We are family of four who love to cook a variety of different ethnic foods from countries that we have visited. We cook healthy, organic recipes for Gluten and Dairy free allergies with lots of spice and flavor!
Sweet potatoes were grown in Polynesia and spread by vine cuttings instead of by seeds. They have been found in the Cook Islands as early as 1210 CE. The Polynesians spread them to Easter Island, Hawai'i and New Zealand by 1400 CE. They are now grown around the world.
If you grow them, their leaves are edible, prepared like spinach or turnip greens.
Serves 2
Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC)
2 large organic sweet potatoes, washed and slice into thin rounds
2 Tbs. (30 ml) olive oil
ground cinnamon
crumbled feta cheese or dairy-free goat cheese
organic honey
chopped parsley
chopped organic walnuts or pecans
~Prot0-Polynesian~
(reconstructed ancestor of all
modern Polynesian languages)
tasi 1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and drizzle if olive oil.
rua /ru-a/2. Place the sweet potato round on the baking sheet, drizzle with oil and cinnamon.
tolu 3. Roast for about 10-15 minutes on both sides.
fa 4. Remove them from the oven and top each with a cheese and drizzle of honey.
Sweet potato young shoots and leaves can be eaten as greens but not in this recipe. Sweet potatoes are only distantly related to the common potato!
Yams are different vegetables, native to West Africa, South America and the Caribbean, Asia, and Oceania. While the sweet potato is native to tropical regions of the Americas, which include Hawai'i and Florida.
Sweet potatoes are a good source of fiber and full of vitamins and nutrients, then add high protein beans, some Indian spices, and a healthy dinner is on the table!
When sweet potatoes are baked, they are have a higher content of vitamin C. Add cheese and eggs and you have a nutritional breakfast!
📌Sweet potato originated between the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico and the mouth of the Orinoco River, Venezuela about 5 000 years ago. By 2500 BCE, it had spread to the Caribbean and rest of South America
Serves 4
organic sweet potatoes (dark orange flesh has higher vitamin A)
1 Tbs. (15 ml) olive oil
(dairy-free) butter
2 tsp. (10 ml) vinegar
organic eggs
(dairy-free) hard cheese
parsley
black pepper
chiles to taste
1. Peel and cut the sweep potatoes in bite size pieces.
2. Place half the sweep potatoes in a pan of salted water and bring to boil.
3. Cook about 10 minutes.
4. Heat oil with a little butter in a skillet over medium heat.
5. Add the rest of the sweet potatoes and fry for 8-10 minutes, toss, until golden brown.
6. Drain the boiled potatoes and mash them.
7. Add to the skilled and season with black pepper to taste. Cook a few minutes.
8. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
9. Bring water with the vinegar to a boil.
10. Reduce to a simmer.
11. Poach the eggs for 3-4 minutes.
12. Plate with the potatoes and poached egg on top.
13. Add crumble cheese and sprinkle with parsley and chiles.
🔖Side notes:
1. Sweet potato leaves are edible and can be prepared like spinach or turnip greens.
2. If white "roots" form on an old sweep potato, it is not edible. But you insert three toothpicks, set in a jar of water, and vines will form. Repot in soil and have a nice plant.
3. If anyone still has an aquarium, sweet potato vines make a nice trailing out of the water with its roots submerged. Plus it removes waste product of aquatic life, which improves the living conditions for fish.
4. Grow your own: Plant in full sun 3-4 weeks after the last frost, mature in 90-170 days. Make holes 6 inches (15 cm) deep and 12 inches (30 cm) apart. Bury slips up to the top leaves, press the soil down gently, water well.
So, I bought eight pounds (3,6 kg) of ground turkey! It was on sale. It has been in the freezer for a very long time, because I do not know what to make with it. The weather is cold, rainy, and chili sounds good....Here is what I did with 1 pound (455 g). I think I will have stuffed peppers with ground turkey next week. (https://veggiefernandezs.blogspot.com/2020/04/italian-stuffed-peppers.html)
Chile de Turquía (Spanish)
Serves 4
Add more or less spices to taste.
1 Tbs. (15 ml) olive oil
1 each organic diced: onion, carrot, celery, and bell pepper
1 organic small organic sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 pound (455 g) organic ground turkey
1 cup (240 ml) water
1/2 can (7 ounces/200 g) each organic: tomato sauce, diced tomatoes with the juice, and black beans or kidney beans
1-2 Tbs. (15-30 g) ground chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. (8,5 g) each: cumin, paprika, black pepper, and cayenne pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes
optional toppings:
sliced organic avocado
thinly sliced jalapeño
shredded (dairy-free) cheese
(dairy-free) yogurt
chopped cilantro and/or parsley
uno 1. Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat.
dos 2. Sauté garlic, onions, bell peppers, carrots, celery, and sweet potato for 5-7 minutes, until soft.
tres 3. Add the turkey and cook until brown, about 5-7 minutes, stir and break up the chunks.
cuatro 4. Add water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes with the juice, beans, and the spices.
cinco 5. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a bubble. Cook uncovered until the chili thickens, about 45 minutes. Stir.
(a) If you do not what it to "bubble", turn down to simmer and cook for 3 hours.
(b) If it becomes to thick, add a little water.
seis 6. Taste and add more seasonings if you like.
siete 7. Serve hot with any of the toppings.
ocho 8. Leftovers will keep up to a week in the refrigerator or freeze for 3 months.
Quinoa is a gluten-free flowering plant. It was used to feed livestock 5-7 thousand years ago and for humans 3-4 thousand years ago in the Lake Titicaca basin of Peru and Bolivia.
quinoa plant
Sweet potato is native to Central or South America for nearly 5,000 years. There are over thousand species.
sweat potato flower
Ensalada de quinua y camote (Spanish)
Serves 4
Preheat the over to 350F (175C)
Use organic ingredients.
1 cup (130 g) each: drained cranberries and rinsed red quinoa
1 cup (95 g) chopped parsley leaves (or 1/2 cup/48 g of dry parsley)
1/4 cup + 1 tsp. (75 ml) olive oil
1 3/4 cup (420 ml) water
3 Tbs. (45 ml) apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs. (30 ml) honey
pinch or two of black pepper
1 large sweet potato, peeled, cut into bite-size cubes
1/4 tsp. (60 g) each: paprika and sumac
1/2 tsp. (120 g) each: granulated garlic and slivered almonds
4 chopped scallions
uno 1. Place 1 tsp. (5 ml) olive oil and quinoa in a small pot over medium-high heat. Stir about 1 minute.
dos 2. Add water and bring to a boil.
tres 3. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes, until it is tender.
cuatro 4. Pour cooked quinoa into a fine mesh strainer and allow excess liquid to drain out.
cinco 5. Add vinegar, honey, and pepper the drained quinoa. Mix.
seis 6. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
siete 7. Place the sweat potato, 2 Tbs. (30 ml) olive oil, paprika, sumac, and garlic onto one baking sheet. Mix.
ocho 8. Bake 35 minutes, until the edges being to char slightly.
neuve 9. Remove from the oven with spatula.
diez 10. Place the almonds on the other baking sheet and bake 10-12 minutes until lightly golden in color.
once 11. In a bowl, add cooled almonds, quinoa, sweet potatoes, almonds, cranberries, scallions, and parsley. Mix together.
