva shortening, ghee, bacon fat, or butter
12 fresh sage leaves
1/2t salt
3T maple syrup

I've found that the quickest way to cook sweet potatoes is to steam them because they seem to take all day in the oven. I also recently read somewhere that baked sweet potatoes have a higher glycemic index than boiled sweet potatoes. I'm not sure how steamed sweet potatoes rate on the scale but I'm guessing that it has to be less than a baked sweet potato.

Cut the potatoes into bite sized chunks and steam them just until they are fork tender but not mushy. I'm sure it would taste great either way but in terms of appearance and texture I think cooked chunks will work better. For reference, I steamed my sweet potatoes for 20 minutes.

While the potatoes are steaming cook the bacon in the oven. I put a cooling rack on a cookie sheet to catch the oil. That way there are not any splatters or a big mess to clean up. Time and temperature will depend on the thickness of your bacon and how crispy you like it. For thick sliced bacon I use 375F and let it bake 20 minutes or so. After it's cool I cut it into bite sized pieces about 1/2" thick.

When the bacon and sweet potatoes are almost done melt your fat of choice in a skillet and add the fresh sage leaves to fry. Using 12 sage leaves there were hints of sage in the dish but it wasn't overpowering. If you'd like more of a pronounced sage flavor simply use more leaves. Frying sage leaves can be tricky because it's a super quick process. If the leaves turn brown they are burnt whereas they will be dark green when they are crispy. I usually cook both sides for a total time of about 60 seconds, 30 seconds each side. A pair of tongs is very handy for this quick task.

In a bowl add the sweet potatoes, bacon, crumbled sage leaves, and salt. Pour the fat the sage leaves were cooked in over the potatoes along with maple syrup. Toss to combine and enjoy.

Potato Leek Soup with Vegetables

The thermometer didn't make it above freezing today so I chose to stay in and tackle some chores. Progress was slow with a 3 year old underfoot and dinner time was here before I knew it. I was looking for something quick with little effort. All of the meats were frozen so it would have to be something vegetarian. I usually throw things in a pot without measuring but if this blog is going to work people have to be able to follow me.

Do yourself a favor and buy a leek. I always thought leeks were for pretentious chefs but they really do complement the flavor of potatoes. I've made dozens of pots of potato soup with white or yellow onions and they're good but the leek will make you step back in awe of your concoction.

To clean a leek, there is lots of dirt between the layers, lay it flat on a cutting surface. Insert the tip of a knife 1/4" above the roots and cut the entire length, in one stroke towards the green end. Give the leek a quarter turn and repeat. The root end will hold the leek together while you wash it under running water. Pull off any outer leaves that look wilted. Then slice the leek horizontally in 1/4" pieces. You can stick the roots in some water and the leek will regrow. After a week or two put it into a pot of soil or out pin the garden. Why buy food if you can grow it for free, eh?

Potato Leek Soup with Vegetables Recipe

1 Leek
2 Carrots peeled and sliced into     1/4"
1 Celery stalk sliced
3T Butter
2 Russet potatoes peeled and cut to about 1/4" cubes
1 Bay leaf
1/4 t dried thyme
4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
Pepper
1 cup of frozen corn

Place the leek, carrot, and celery in a cold pot with butter. Turn the heat on to medium high, saute for a few minutes and then add the diced potatoes and a few turns of the pepper mill. Add the bay leaf and thyme and stir the mixture twice in the next minute. (You want to bring out the flavors of the herbs with the heat of the pan but you don't want them to burn.) Then add 4 cups of stock. I have Organic (chicken flavor) Better Than Bouillon so tonight I added water and the required amount of bouillon. I didn't add salt to the pot because the bouillon is salty, in the end it didn't need salt. Cover the pot with a lid and bring it to a boil. (Too much evaporation can make the soup salty if you're not using a low sodium broth.) Turn the heat down and let simmer for 20 minutes. The potatoes and carrots should be soft. Add 1 cup of frozen corn, preferably non-gmo.

Makes 4 hearty bowls of soup