Sweet Potatoes

SweetPotato1

I cannot possibly tell you how obsessed we are with sweet potatoes – but not just any kind or variety. We have to have either Beauregard (a variety developed at LSU) or O’Henry. In fact, we’re so crazy about them that Katie, our 87-year-old friend in Baton Rouge, routinely ships Beauregard potatoes to us from Louisiana. And she puts them in a USPS flat rate box that gets so heavy that she has to have someone take her to the post office and carry them in for her (do you think we could be called abusive friends?). And why the obsession? Well, we can pop them in a hot oven (400 degrees) for less than an hour after absolutely no preparation, then slice them, add some butter and salt, and have the perfect baked veggie side-dish. Then we use the leftovers for mashed sweet potatoes, warmed in the microwave – or sweet potato/black bean/cabbage, lime, and cilantro tacos – or my new favorite muffin, Sweet Potato Ginger Muffins, from Deborah Madison’s most-wonderful Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

And FYI – that’s an O’Henry pictured above. It’s readily available – at least in Glen Ellen. It’s long, often thin with a very light skin color and yellow-ish flesh – very different than the ubiquitous Garnet (dark reddish skin, super dark orange flesh). And, yes, Louisianans may call them yams. But they’re not.

Sweet Potato Ginger Muffins

Servings: 12 muffins - though I actually made 16 with the batter; maybe we like small muffins?
Time: 10 minutes to prepare, 25 minutes to bake
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Adapted from Deborah Madison

Ingredients

1/3 c finely chopped candied ginger (the original recipe says dates and raisins may be substituted – but I love the ginger in it)
1/4 c oil (canola or peanut works fine)
1/3 c molasses (I wouldn’t want to tell you how long I’ve had this molasses. Do you think it gets old?)
1 c mashed baked sweet potatoes
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 c buttermilk
1/2 c brown sugar (light or dark)
1 3/4 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 12 muffin tins (or line with paper liners). Mix together the ginger, oil, molasses, sweet potatoes, eggs, buttermilk, and brown sugar, stirring until the batter is smooth . In another bowl combine the flour, soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; use a whisk to mix the flour mixture well. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir but don’t beat.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tins, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake for 22- 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. After they’ve cooled for a few minutes, lift each muffin out and turn it carefully onto its side in the tin and let it continue to cool – or move them all to a cooling rack. Serve slightly warm. These sweet potato muffins will freeze well and will keep (not refrigerated) for several days.

Recipe provided by Big Little Meals and Andy & Ann