Sweet Potato, Salsa and Egg Breakfast

 

My faithful readers will realize that my blog is quickly becoming a food and recipe blog.  That’s not my intend, per se. I wake up hungry and with a will of iron, I force myself to hit the bike trail or take long beach walks.  And, these days, seldom do I settle into an arm chair and sip a libation before noon….well, I cheat once in a while, but doctors agree that Jim Beam is good for you…or is that red wine….or maybe Mimosas and Bloody Marys.  So many doctors and so many opinions. I say, doctors are like lawyers.  Find one who agrees with you and go with it.  Why bother with consternation and pay good money to disagreeable people.

 

And then there’s the opinion of my significant other.  Well, I won’t bother you with that either.  She’s young and beautiful and I’ve almost got her student loans paid for. 

 

But, I’ve strayed too far afield.  Let’s get back to recipes that are tasty and will make you feel 25 again, even if you’re already ripening to 29.  And for the rest of us, this one will keep you in the tip top peak of senility. 

 

Sweet Potato, Salsa and Egg Breakfast

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

2 medium sized sweet potatoe

1–2 eggs per serving

olive oil

sea salt and pepper

 

For the Tomato Avocado Salsa:

1/4 cup minced red onion

1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro, leaves and stems

2 Teaspoons minced jalapeno

sea salt to taste

2 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

2 big handfuls of mixed cherry tomatoes, quartered, seeds removed (see note)

2 Tablespoons oil cured, sundried tomatoes, chopped

1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and cube

Olive oil

 

NOTE:  I rolled my sliced cherry tomatoes on paper towels to remove the seeds and keep the salsa from being too watery..

 

PUTIN IT TOGETHER:

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray the paper with olive oil.

 

Wash the sweet potatoes and cut off both ends. Cut them in half lengthwise, and place them face down on the parchment paper. Roast in the oven for about 25 minutes or until soft.  

 

While the sweet potatoes are cooking, make the salsa. 

 

Mix all the prepped ingredients. Set the salsa aside to let the flavors marinate while the potatoes finish cooking.

 

Heat a medium sized skillet over medium heat, and add a small amount of  olive oil. Add the eggs to the heated pan one at a time, and season with salt and pepper. Place a lid over the skillet for over-easy eggs and cook until the eggs reach your desired doneness.

 

Serve the eggs over the warm sweet potatoes and load on the fresh salsa!

 

Now that you’ve gotten back from your bike ride, it’s time to shower, shave, give your significant other a kiss, if the two of you are still speaking.  Dress yourself, find an easy chair and grab that Jim Wine or Mimosa Beam.  It’s a late lunch anyway, so it can wait a little longer.

 

 

Argentine Beef Stew -with apricots? Oh yeah!

When you dine at a fine restaurant, you come away with more than a warm memory.  The spark of creativity suddenly flames up inside you and you long to get back into your kitchen.

Creativity is like that.  Go to a wonderful garden, you come home and plant flowers.  After leisurely strolling through an art museum, you fixate on color and design.  You rush home to throw paint on a canvas, or touch up all those fading spots on your house, or rearrange the furniture.

Art in all its forms plants the seeds of creativity that will readily bloom in your garden…if you let them…if you accept that we are all creative, whether it’s painting, or music, or drawing, or flower arranging.  The ‘what’ isn’t important, the ‘embracing’ of your own human need to create is what matters.

What does this have to do with beef stew?  See, you interrupted me and made me explain all that other stuff, all of which should have been self-evident.

Argentine Beef Stew (My version).  A stew with apricots and sweet potato and all that other junk?  Again, there you go, suppressing your urge to create, to start something new, to step smartly into new adventures.  Stop leaning so heavily on your adulthood and be a kid again!

Besides the philosophical and psychological aspects of this dish, it’s delicious, or for you heathens, damn good!

Getting Down to It!

Argentine Beef Stew

 The first thing you need to know is, you can’t do it wrong.  There are as many versions of this dish as there are cooks in Argentina.

