Spiced Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potato is my favorite of the fried starches - or in this case, of the baked starches. Baking the potatoes is just as easy and a million times healthier, and oh so yummy.

I recently heard something I hadn't heard before about making french fries - that with regular potatoes, you should remove excess starch by soaking them in cold water, but that with sweet potatoes, you should try to add some extra starch to add crispiness. I gave it a try with these, and they came out wonderful! Two thumbs up from me and EJ!

I used an Indian spice blend called garam masala - it should be available in the spice section of any grocery store. I've also made sweet potato fries with cajun seasoning, plain old salt, salt and sugar, or with garlic and onion powder. Use what makes you happy!

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Watercourse Foods Tempeh Burger

This isn't the first time I've linked to Watercourse Foods in Denver, CO. I have only been there once, but I am now making it my personal mission to visit every time I visit Denver!

I did not try the veggie burger when I went, but I have heard raves about it. Their recipe has now been published, and since my wonderful husband loves veggie burgers, I thought I'd test it out. I took some liberties with the recipe*, and the burgers came out a little dry. Other than that, they were super tasty, and these sweet potato fries were the perfect accompaniment! There was a lot of prep work, but my food chopper gets the job done (or if you have a nice sous chef, that works also).

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Soft pretzels

Ok...so these are sort of like the pretzels I learned to make in 7th grade cooking class. But so what? They were freaking amazing...the outside is salty and just a tiny bit crispy while the inside is soft and doughy. I crave these constantly. Serving suggestion: straight out of the oven with some yummy mustard!

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Cabernet poached pears with blue cheese

My husband and I tried this dish on our 1 year wedding anniversary. We stayed in a B&B in Bar Harbor, and popped into this little place for appetizers and cocktails before dinner. We ordered the only vegetarian appetizer on the menu and were blown away with how amazing it was. If we weren't in a fancy restaurant, I think both of us would have licked the plate. EJ asked me how happy I would be if I had the recipe for the dish, and I agreed that it would be amazing to be able to recreate this exactly. Lo and behold, at the hostess stand was a book featuring restaurants throughout Maine, and Mache Bistro was in the book. What recipe did they decide to submit for the publication? Why, the Cabernet poached pears, of course!

I made this for my in-laws on the 4th of July, and it was a hit! Of course, I can't take credit for the recipe. This is unaltered from the original. I'm thinking about experimenting with different fruits instead of pears, though the pears were out of this world.

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