The delicious sweet potato

Growing up, I only saw sweet potatoes mashed and topped with sugar and gooey marshmallows or baked and loaded with butter and cinnamon sugar.  These days, I have come to love the simple and subtle flavors of this starchy vegetable in dishes that actually retain its integrity.  Now, rather than making mashed sweet potatoes overpowered by cream, butter, sugar or marshmallows, I've decided to create a lighter, healthier (but just as delicious) version.

Ingredients:
1 medium sweet potato

2 tsp plain yogurt

1/2 tsp olive oil

dash cinnamon (to taste)

salt (to taste)

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 350

2) Scrub sweet potato and poke holes with fork

3) Bake for 55 minutes in oven, until soft

4) Top with dollop of yogurt, olive oil, cinnamon and salt, or 

   combine all ingredients until smooth

Sautéed Rainbow Chard

Finally, I’ve sautéed my vibrant greens!  Rainbow chard turned out much more mild than I expected, having heard that it was quite bitter prior to my attempt to create a flavorful side dish.  Here’s a loose recipe for what I created.  

Ingredients:

1 bunch rainbow chard

1/2 can black eyed peas

olive oil (approximately 1 tbsp)

balsamic or apple cider vinegar to taste

1/4-1/3 cup water or vegetable broth

salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1) Chop chard, separating stalks from leaves

2) Saute stalks in olive oil over medium-high until tender

3) Add water or vegetable broth and leaves

4) Lower heat to medium-low, allow leaves to wilt and liquid to                                     

   evaporate

5) Combine with black eyed peas

6) Add vinegar, salt, pepper and any other spices to taste