Momma Would Be Proud

I come from a sweet potatoes family. The root vegetable was always part of our yearly crop. Mom cooked up hearty sweet potatoes dishes year round and sweet potato pies were the dessert of choice at Sunday dinners. My mom is actually known for her stringless pies back home. It's easy to see why I'm obsessed with these things. Whole Foods touts the vegetable as one of the world's healthiest foods. When prepared correctly, they are a relatively guiltless indulgence. Today, I fixed up me some Sweet Potato Minestrone Soup and Buttermilk Cornbread in mom's honor. Let me tell you, it was gooooodddddddddddd!!!!!!! This soup is supposed to get me through the final stretch--now until December 11th--but it might not last that long.

Sweet Potato Minestrone Soup



Buttermilk Cornbread



I tweaked the soup recipe by adding red chili pepper, cinnamon, bay leaves, cannellini beans, and seafood sausage. I also put my cooking class knowledge to good use and cut the carrots and celery brunoise style. I made the buttermilk cornbread as is and it was too sweet for my liking. However, it was perfectly moist with just the right amount of crunch. I will probably tweak the recipe by cutting the sugar in half and adding a handful of fresh corn kernels to the recipe. Both recipes will be going in my recipe book.