Sweet Potato and Zucchini Frittata

I’m counting down the days until I leave for Malta. It’s strange, almost like a dream, to be planning for a year abroad. The semester is half over, and there is so much to consider: medication, budgeting, schoolwork along with a 40-hour workweek. It’s all so surreal, but it’s typical of me. I never do things at half-mast. If I’m going to experience change, it’s going to be a ton of changes all at once, like a Band-Aid being pulled off quickly to avoid the prolonged suffering.

Thirty-eight days. I have just over a month and a week until I fly to Europe. Thirty-eight days to see as many people as I can, to make as many memories as I can, and to get as much schoolwork and paperwork done as possible before I board that plane. What books do I bring? What clothes do I pack? Would I be able to pack the large teddy bear that CK (the boyfriend, that is) gave me for Christmas last year? Could I pack my hobbies and paint, sew, rock climb, and photograph while I was away? What about the Insanity workout and yoga? What about gardening?

Volunteering as a Photographer for MD's Halloween Bloc Party

It’s all so daunting in an exciting, holy crap sort of way. I’ve never been to a place that didn’t have leaves change or snow fall during months that usually do in my neck of the woods before. Actually, I’ve never been to the Mediterranean before either, but I’ve heard wonderful things from CK (you can get to know him here). For one thing, the cheese and the wine are famous for reasons taste buds can accredit; for another, local food sources year-round would be in abundance. These things excite me almost as much as the internship and being in the same time zone as CK do. There’s an entire culture I get to be part of, with recipes to make to further understand the country I’ll be living in.

But what about the autumn weather I so enjoy here on the east coast? What about the fall flavors of root vegetables and warm spices to fill you up and ground you: will it be the same over in Malta? Will baked apples, squash, and other slow-cooked foods provide the same satisfaction in Mediterranean weather as it does around this time of year back home?

I have no idea, but I’m excited to find out. Until then, I have a series of recipes that are perfect for the autumn season: warm, filling, nutritious, and (as always) gluten-free.

Sweet Potato and Zucchini Frittata

1 tbsp. Ghee*
1 tbsp. Olive oil
600 g / 3 small Sweet potatoes, shredded
1 Green zucchini, shredded
1 Yellow onion, halved and sliced into thin crescents
4 Garlic cloves
100 g Fresh kale, coarsely chopped
9 Large eggs, blended
Sea Salt, to taste
Herbs, to taste**
3 Small tomatoes, sliced thinly

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a large, deep skillet (or stainless steel wok) on medium heat, pour the oils and spread along the bottom of the pan.
At smoking point, add the onions and sauté for a minute or so, and then the sweet potato, zucchini, and garlic.
Cover and let soften for five to ten minutes, stirring periodically to make sure it cooks thoroughly but doesn’t burn.
Once softened, turn off the heat and toss in the salt and herbs, followed by the eggs (you may need to turn the mixture in the pan to ensure even coating).
Place the tomatoes on top in a design of your choosing.
Cover the pan with foil and baked in the oven for 30 minutes.
Take the foil of the top and allow the frittata to bake for another 20 - 30 minutes or until done.
Remove from the oven and let it sit for a couple minutes.
Slice into wedges and serve hot.

Makes 4 Servings.

*If you don't have ghee, you can substitute with regular butter. If you want this to be completely dairy free, you can just use 2 tbsp. olive oil instead.

**You could do just about anything with this dish regarding herbs. I mean, I considered allspice and cinnamon. But I ended up with a couple dashes each of tarragon, basil, and Parisian Bonnes Herbes.

The Bento Box Snapshot: Late Night Classes

Grad school. It can be overwhelming and exhausting with all the reading, late night classes, projects and papers, and discussions. In most cases, you have on campus nourishment to get you through the lectures when they’re taking place during mealtimes, usually in the forms of drip coffee and a sandwich.

There are some gluten free options provided such as fruit salads, chips, nuts, and meal bars, but I prefer bring my own food to ensure certified Morri friendliness. That, and it has been a substantial amount of time since I’ve posted a BBS.

Leftovers are the perfect starting point for delicious and filling bento boxes. There was some red and white quinoa and a sweet potato to enjoy, and I was feeling inspired to make sushi. The answer: quinoa nori rolls. Although I didn’t do it on purpose, the entire BBS turned out grain-free and vegan. It helped keep me alert and satiated up until class had ended at 10:00 p.m. 

(And I will admit I beamed at it with pride when more than one of my peers commented on how pretty it looked.)

Farmers Market Hopping

Going to farmers markets has become quite the weekend pastime for me. So when my friend CB invited me to go to Hamilton, Virginia and visit various markets he liked, how could I say no?

The ride there was filled with farms and wineries, winding roads and rolling hills, and I couldn’t wait to see how these markets differed from the ones in northern Virginia.

Want the recipe? Go here!

Before I left for such an excursion, I had an amazing breakfast: oatmeal with beets and steel cut oats, an apple with peanut butter, and coffee. If you are going to spend the day farmers market hopping, a hearty breakfast is essential to your success.

