Easy Sweet Potato Dip

Arriving at a seasonal party and finding this dip was a welcome surprise for a gut that needed some wholesome comfort food. Scooping up dollops of this dip in a mini corn chip or cracker was heavenly. Prep work includes pre-soaking the rock hard carway seeds in water for at least 6 hours or overnight. Yams or sweet potatoes are washed, pricked and baked whole in a 425* oven for about one hour or until soft depending on the size. When cool, the skin peels off easily.
Packed with  vitamins like A, C and B6, sweet potatoes have good antioxidant properties, and are an excellent source of dietary fiber, potassium and iron. They are a low-glycemic index (GI) food, which releases glucose slowly into the bloodstream, making  them a healthy choice for diabetics. You can substitute lemon juice for lime, or simply omit the citrus and use more ground herbs if you prefer.
Easy Sweet Potato Dip
  2 medium size sweet potatoes, baked, cooled and peeled
  juice of one lime
  1 tsp caraway seed (presoaked till chewable or grind)
  1/2 tsp ground cumin
   drizzle of olive oil

Mix lime juice with spices. Mash sweet potatoes and mix in citrus juice until smooth. Spoon into a serving bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with your favourite dipping vessel??

Love Grasshopper

Kale Chips

(for Laura)
     Kale is plentiful and fresh this time of year. It is well-known that some people find this vegetable difficult to digest when prepared in certain ways, but grasshopper is crazy over these!! Finding this recipe in the news after giving kale chips a try at home, was a delight. These chips are guaranteed to surprise and delight you with their crispness and delicate texture. There are many alternative ways to spice these up, depending on your palette, from nutritional yeast to cajun spice, and recipes abound all over the internet. Raw foodists keep the oven temperature below 160*F to retain 'raw food' nutrients, but aren't as crispy. Grasshopper compromised and set the oven at 250*F.  At this temp, the kale retains a fresh green colour, as opposed to other recipes where 350* left a charred kale. Other recipes suggest using coconut oil instead of olive oil for fat stability. Grasshopper knows olive oil is wonderful, and hasn't tried coconut. However endless the choices are with spices also, it is clear that this superfood/snack is unbeatable for taste, nutrition and easy preparation.
   Grasshopper simply tears the heavy ribs away (save for later use in soups or juices), tears the leaves into bitesize pieces, shakes about a Tbs of oil and a shake of salt over the leaves, then spreads the mix thinly (do not layer) onto a shallow baking pan into a preheated 250*F oven. Stir very  occassionally till all leaves are crispy, about 30-35 minutes.
Love grasshopper