Yamcakes, Spaghetti Sauce/Squash/Snack, Co-Op Dinner and more

Leftover Yam Cakes

Yam and Sweet Potato are terms which get used interchangeably in America, although they really are two different critters. Sweet potatoes being sweeter, of course!

What a great thing to do with leftover Sweet Potatoes – mash them and make pancakes! These yams were leftover from last Sunday's Plum Lamb dish.

1-1/4 cups mashed cooked Sweet Potatoes

2 Tbsp melted Butter

1/2 cup Sour Cream or plain Greek Yogurt

3/4 cup Milk

1 large Egg 1-1/2 Tbsp Maple or Cane or Golden Syrup

1 cup Self-Rising Flour (or 1 cup AP plus 3/4 tsp Baking Powder)

1/4 tsp Kosher Salt

Pinch each Nutmeg and Cinnamon

Combine the mashed sweet potatoes, sour cream, milk, eggs, syrup and melted butter, and whisk to combine and smooth out the lumps.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and spices. Add the wet ingredients and whisk just to combine.

On medium heat, fry the batter in 1/4 cup cakes, flattened to about 4” diameter. Fry 3-4 minutes per side, flipping once. These don't “bubble through” the way regular pancakes do.

These yamcakes are soft and unctuous inside, not bread-y like a flour pancake. This recipe makes 8 yamcakes – hearty breakfast for two, or “just right” breakfast for three.

Spagetti Sauce, Squash & Snack

I had a LOT of beautiful large Beefsteak tomatoes from our Co-Op fruit & veg box that I needed to use up. Spaghetti sauce was the perfect answer!

Sauce

5 large Beefsteak Tomatoes, chopped

2 sticks Co-Op Celery, sliced thin

3 cloves Garlic, minced

1 Onion, diced

Italian Seasoning to taste

1-2 Tbsp Honey to cut the acid of the tomatoes

1/2 lb Ground Sirloin

Brown the beef and saute the onion. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about an hour or so, adjusting the taste as you go along. Serve in:

Squash

Halve a spaghetti squash, remove the seeds, and nuke for 6-10 minutes, cut side down, until the flesh will fork apart easily.

Snack/Lunch 

One of my favorite snacks or lunches is simply leftover spaghetti sauce ladled over toasted bread or English Muffins.  Yyyuuummmm!

Co-Op Dinner (mostly veggie)

This week we got some beautiful large Golden Beets, which we love roasted, along with some large carrots and a small Eggplant. Chop, slice, roast and fry – mostly vegetable dinner!

Cut the roasting veggies, lay them out on a baking tray, and drizzle with a bit of EVOO. Start baking them at 400F for an hour.

Halve the Eggplant lengthwise, scoop out the “guts” leaving a 1/4” rim inside the skin. Saute the “guts” with some celery, onion and about 1/2 cup of leftover spaghetti sauce. Toss in some Panko to tighten things up and spoon into the eggplant shells. Top with shredded cheese and bake on the shelf below the roasting veggies for 20-30 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Biscuits & Sausage Gravy

Just had to show off this beautiful breakfast plate which I prepared for our AirBnb guests this week. The biscuits are my three-ingredient Soda Biscuits (see blog of Sept 21, 2014).

Those of us who "did time" in the military will recognize this as a fancy version of SOS

The gravy is a simple white sauce with sausage. Take the skins off of 2 Kielbasa and crumble the meat into a pot. Brown the meat and remove it from the pot, retaining the rendered fat. Add a pat of butter to the pot and let it melt. Add 3 or more tbsp of flour and soak up the liquid. Cook the lumpy flour for a couple minutes. Whisking to break things up, add 2-3 cups of whole milk or half&half, and simmer a minute or three until it thickens. Add a dash of white pepper, and when the gravy is “just right” in thickness, ladle it over the split muffins.