Oh, and naturally taking lots of pictures when you get there.

I love the variety of the vendors at both the Purcellville Community Market and the Leesburg Market. There were wine vendors, Shitake mushroom growers, meat and dairy folk, flowers, baked goods, pickles, salsa, fruits and vegetables, herbs and fruiting plants… 

There is even an organic nursery nearby that I am definitely going back to next spring.

I always come home so inspired by the market: inspired to create foods I never had before, and inspired by the people I met. He and I had wonderful conversations about food, our trip to Toledo, OH next weekend, and what great changes this world is coming to.

I can’t think of a better Saturday, and a meal to end it with. I had been experimenting with soaking beans this week, and I can definitely tell the difference with soaking dried beans for a few days versus buying them canned. 

Sweet Potato, Black Bean, and Quinoa Hash

106 g Dried black beans, soaked for a few days*
84 g Quinoa, soaked for twenty-four hours**
2 Small sweet potatoes, diced into small pieces
15 ml Olive oil
1 Red onion, finely diced
1 Bell pepper, finely diced
3 Garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp. Sea salt
1/2 tsp. Chili powder

* & ** If you have leftover beans and quinoa already prepared, simply use those up instead, about 260 g black beans and 230 g quinoa. Both were soaked in filtered water with about one teaspoon of unrefined apple cider vinegar, though the beans were drained at least once a day. Prepare the beans and quinoa like you usually would, go here and here.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Lightly toss the sweet potato pieces in the olive oil and place on a baking pan lined with parchment paper (make sure there is plenty of room).
Bake for thirty minutes or until soft.
In a cast iron pan, heat additional oil on medium heat and cook the onion, cloves, and pepper at its smoking point.
Once softened, add the cooked beans (without the liquid), quinoa, sweet potato, and spices, and stir until slightly caramelized in some places.
Top the hash with a pan-fried egg (or whatever protein you like) and serve hot.

Makes two servings.

The Bento Box Snapshot: Tandoori Spiced Chicken, Lemon Parsley Quinoa Salad, & Gooey Sweet Potato

Before I write about the major flop I made the other day (think the offspring of a muck monster with a vegan muffin), I thought I’d share my night of shenanigans with a Bento Box Snapshot. 

I know. It’s been a while since I’ve posted one of these.

I’ve been working at the community center’s BASE (Before and After School Enrichment) program since last fall, and I can honestly say it is the first job I’ve ever had where I felt part of a team. We work together to help each other, to making it a fun experience for the kids that come every day, and it is a growing experience. I’ve learned the art of communication, of true conflict resolution in its purest form, and how to be a team player. Yesterday night we celebrated a friend’s new job by going to Auld Shebeen, the one and only Irish pub and restaurant in Fairfax. I had always wanted to go, and I finally had the chance!

Just so you know, the merlot is fantastic.

Anyway, as I was fairly certain not much of anything on the menu was Morri friendly (save the wine list), I made a bento dinner and ate it outside the community center, reveling in the beautiful weather before joining the group to wish our friend Matt well. 

I had a chicken breast from the tandoori inspired meal we had on Wednesday on top of a lemon parsley quinoa salad (similar to tabouli), and a perfectly baked sweet potato on the side. 

This BBS kept my tummy happy and able to be with my friends while they ate without wanting to eat the table. And come on, if it has sweet potato in it, it has to be good.

A Different Kind of Sweet... Potato

Carbohydrates. It's highly debated just how healthy they are. In some circles, such as those following SCD, ACD, Paleo, and Keto, foods high in carbohydrates are avoided like the plague. For health or weight loss or both, grains, legumes/beans, most fruits and root vegetables are removed from the diet, and the majority of what’s acceptable are leafy greens, meats, certain fats, and sometimes dairy. I've always been rather confused about the whole thing, simply because runners and rock climbers are encouraged to eat carbohydrates like it was going out of style (which, coincidentally enough, it kind of is). 

I'm not a Runner, or the athlete that runs and exercises to be a professional runner. I'm now only running three times a week for 30 - 45 minutes per run to balance out my rock climbing. I eat typically eat one serving of  gluten-free grains a day, just to keep my muscles happy, but I've been encouraged to eat more (thoughts?).  

I was grain-free for a while, though much of my carbohydrate consumption wasn’t removed. I simply found replacements to brown rice and white potato, choosing buckwheat, legumes, beans, quinoa, and various root veggies instead. For root veggies, I am a sucker for color, particularly orange, so it no surprise that my favorite go-to root vegetable is the sweet potato.

My favorite preparation for sweet potato is treating it like a baked potato, wrapped in foil, baked on high heat for hours until caramelized and gooey. It’s one of those foods that doesn't need anything but itself (and a way to cook it) to be delicious. Interestingly enough, it is really essential to have fat with it, something I thought it never needed. According to the World’s Healthiest Foods profile on the sweet potato:

“It's important to have some fat in your sweet potato-containing meals if you want to enjoy the full beta-carotene benefits of this root vegetable. Recent research has shown that a minimum of 3-5 grams of fat per meal significantly increases our uptake of beta-carotene from sweet potatoes.”

