Insomnia + Sweet Potatoes
Today's theme is sweet potatoes. And insomnia. But mostly sweet potatoes.
Last week I was a jetlagged zombie. So was Athena, and so was Jess. So we did what any other self-respecting jetlagged zombie expats would do to kick off a new year in London: we sat in our pajamas making crafts and watching reruns of "Modern Family." I didn't have the energy to go anywhere, nor was I able to sleep so I was raiding the pantry in the wee hours of the night...all in all, a bad business. I wanted some kind of munchie that I could make easily, enjoy quickly, and not feel too guilty about! We had some sweet potatoes in the pantry so I decided to make oven-baked sweet potato chips (American chips...British crisps).
I peeled and sliced the sweet potatoes as thinly as I could without the help of a mandolin, then tossed the slices with olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper. These went in the oven at 400 F for about thirty minutes, flipping once halfway through. While they baked, I improvised a sort of dip... We didn't have mayonnaise (and we never do, because it's completely unnecessary. Oh did I say that out loud?) but we did have Greek yogurt, so I mixed that with some sweet chilli sauce and zest and juice from one lime. I think I may have ground in some black pepper too, but I didn't think to write down what I did...or to take a picture of the final snack. I blame the insomnia.
After a busy week this week, I barely slept last night, and today had hardly any brain energy for planning dinner. I began the conversation I have with myself most weekends:
"What are we going to have for dinner tonight?"
"I don't know; what's in the kitchen?"
"Baking ingredients; cheese; rosemary; onions; oh, hey, there are still some sweet potatoes..."
"Mmmm, those flavors are all really good together..."
"Like, on a pizza?"
"YEAH! I'm gonna make pizza."
"That's such a great idea. I'm so glad we had this talk."
I made this very quick and easy dough recipe, then started Googling to see how people have used these ingredients together on pizza. I used this recipe as my basis, but didn't follow it entirely. It called for red sauce but I thought that would be too acidic, almost bitter. So instead I made a quick white sauce. I didn't have any provolone, so used Parmesan with a bit of sharp white cheddar. The finished pizza was utterly delicious and comforting! It looked beautiful, too, though you wouldn't know it from the mediocre cell-phone photo; golden caramelized onions, bright orange sweet potatoes, and flecks of green rosemary. I have some unbaked dough left so I may make this pizza again but include thin slices of tart apple -- something light and sweet to balance the savory.
Last week I was a jetlagged zombie. So was Athena, and so was Jess. So we did what any other self-respecting jetlagged zombie expats would do to kick off a new year in London: we sat in our pajamas making crafts and watching reruns of "Modern Family." I didn't have the energy to go anywhere, nor was I able to sleep so I was raiding the pantry in the wee hours of the night...all in all, a bad business. I wanted some kind of munchie that I could make easily, enjoy quickly, and not feel too guilty about! We had some sweet potatoes in the pantry so I decided to make oven-baked sweet potato chips (American chips...British crisps).
I peeled and sliced the sweet potatoes as thinly as I could without the help of a mandolin, then tossed the slices with olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper. These went in the oven at 400 F for about thirty minutes, flipping once halfway through. While they baked, I improvised a sort of dip... We didn't have mayonnaise (and we never do, because it's completely unnecessary. Oh did I say that out loud?) but we did have Greek yogurt, so I mixed that with some sweet chilli sauce and zest and juice from one lime. I think I may have ground in some black pepper too, but I didn't think to write down what I did...or to take a picture of the final snack. I blame the insomnia.
After a busy week this week, I barely slept last night, and today had hardly any brain energy for planning dinner. I began the conversation I have with myself most weekends:
"What are we going to have for dinner tonight?"
"I don't know; what's in the kitchen?"
"Baking ingredients; cheese; rosemary; onions; oh, hey, there are still some sweet potatoes..."
"Mmmm, those flavors are all really good together..."
"Like, on a pizza?"
"YEAH! I'm gonna make pizza."
"That's such a great idea. I'm so glad we had this talk."
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| Sweet Potato Rosemary Pizza |
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