So Sweet!

I know I promised an account of our wild west adventure -- and I will, soon. But today I want to show you what came out of our garden. Potatoes -- sweet ones!

Early in the summer I planted four slips (shoots grown from a mature sweet potato). Once planted, I  mostly forgot them. The vines grew and grew and grew, taking over the back part of the garden. When we got back from our trip I realized that we must have had a frost as the beautiful vines now boasted curled black leaves. So today, I picked up one of the vines and traced it back to where it entered the ground. Using my hands, I pulled up the vine root and dug around, finding six or seven sweet potatoes at the end of each vine.

In my enthusiasm for the harvest, I brought them in and washed them. NOT a good idea. I was supposed to put them (dirt and all) in a newspaper lined box and let them cure for a couple of weeks -- giving the starch time to turn to sugar. They are supposed to be stored in a warm room with high humidity. I'm going to have to think about the best place to cure them.

While they are curing, I'll be planning a fall dinner that highlights the sweetness of my tubers: Nigerian Curry Stew.

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Nigerian Curry Stew

 Maggie fixed this for us over Christmas break (2008) and we all thought it was terrific. The recipe comes from Willy Street Co-op in Madison, WI.

Ingredients

1-1/2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 lb red potatoes, cubed

2 T canola oil

1 medium yellow onion, chunked

1 large carrot, peeled and sliced in coins

1 red pepper, diced

2 t. garlic, minced

2 t fresh ginger, minced

1-1/2 T curry powder

1 can 15-oz diced tomatoes

1/2 t coriander

1/2 t salt

1/2 t black pepper

1 t crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup chopped peanuts

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 T balsamic vinegar

1 T each molasses and toasted sesame oil

1 T hot sauce, or to taste

Preparation

Steam or roast potatoes until just tender, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool. In a medium saucepan, over very low heat, combine peanut butter with 1 cup water and soy sauce, stirring until smooth. Add balsamic vinegar, sesame oil, molasses, hot sauce, black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon crushed red peppers. Heat through and set aside. In a large saucepan, saute onion, carrot and red pepper in canola oil until soft. Add garlic, ginger and 1/2 t red pepper flakes and saute 3 minutes longer. Add tomatoes, peanut sauce and seasonings and simmer over low heat 20 minutes, stirring often. Add potatoes, chopped peanuts and cilantro and serve.