Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

A big fat THANK YOU! to my very good friend Christa who turned me on to this recipe from Oprah's website.  It is, in a word, outrageously delicious.  OK, that's 2 words.  And not only does it taste great, it includes sweet potatoes, which I'm trying to work into my diet more frequently.  Yay!  This recipe can easily be made vegan by omitting the cheese from the corn toritllas.  Just brush both sides of the tortilla with oil (instead of only one, as in the instructions), and brown both sides.  Either way, it makes 12 6-inch really yummy tacos.

Ingredients:

1.5 T. canola oil, divided

1 onion, peeled and diced

2 chipotles (from a can and in adobo sauce), minced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 + 1/4 t. salt, divided

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/3-inch dice

12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

additional canola oil

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 t. ground black pepper (optional - I didn't use it.)

salsa, for serving

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1 T. canola oil, then diced onion.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until transparent.  Stir in chipotles, garlic, and 1/2 t. salt.  Add sweet potato, remaining 1/2 T. canola oil, and another 1/2 t. salt, and stir to coat the potatoes with oil.  Cook one minute, then move the skillet to the oven and roast potatoes 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the tortillas.  Heat a frying pan or griddle (I used another cast-iron one.) over medium-high heat.  Brush 1 side of a tortilla lightly with oil, and place the oil side down in the pan.  (NOTE:  At this point you can scatter some shredded vegan cheese over the center of the tortilla if desired.)  Cook until tortilla is lightly golden brown on the underside but still flexible.  Repeat with the remaining tortillas

Remove the skillet from the oven and immediately stir in the black beans, black pepper, if using, and up to 1/4 t. salt, to taste.  Top each tortilla with the sweet potato mixture and a spoonful of salsa.  Try not to eat too many!

Spinach and Potato Soup

Remember when I said I was trying to incorporate more sweet potatoes into my diet?  Well, ditto for leafy greens.  This recipe has both, and I am able to take credit for this one myself.  It's been a fairly warm spring in Memphis, but we had a cold snap last night.  Soup was a warm and comforting supper, and this recipe is super easy!

Ingredients:
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 onion, peeled and chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
water or vegetable broth (I used water plus some leek broth I had in the freezer.)
salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste
1 12-oz. package frozen crowder peas
1 can diced tomatoes (with juice)
1 12-oz. package chopped frozen spinach


Method:
In a stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Sauté the onion until transluscent.  Add the garlic, and sauté a minute more.  Add the diced potatoes plus water/broth to cover.  Add 1 t. salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste.


Raise heat to high and bring the water/broth to a boil. Add the frozen crowder peas plus additional salt, if desired (I used anotehr 1/2 t. and honestly could have used a little more.), and return to a boil. When the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork and the crowder peas have a proper cooked texture when bitten, add the can of diced tomatoes with juice and the frozen chopped spinach.  Add more water/broth, if necessary.  (The soup will be very spinach-y.)  Bring the soup briefly back to a boil to ensure all soup (including frozen spinach) is thawed and warm.  Adjust salt/pepper to taste, and serve warm with crackers, cornbread, or some other tasty bread.