There’s even a certain way of cooking it that releases its nutritional benefits, mainly steaming and boiling. I always felt that boiling and steaming foods, unless using the water, takes away many of the nutrients so I don’t do either method too often. However,

“…Recent studies show excellent preservation of sweet potato anthocyanins with steaming, and several studies comparing boiling to roasting have shown better blood sugar effects (including the achievement of a lower glycemic index, or GI value) with boiling. The impact of steaming is particularly interesting, since only two minutes of steaming have been show to deactivate peroxidase enzymes that might otherwise be able to break down anthocyanins found in the sweet potato.”

I learned this knowledge after making this recipe, but it’s nice to see that I did best by the sweet potato.

The goal for this recipe was coming up with a “whipped” sweet potato, similar to what I had at the Joshua Wilton House in Harrisonburg. At first I tried using your average electric mixer to make it smooth, but it still had miniscule lumps scattered throughout and the Burt-man doesn’t like lumpy potatoes. Again, our handy dandy emulsion blender saved the day, and it was heavenly.

Whipped Sweet Potato

4 Large (around 320 g each) sweet potato, peeled and quartered
162 g Coconut milk
15 ml Coconut oil
1/2 tsp. Sea salt

In a large pot or wok with a steamer and lid, steam the sweet potatoes over medium-high heat until completely cooked through and softened.
Drain the water from the pot to give room for the potatoes, and add the remaining ingredients.
With a wire potato masher or a fork, smooth the lumps and thoroughly mix together the ingredients until integrated.
If there are some persistent lumps left, use an emulsion blender or a freestanding blender to make the finished product velvety.
Serve immediately, preferably warm or hot (it refrigerates well, however, and would be as delicious chilled).

Makes 4 – 6 servings.

Curried Sweet Potato Oven Fries

After this week, I can happily say my summer funk has lifted. I spent the better part of two weeks in my pajamas, lethargic and bored out of my mind. As a Morri always on the go, I was saddened that my body didn’t want to exercise.

I felt like I wasn’t eating more than I usually did, but it was apparent my inactivity was physically and mentally taking a toll. For the majority of my journey in self-awareness I had only two speeds: stop and go. Everywhere I went I wholly put myself into the moment, then crashing as a result for days afterward. I learned to balance my highs and lows, to listen to my body when it was time to step back and give myself a break. But these days, with people coming by daily and my house is full of activity, I felt lazy by comparison. The only thing that kept me from watching cartoons all day was – you guessed it – cooking.

My two weeks of inaction was my time of self-reflection. In a few short weeks I’ll be at my internship, working with wonderful people at George Mason for a month. By August, I’ll be renting a house with the boyfriend and some friends, maybe with an animal or two. Finally, after this fall semester, I’ll have graduated, set out into the world with a degree and a dream. So I think I can safely tell you all that there are a lot of things going on in my near future.

Mama Dazz has been my go-to person to talk about these kinds of things (as mothers typically are) and she helped me put it into perspective. For one, I have learned to give myself some slack and to not punish myself for the things my body wants as a result. For another, I am an active person, and my way of relaxing is by being in motion.

Since I do not have access to the university’s gym this summer, I’m finding different ways to work out. When I was a little girl, the Burt-man tried to get me to play tennis, but I was never interested in the sport. But I was desperate. I needed to get outside, to feel the strain on my muscles and the sweat trickling down my face. I yearned to hear the playlist I made specifically for exercising.

Tennis has become my summer sport, to which a shocked Mama Dazz looks at me and says, “Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?”

She was right about one thing, though; giving your whole self a break is good for the soul. Truthfully, I was in a funk for most of it, but my creations in the kitchen have definitely been some of my best works yet.

I now have an outlet for my body, a way to keep myself balanced and mobile, but I am learning the art of doing nothing (i.e., relaxing) when there is nothing to do, to accept and trust that my body is resting for a reason, and to enjoy being still.

Even when I’m not in the mood to play, at least I have refuge in preparing meals for the people I love.

Curried Sweet Potato Oven Fries

3 medium Sweet potatoes, peeled, quartered, and slice (each potato can be made into 32 pieces)
2 tsp Garlic, finely grated
1/2 tsp. Sea salt
1/2 tsp. Garam Masala (or curry powder)
1 dash Cayenne
3 tbsp. Olive oil (or flaxseed oil)
1 tbsp. Orange juice

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a large plastic bag, add all of the ingredients and shake the bag until the sweet potato strips are equally coated.
On a greased baking pan, spread out the strips on a single layer.
Roast the fries for 45 minutes to an hour, turning them over at the 25-minute mark.

Makes 96 fries and can serve 3 to 6 people.