Sweet Potato Fries

Right now. 

Right now, I am relearning how how to spend days alone with myself. 

And I’m trying to figure out if a Friday night ever made me truly happy and if I should part my hair to the left again and if I can drink coffee on an empty stomach (I can’t) and that I like waking up in the morning and walking alone and also that I like howling along to the same three CDs I keep in the car. 

These are tiny, quiet things. 

Sometimes, life is very quiet. 

I’ve been trying to not write too much. 

And not think too much. 

Because I am trying to be light. 

Just do the best for the day, and let that be enough. 

And not get bogged down in futures or pasts. 

Because otherwise it is all so difficult. 

So the leaves are rosy again and November looks and smells and tastes exactly the same. 

I’ve been eating a lot of apples lately and not doing anything in the kitchen because the mental forethought that that takes is kind of beyond me. 

I’ve got three sweet potatoes languishing in my cupboard that I wanted to make sweet potato fries with, but I keep forgetting which spices to buy. 

However, you should make them, because you will be popular and famous if you do. 

That is a promise. 

And darling love, Thanksgiving is just a few days away. 

And I am so thankful for you, so thankful for the more than two people who have returned to read about recipes here. 

It means a lot. 

Be safe. 

I wish you only the good things. 

xoxo

m 

Roasted Spiced Sweet Potato

from The Gourmet Cookbook

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 pounds medium sweet potatos, scrubbed

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Put rack in middle of oven adn preheat to 425 F.

Coarsely grind (or finely chop) coriander, fennel, oregano and red pepper flakes in coffe/spice grinder, a mortar with pestle, or chop them together very finely. Stir together spices and salt.

Cut potatos lenghtwise into one inch thick wedges. Toss with oil and spices in a roasting pan and spread out in one layer. Roast for 20 minutes.

Turn wedges over with a spatula and roast until tender and slightly golden, 15 to 20 minutes more.

Tortilla Soup

There is a book I love that I have never read. 
It is called What It Is.
I love it for the title. What It Is. 

Right now-- all this-- it’s just what it is.

My mother tells me I need to be more patient, and I guess that’s how you get through the days when the blues and the mean reds come-- by clinging to the belief that tomorrow will be better.
And frequently tomorrow is better. 

It’s almost always better. 

But frankly, I feel like I’ve got this stack of tomorrow promises that I waste a lot of time thinking about, when really, I simply need to be present for right now, for whatever this what it is happens to be. 

But on those days, when the blues arrive, and the mean reds threaten to swallow and swamp me in memories of the past or promises of the future-- I go to Central Market, my favorite grocery store. 

I go to Central Market, and I take one of the plastic salad dressing containers from the salad bar and I use it as a cup to sample all the soups at the soup bar. 

I always try the tortilla soup. 

It is my favorite. 

And somehow, even though soup sampling with salad dressing cups in undoubtably pathetic, somehow, this also cheers me up. 

Because like kittens and grass and trees and hot cups of coffee-- soup just is. It’s just what it is. And thinking about what it is scares the blues and the mean reds away. 

And sometimes that’s all that can be done. 

So I finally made some tortilla soup for myself this past week, because I got tired of driving to Central Market. 

And the flavor of something so simple and so good. 

I don’t know. 

It reminded me that no matter how unsettled things might feel-- everything is just what it is. 

And that is more than enough. 

love, 

m

Chicken Tortilla Soup

via allrecipes.com 

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed chicken broth

1 1/4 cups water

1 cup whole corn kernels, cooked

1 cup white hominy

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile pepper

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained 

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces

crushed tortilla chips

sliced avocado

shredded Monterey Jack cheese

- In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. 

-Stir in corn, hominy, chiles, beans, cilantro and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes. 

-Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, and top with crushed tortilla chips, avocado slices, and cheese.