In this post: I ponder whether my nosiness turned karma against us amidst DC's big snowstorm. Lacking power to cook up good winter comfort food, I share an old recipe: roasted sweet potato salad.
I am a bit nosy.
When we lived in the garden apartment, I liked to peek into people's windows to see how they decorated. It did inform some good home decor decisions-- until an embarrassed husband issued warnings to the neighbors.
This past week, my snooping returned in full force while stuck in an endless line at the grocery store. Generally, my non-farmers market shopping occurs at Whole Foods, where peeking into people's carts lacks the excitement of a major grocery chain. Clearly, there's nothing amusing to be deduced about purchases of organic produce and whole grain cereal.
But Giant, on the other hand, has countless aisles of junk food, candy, soda pop, frozen meals, and boxed food items. On a normal day, there are great opportunities for glimpsing into people's lives via their grocery carts. But, Friday, February 5th was nothing of a normal day. It was an optimum day for observing people in a frenzy. With the DC region on the brink of a major snowstorm and the Super Bowl just days away, people's carts went into overload.
Carts full of salt made me wonder whether people were planning to defrost their entire neighborhood so their friends could attend Super Bowl parties. Parents filling their carts with soda and potato chips made me question crisis decision making. Would I really want to be stuck inside with children wired on caffeine, sugar, and junk food?
The one that really got me, however, were the people stocking their carts with frozen meals and pre-packaged baked goods. Seriously? I figure that if I'm going to be stuck inside with very little to do, I might as well take the time to make a roast or piece of braised meat, and of course I always bake my own cookies.
Not surprisingly, I had already planned a wonderful snowed-in weekend menu during an earlier trip to Whole Foods, where the entire produce section seemed to have been torn apart by desperate organic shoppers in need of a vitamin fix. Thus, my trip to Giant.
But, the joke was on me-- or perhaps it was karma getting back at me for my incessant and condescending judging in the checkout lane. With all my plans to make slow-cooked food, our power went out just as the storm was beginning at 9 PM Friday.
As fate would have it, we have not yet purchased that new gas stove. I was relegated to eating cold (organic) grapefruit, and chips (oh the blasphemy!) and salsa. We did manage to get our generator hooked up for a brief half hour, during which the item of utmost priority was deemed to be coffee.
So, I am sharing with you a recipe from a week ago. I think you'll like it. Lucky me, I happened to find a white sweet potato at the farmers market, which I tried out in this recipe. It tastes just like its orange relative.
The sweet potatoes are cut into chunks and roasted in the oven. Roasting gives them that wonderfully caramelized flavor. While still warm, the potatoes are tossed in a mustard vinaigrette, imparting a slight tanginess. For those of you who find most sweet potato recipes to be too sweet, this recipe may change your mind.
Roasted Sweet Potato Salad {serves 4 as a side}
Adapted from this recipe, Gourmet Magazine
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled
- 4 TB olive oil, divided
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp honey
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
While the potatoes are roasting, whisk the vinegar, mustard, honey, and remaining 2 TB of olive oil together. Add salt and pepper to taste.
In a medium sized bowl, combine the warm sweet potatoes with the vinaigrette and the sliced scallions. Served warm or at room temperature, it will taste great.
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Stay tuned for my resumed access to the modern world, as our power has been restored. I'm looking forward to a day spent slowly braising a pork shoulder.
