THE ALISON/DRAGONWAGON PROJECT: Basic Baked Sweet Potatoes

Is there a more perfect shade of orange?

You know those 100 calorie snack packs? Add this sweet potato to your rotation. A small to medium one is 100 calories or thereabouts.

Among the staple recipes in "Passionate Vegetarian" is Crescent Dragonwagon's Basic Baked Sweet Potato (p. 810). You can bake them in advance and repurpose their rich nutrition throughout your busy work week.

At least that's what I did today. I made my morning frittata, and while the oven was still hot, I grabbed two leftover sweet potatoes from pantry storage, rubbing them in oil, wrapped them in foil and baked them for about an hour at 400. 

I don't add butter and brown sugar, which would surely triple the calorie content, because these sweets are simply sweet enough. But these orange wonders don't just pack sugar carbs, they are also rich in dietary fiber and protein, Vitamin C. They're most known for having loads of Vitamin A.

For leftovers, I suggest tossing them as a final step in this Red Lentil Thai Chili. I discovered this recipe as part of the Boston Vegetarian Society's ad on the T. Don't cook the sweet potatoes along with the lentils. Just add them to the pot with the coconut milk at the end.

I also recommend using sweets as the filling in Dragonwagon's Jazzman's Pie (PV, p. 257). It's a vegetarian twist on the classic shepherd's pie, using sweet potatoes, tomatoes, a creole vegetable saute and a dark roux. I made this amazing, wintery pie a good year before I launched "The Alison/Dragonwagon Project." I'll have to make it again when the weather turns chilly and take some beauty shots. It looks and tastes like autumn. Not fall. Autumn.