Sweet!

I've always been a vegetable lover, and now that I'm approximately 7 weeks into my vegetarian lifestyle, I'm trying to add more of them to my menu. I always make an attempt to like a vegetable before avoiding it entirely - that being said, I've never been a huge fan of sweet potatoes or yams.

Thinking back, aside from having them in french fry form, they've always been served around Thanksgiving, loaded with sugar, butter & a layer of marshmallows so thick that I can barely swallow the spoonful without gagging. I've really tried.

....several times....

I just can't eat them. I walk into the home that's hosting the meal, I smell the starchy mess and I want to turn around and leave. It's pretty sad that a pile of orange goo can make me want to run, but it is what it is.

Mission: find a recipe for sweet potatoes that I actually WANT to eat. This daunting task seemed impossible, then I stumbled upon a golden recipe. Many, many thanks to Joy of Cooking, aka the kitchen bible.

Sweet Potatoes & Apples  
(their recipe, altered to our personal tastes)

• 6 medium sweet potatoes
• 4 cups peeled, cored, thinly sliced apples (I used 6 Pink Lady apples, I wanted more of an apple taste)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/8 cup butter, cut into baby cubes

In a soup pot, cook the sweet potatoes, covered, in boiling water until nearly done - approximately 25 minutes. Once cooked, drain and allow to cool. Peel and cut into 1/2 inch slices.

In another pot, in approximately 1/2 inch of water, (covered) cook apples until nearly tender - approximately 15 minutes on low heat. Stir occasionally so all the apples get cooked. When ready, drain the apples, but reserve 1 cup of the juice.

In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg & lemon juice.

In a sprayed baking dish, layer/stack & alternate potatoes and apples. Once assembled, cover (evenly) with brown sugar mixture. Pour the reserved apple juice over the top and dot with the butter cubes.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for approximately 45 minutes (or until tender).

This was taken before it was baked. It was devoured before I got to take another photo...

This dish goes great with everything. I took it to a family dinner as a side dish and there was only 1 serving left. It isn't overly sweet, not overpowering, not starchy and the apples & potatoes compliment each other really well. Don't let the combo scare you, the taste is amazing.