1 to 1.5 lbs beef, cut in cubes (I use a whole chuck roast, slice off most of the fat and cut the rest into cubes)

1 One large brown-skinned onion, peeled and diced

4 Cloves of garlic, peeled and diced

5 Cups of beef broth (I used 6 heaping tablespoons of Bovril in 5 cups of water - just to make the broth richer)

1 Can (14 oz) of whole tomatoes, drained

1 Lg sweet potato, peeled and cut in a medium dice

1 Green bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 Sm to med Acorn Squash, peeled, seeded, and chunked (don’t worry if you don’t get off every bit of skin)

1 Cup dried apricots, chopped

1 Teaspoon dried or fresh oregano (You should have planted some oregano last spring!)

Salt and black pepper to taste.  Careful with the salt because the broth is already salty.

  

Getting it Done!

Heat the oven to 250ºF

On the stovetop, put some olive oil (about 2 Tablespoons) in a stew pot and heat to a medium temperature.  Add the onions, garlic, and green pepper.  Slow is the secret.  Do not let the onions burn.

When the onions are translucent, add the beef and stir to lightly brown.  Add the whole tomatoes by squashing one at a time into the pot.  You’re not really a cook unless your hands get messy and smell like onions and garlic and tomatoes!  Add the oregano and give everything a stir.

Add the beef broth and bring to a boil.

Cover the pot, put it in the oven, and cook for two hours.

Add the cubed sweet potatoes, chunked squash, and apricots.  Cook another hour.

Bring the stew pot back to the stovetop, take off the lid, and boil the stew until the broth is thickened and reduced by about half.  Judgment call at this point.  Give the broth a taste.  Rich and wonderful?  It’s done.  Still too watery?  Leave it on a while longer.

Ready to eat!  I serve it with thick slices of heavy bread.  If you really want the flavors to meld, let the stew cool and reheat it the next day!

Before reduction.  Boil it a while longer!

A vegetarian?  Sorry.  Tell me again why you’re reading about BEEF STEW.  Don’t like green pepper?  Not a fan of sweet potato?  Don’t like the idea of apricots in your stew?  Ok, you whimpy whiner, grab another beer, sit back and let the rest of us eat this succulent Argentine Beef Stew in peace.

Don't forget to also try my Steak and Ale Pie!  http://stroudallover.blogspot.de/2014/06/steak-and-ale-pie-another-english-gift.html  It's going to be a long, cold winter!

Maple, Chicken, and Sweet Potato Hash

Maple, Chicken, and Sweet Potato Hash

Nothing I like better than a tasty dish that’s easy to make This one dances through the skillet, onto your plate, and keeps you warm, even in the chill of winter’s icy thrust.   Difficult?  You kidding?  I don’t do difficult.  I do easy, while sipping brandy.

Allow me to introduce Ms. Maple Chicken Sweet Potato Hash, the celebrated darling of your middle-aged dreams.  So, go ahead and pour yourself that first snifter of brandy while I lead you through this taste-bud teasing, stomach-pleasing recipe.  By the way, it’s a little less than 500 calories a serving and this dish can satisfy four diners with ease.

Maple, Chicken, and Sweet Potato Hash

I did all the chopping and dicing ahead of time and also combined the syrup/vinegar/mustard/cayenne/raisins in a small bowl.  I kept the ingredients covered and refrigerated all afternoon, so cooking supper was a snap.

1 Pound skinless and boneless chicken breasts, cut into one inch chunks

1 Medium onion diced – I used a red onion

2 Teaspoons sage – I used fresh, but dried will do

1 Large clove garlic diced

¼ Teaspoon smoked paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 Tablespoon vinegar – I used rice vinegar

¼ Cup whole grain mustard – Dijon will do

¼ Cup Maple syrup

Pinch of Cayenne pepper

1/3 Cup raisins – I used golden raisins

Spring onions, green portions thinly sliced for serving

½ Cup Gorgonzola or a similar blue cheese, cut in small chunks for serving

2 Tablespoons olive oil. More if required (The chef makes the decisions!)

Heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the chicken, diced onions, garlic and sage. Stir and cook until the chicken chunks are browning and the onion is wilted. Salt and pepper as desired.

Add a cup of water and mix in the cubed sweet potato. Cover and steam only until the sweet potato is tender.  Add the syrup mixture and heat well.

Fini!  Plate the portions and decorate with green onions and blue cheese.

Serve with the vegetables of your choice.  My choice was cheesy smashed Brussel sprouts.

Stand up, take a bow and grab that second snifter of brandy.