Socksnatchers... you don't say!

I've been on a roll! Since Sunday night I've been making super nutritious dinners. After a weekend of eating birthday cake and PB cups I needed some hardcore nutrition. I've been really mindful in my sugar intake and feel amazing! It's astounding how sugar reacts in my body and how good nutritious whole foods feel. The sweetness of a fresh grapefruit is just perfect!

Sunday I made some beanie tacos, Monday I tossed together a crazy delicious and spicy stir fry and last night made up this vegetable mash. It's loosely based off of Chris and Carolyn Caldicott's book, World Food Cafe. I was at the library on Sunday afternoon and brought back a ton of cookbooks and one of my favorite children's book, The Socksnachers by Lorna Balian. I loved her picture books as a kid and she's from Wisconsin! Anyway, why on earth did a check out a children's book when Baker can't read... Well, in our house, we have a sock problem. Mates go missing and there is a growing pile of mismatched socks. What causes this? I don't know. Growing up, we always had a mismatched basket of socks. I figured this was the norm, but Baker's Daddy doesn't think so. I know other homes have this problem, too! When we were doing laundry on Sunday, I told him the Socksnatchers took our socks. He of course, had no idea what I was talking about. This drove me to the Brown County library to pick up a copy of it. The cookbooks were just a cover. :) Even though he read it, He's not convinced there is a family of socksnatchers in the basement...

Back to the food! This dish is amazing. The hot sauce which takes seconds to whip up offers such heat and complements the sweetness of the cardamom and sweet potato so well. I am pretty much in love with this dish.

Vegetable Mash

1 sweet potato

1 can garbanzo beans

1 package of chopped frozen spinach- thawed

1 1/2 cup lima beans

1 onion - sliced

1 teaspoon cardamom

salt n' pep to taste

Boil sweet potatoes as you prep the other vegetables. Use whatever vegetables you have on hand, it's pretty versatile. Mix spinach, lima beans and 'bonzos together over medium heat until incorporated and warmed through. Remove from heat. Add a little oil to the pan to heat, add the onion and saute. While the onions are sauteing, mash the sweet potato adding the other vegetables with it. When the onion becomes translucent, add the rest of the vegetables and spices. Stir together and get ready to chow!

Peppa' sauce

3-4 garlic cloves

3 serrano chilies

4 tomatoes- deseeded and chopped

1 onion

1 red pepper

parsley

lemon to blend

dash of salt n' pep

Chop up everything and place into a blender or food processor. You'll love the spice of this! We had plenty of leftovers which will be nice to accompany other dishes this week.

Together, the sweetness of the cardamom and the spiciness of the peppers makes this a delicious treat. Healthy and so darn flavorful! I made up some quiona to serve with it as a dish. It can easily be eaten alone, it's so filling!