Sweet Potato Pancakes

Life. is. so. crazy.

Eat pancakes, for dinner.

With chocolate chunks.

And coconut butter.

And then get back to your crazy life.

Why is life crazy? Oh, let me count the ways…

I had 7 days, yes 7, off between grad school semesters. And I still had to work, all-day, every day.

Then my (rented) house went on the market, and in the midst of starting up with classes again (3 more credits than past semesters – what.am.i.thinking?) I have to temporarily relocate every few hours, every day.

Including today (I took a “vacation” day to get things done around the house which is now a bust since I can’t).

So I relocated, to the beach… (to read my neuro text, of course.)

And then to the gym.

And then made these before forced to relocate again.

Sweet Potato Pancakes (vegan)

Ingredients:

1/2 c coconut flour

1/2 c unbleached ap flour

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional—I used a sample of a vegan protein)

2 T turbinado sugar (this is a raw sugar—you can use brown sugar if you wish)

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

1 1/2 t cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice if you wish)

1 1/2 c almond coconut milk (I accidentally bought sweetened, if yours is unsweetened you may want to increase sugar by a tablespoon or 2)

1 heaping cup of shredded sweet potato (I shredded mine in the food processor, did you know you could do that? I didn’t. No more hand grating for me!)

oil for pan

coconut butter, for topping (optional—but really not)

vegan chocolate chunks, for topping

maple syrup, for topping

Instructions:

Mix all listed ingredients through the almond milk, create “well” and add sweet potato. Mix thoroughly but don’t over mix (I don’t know why but that’s what the pancake pros say). Batter will be thick. Add additional almond milk by the tablespoon if you prefer working with a thinner batter but it’s not necessary.

Heat oil in your skillet (or whatever you use to cook pancakes) to med-high.

Drop batter by 1/4 c onto heated surface. You may want to use the back of your spoon to flatten a bit as the batter is thick and doesn’t spread on the pan. Cook pancakes until done, not sticking to pan and can be flipped. I usually “eyeball” the doneness of my pancakes but usually a few minutes on each side.

Top with a drizzle of coconut butter, sprinkle of dark chocolate chunks and syrup.

Serves 4.

Sweet Potato Mac & Cheese

Today, in the produce section, I had a moment. I saw the squash display. Nope, not of the summer varietal. There it was, staring straight at me. Winter squash. I wanted to pick up a spaghetti squash and cradle it in my arms like a newborn baby. Okay, not really. Or, possibly really. You’ll never know the truth.

But I already had a plan and spaghetti squash wasn’t part of it. And I never have a plan. Ask anyone who knows me. My “plans” often sound like this, “I plan on planning on planning on _______” <---- insert something that should have been done last week in the blank. So now you can follow my intent today to strictly adhere to said plan. I’m trying to turn a new leaf. For instance, tonight I read power point handouts on the treadmill. Now I can pick up Bourdain’s book again without feeling like I should be studying. Oh, Hai new me!

Well, the plan was to make the caramelized sweet potato mac & cheese from Joanne. So I kept walking and grabbed sweet potatoes instead. I’m glad I did. It was tasty and I now have enough of it left to eat nothing but sweet potato mac & cheese for the next 5 days. I’m not complaining. But I don’t plan on doing that. Because, well, I don’t make plans… usually.

Caramelized Sweet Potato Mac & Cheese 

Serves 4
5 cloves garlic
1/2 lb sweet potato
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb pasta (I used Whole Wheat Shells)
2 tbsp light butter
2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
12 oz almond milk
1 cup reduced fat cheese (I used whatever I had in the fridge)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp rosemary
2 tbsp bread crumbs (I used Whole Wheat, Italian Seasoned)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the sweet potatoes. Boil with garlic for five minutes. Mash the garlic with a fork and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Fry the sweet potato slices for 5 minutes or until caramelized, flipping every minute or so. Set aside. I used this Roasted Garlic Olive Oil from the Temecula Olive Oil Company… it’s straight from Temecula, CA (by way of Augusta, Maine!)

Boil water and cook pasta. Prepare cheese sauce. Melt butter over low heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 3 minutes. Whisk in milk, slowly. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 minute, whisking all the while. Mix in all of the cheese, 2 tbsp of the parmesan cheese, the salt, pepper and rosemary until the cheese is melted. Mix in the garlic and the sweet potato and pour into pasta.

Pour the pasta/cheese/sweet potato mixture into a greased casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs and remaining 2 tbsp parmesan cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden.

I have a very content belly and a half-full glass of wine so I’m off to cuddle up with puppy and Anthony (Bourdain, that is). 

“Sweet” Sweet Potato Burritos

I’m fortunate to have people in my life that love to cook as much as I do – if not more. Even more importantly, I’m lucky that our tastes are similar… bold, fresh flavors and imaginative combinations. It makes experimenting easy and more exciting.

What’s a more fabulous transition to fall flavors than a pulled pork and sweet potato burrito? 

Into the mixer went (and this is from what I remember):

• sweet potato (softened in microwave)
• sour cream
• jalapenos (chopped)
• onions
• garlic
• cinnamon

Blended ‘til smooth…

Baked in the oven with the addition of homemade pulled pork (and plenty of cheese, of course) and on the side, a fresh vegetable medley with homemade cornbread crumbles.

And we washed it all down with delicious Pumpkin Ale by Buffalo Bill’s Brewery.

I suppose it would be the arrival of pumpkin and Autumn inspired booze to make me feel a bit better that summer is on its way out. I’ll embrace the beer but drag my heels for a bit longer…