yams | ABCs and Garden Peas

Tag Archives: yams

by Wendy | May 12, 2010

An unexpected fall day in May sparks a little creativity…

I’ve got bread on the brain.

Isn’t it funny how bread got such a bad rap for a while there? Poor bread…so misunderstood.

I’ll admit it. I bought into the hype for a while, and I’d like to hereby issue a formal apology to bread.

But not to white bread. I still don’t like that guy.

But this guy, I like…

Bad news: No PB&J for me anytime soon. A moment of silence, please…

So, what ‘s a hungry girl to do? Well, I need to use up the latest pile of greens so my husband stops making salads covered in Goldfish crackers…

and I lucked into a bounty of Crofter’s Pomegranate Jelly in the grocery store clearance aisle (!) for a mere buck forty a jar, so my wheels started turning…

LaBrea Organic Multigrain + leftover chicken + pom jelly + spinach and beet greens + a quick shred from a block of sharp white cheddar (still love/hate on the cheese issue) = one heckuva good sandwich! Especially when paired with local asparagus and crisped up in my trusty electric skillet…

Instead of complaining about the cold, damp, very un-May-like weather, I decided to follow some inspiration imparted by The Healthy Everythingtarian and turn my N into a P…

I hate this stupid, crappy cold weather. I want to wear flip-flops and the sun should be shining in May!

I get a free day of Autumn right in the middle of May! Woohoo! What better thing to do in the fall than roast sweet potatoes!

I’d been putting off trying the Low & Slow method that’s been swirling around the blog world because I didn’t want to heat up the kitchen, so I carpe’d the diem and rubbed some thick slices of potato with the yummy organic macadamia nut oil I’m always trying to use. It’s infused with a Tahitian vanilla bean and it’s AMAZING.

For more lowdown on the Low & Slow, I’ll refer you to Kath, because if you’re not reading her, you should be.

I was totally impressed with the results. My husbands’ take: “It tastes like a breakfast pancake.” I think he’s on the right track. They couldn’t have turned out better if I’d mashed them, made patties and fried them.

Soft, sweet, and soul-satisfying: The perfect fall food!

Happy Earth Day!

Ok, so it’s not really Earth Day anymore, but it’s still Earth Week! Yay for Earth Week!

Why is it that everyone I know had to work on Earth Day? For what it’s worth, I really think this day should rank right up there with the paid holidays. Shouldn’t everyone be out celebrating this great planet, or volunteering their time to help it? I think yes.

Talk about your feel-good moments! I was thrilled that my day off just happened to fall on Thursday, so I could spend the day celebrating with Finn. Since we try to live consciously and take care of the Earth where we can every day, our day wasn’t really that far out of the ordinary…but we (I) did try to spend the day reflecting on the importance of Earth Day, how I’m going to teach Finn to respect it, and why we do what we do even when it sometimes makes our lives a little harder.

In the morning, we went for a 3-mile walk in preparation for this Saturday’s Race Against Racism 5K in Harrisburg. To think I used to be a regular spin devotee! I think those classes would kill me now, but I’m getting back in shape little by little. It was a stellar morning, and we barely saw a single car!

I let my hair air-dry, which I’ve been trying to do on my days off and any other time I can get away with it.

Dried all my laundry outside in the breeze. I’m not sure why doing laundry makes me so happy, but it really does.

While dinner was cooking, we took some time to walk around the yard and let Finn feel all the leaves, plants and flowers. We try to do this every day, so he can feel lots of textures that aren’t plastic.

I prepared a quick vegan meal in honor of the occasion: baked yams stuffed with spicy tomatoes, black beans, garlic and onions. I wish I had planned ahead to cook the yams over a fire, but we had to settle for the oven.

I added a little bit of extra cumin to up the smoky flavor, which complemented the sweetness of the yam. Although a bit overbaked (a little too much time looking at the plants, I guess), the whole thing turned out well, but very orange. I think it needed a little something else–maybe something green. Note to self for next time…

Not a great pic, I know. But it was yummy and healthy!

All in all, our Earth Day was pretty much the same as every other day, and that makes me happy. I’m proud of the changes my family has made over the past several years as well as the ones we plan to make, and I’m super proud to be living consciously and raising my son to do the same.

And, courtesy of the fine folks at Earth’s Best, here’s a little eCard for you!