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An Original Recipe by Angela Trentadue
It must have been a good year for growing sweet potatoes because everywhere I look, they are big and beautiful. These fries are pretty easy to make and you can spend some time practicing pretty knife cuts or you can just cut them up and get it done. This recipe includes a little secret of mine that makes the fries turn out just right from the oven.
Place a large cookie sheet in the oven and turn the oven to 400 degrees for preheating.
Cut 1 large sweet potato into 1/4-inch thick fries: begin by peeling the potato and then trimming the pointy ends off. Cut the potato in half cross-wise, then cut each half again lengthwise to make quarters. Working with one quarter at a time, place flat side down on the cutting board and cut lengthwise to create 1/4-inch thick slabs. Stack these slabs on top of each other and cut lengthwise again to create 1/4-inch thick fries. Repeat with the remaining quarters.

Toss all the fries into a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil (about 2-4 tablespoons; the potatoes should be evenly coated and glossy). Sprinkle 2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper and 1/4 tsp smoked paprika over the fries and toss well to cover.

Using an oven mitt or hot pad, carefully remove the hot sheet pan from the oven. Pour the fries onto the sheet pan. You should hear them sizzle as they hit the hot pan. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, spread the fries out into a single layer. Be aware that if the fries are too crowded in the pan they will not get crispy.
Bake for 15 minutes.

Using a metal spatula, flip the fries over and bake for 10 minutes more. Remove from oven, sprinkle with a pinch more salt and let cool about 5 minutes. Serve with bbq or hot sauce.

Recipe by Angela Trentadue

Last week I got a lot of bok choy from my CSA farm. Then I went to a friend’s house for dinner, and she had a bunch of bok choy from her CSA farm as well. So, something tells me that I should write up a little recipe using bok choy. The particular vegetables can vary, of course, according to what you have around. The last of the season’s tomatoes were still hanging around my kitchen, so those were added as well for their juice and sweetness. If you don’t have any tomatoes, add a little more water and maybe a pinch of brown sugar with the cornstarch.

Begin by preparing the following ingredients, putting each into it’s own bowl:
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 large onions, cut into 1/2” dice
1 fresh hot pepper, such as banana, jalapeno or hungarian wax, minced
2 carrots, cleaned and cut into 1” long matchsticks
1 small head broccoli, florets cut into bite-size pieces, stem peeled and cut into 1″ matchsticks
2 bell peppers (red and green preferrably), cut into 1/2” squares
1 large head bok choy, stems cut into 1/4” slices, leaves chopped into large pieces
2 red tomatoes, cut into 1″ chunks

Once all the vegetables are chopped, heat 2 tbs peanut oil (or canola) over medium high heat in a large skillet. Add the minced garlic first, stirring frequently so no browning happens.

Cook about 1-2 minutes, then stir in the onions. Cook about 3-4 minutes, adjusting the heat to avoid browning either the onions or the garlic – they should be just barely tender. Add the hot pepper, cooking 2 minutes. Add the carrots next. Cook about 2 minutes then add the broccoli florets and stems. Stir often to cook everything evenly. After a couple minutes more, add the bell peppers. After a minute or two, add the bok choy, stirring to
incorporate and cook until the leaves are just wilted.

For the sauce, add to the skillet:
1 tbs rice wine vinegar
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs toasted sesame oil
2 tbs cornstarch stirred into 6 tbs stock or water

Stir this mixture into the vegetables and allow to cook another minute or two. This will thicken and form a sauce for the vegetables.
Turn off the heat and stir in the tomatoes (if using). Top with 1/2 c roasted cashew pieces. Serve with rice or rice noodles.