Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

If you would have asked me two years ago, as to whether I think it is cool to eat sweet potatoes for breakfast. The answer would have certainly been "only if you are in a serious bind."

Well, here I am to tell you, that I not only think you should eat them for breakfast, but I think you should eat them every day. As I write this, I can just feel my mom, a supporter of the sweet-potato-a-day diet, jumping for joy.

I bought a winter share of a CSA, mostly because the co-op in my town is making me broke, and because I wanted to know how eating more seasonally through the winter would effect my diet. There is a limit to what we can eat seasonally in the winter, because nothing grows. We know this, it is why squirrels stash nuts for months in advance, why most mammals do whatever they can to put an extra layer of fat on their bodies, and why many hibernate. My CSA practices the old school practice of dry storage; they store the veggies that they know will keep at a very specific temperature, with no light. And it works. Each week I received a box full of fresh root vegetables, and up until the last two boxes, was still receiving kale.

Simultaneously, I was also trying to curb a quite extreme spending habit, with a job transition, I could no longer be spending $10-$25 a day on lunch, coffee and snacks. Having just come out of the service industry, and realizing money really isn't as easy to come by when you are not waiting tables. This last winter was an experiment, a practice, in living more simply, and finding nutrition in what I had at hand. And man, did I have a lot of sweet potatoes.

Well, the habit stuck, and I make this meal 5 out of 7 days, so much for living seasonally, as I am now buying sweet potatoes and Kale from California. So, if you are purest, you can shelve this recipe until fall, but believe me, the simplicity of the nutrients, texture and flavor, will make it worth the wait.

Kale + Sweet Potato + Walnuts

The following recipe serves 2. I make it in the morning, and save half for lunch.

1 large Sweet Potato - peeled and diced (about 1/2 inch cubes)

4 Large leaves of curly Kale - rinsed, pulled from the stem and ripped into small pieces

5 cloves of Garlic - crushed

1 TBSP of Olive Oil

1/4 Cup of Apple Cider (or Apple Cider Vinegar, if you like it tart)

Course Sea Salt - sprinkle to taste (a lot goes a long way, so start with just a pinch)

1/4 Cup Walnuts - crumbled

Place sweet potato, salt and garlic in a heated cast-iron skillet, with a drizzle of olive oil (about 1 TBSP). Cook on high, while stirring regularly, until the edges of the potatoes start to brown slightly. Turn heat to medium-low and add apple cider (or vinegar), stir for 1 minute. Add kale, and cover with a tight fitting lid, adjusting heat lower, if needed. Let cook for about 10 more minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed. Serve topped with walnuts. I prefer eating it warm, but many a day passes when I eat it for lunch at room temperature, and it is still mighty tasty.

Crunchy, chewy, and soft, with the perfect balance of salty and sweet.