Sweet Potatoes with Raisins and Ginger

Is it just me or does everyone else think that life goes from holiday to holiday?

Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur — Sukkot — weren’t they just a few days ago?

And now, Thanksgiving is coming. I already ordered a turkey. Already have my menu planned.

It includes this sweet potato dish which I served recently to much acclaim.

Bonus to this dish? You can prepare this ahead up to adding the raisins and ginger. How easy is that?

Sweet Potatoes with Raisins and Ginger

• 3 medium sweet potatoes

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup

• cinnamon, salt

• Cayenne pepper (or use Aleppo pepper), optional

• 1/4 cup raisins

• 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel the sweet potatoes, cut them into bite size pieces and place on the baking sheet. Heat the vegetable oil and honey together until warm and easy to combine; pour over the pieces and toss to coat them. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon, salt and pepper if used. Roast for 14-15 minutes, turning the potatoes 2-3 times, or until softened. Add the raisins and crystallized ginger, toss and continue to bake for another 5-6 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy and tender..

Makes 4 servings

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Years ago I bought small, sweet “sugar” pumpkins, cut them, baked the pieces and mashed the roasted flesh to make pumpkin soup, quickbreads, pie, cake and muffins, and so on.

When I’m not busy I still do that, but these days, more often than not, I buy canned mashed/pureed pumpkin. NOT pumpkin pie filling (which has mixed-in spices).

Yes, I know that most canned “pumpkin” is a mixture of different varieties of winter squash. That’s fine with me — pumpkin is just a variety of winter squash after all. The point is, it tastes good and it works.

Canned pumpkin worked perfectly for the muffins in the photo, they’re dotted with mini-chocolate chips. These are a really good nosh for kids and parents coming in from the cold night out Trick-or-Treating.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate

• 1 cup pumpkin puree

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 1/3 cup coconut milk

• 2 large eggs

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg

• 1/2 cup mini-chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 10 muffin pan cups. Melt the chocolate and set it aside to cool. Combine the pumpkin puree, sugar, vegetable oil and coconut milk in a large bowl and whisk the ingredients for 1-2 minutes or until thoroughly blended. Whisk in the eggs. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and add them to the pumpkin mixture. Whisk the ingredients for 1-2 minutes or until thoroughly blended. Fold in the melted chocolate, creating swirls — do not blend it in completely. Fold in the chocolate chips, reserving some for the tops. Spoon equal amounts of the batter into the prepared cups. Scatter some chocolate chips on top of each muffin. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.

Makes 10 muffins

Pareve Irish Soda Bread

I don’t know why I wait for St. Patrick’s Day to make and eat Irish Soda Bread. It’s a really nice treat for breakfast together with my usual yogurt. It isn’t sweet and it has a compelling, moist, dense texture that makes you feel as if you aren’t going to be hungry again in an hour but also isn’t heavy at all. 

And yet I never think to make it until now.

Silly. This is too good for once-a-year.

Here’s a pareve version, which you can use if you’re kosher and want to have some delicious bread with corned beef and cabbage (or any other meat). It tastes just like the dairy version, made with buttermilk (there’s a note on how to substitute just below the recipe).

Irish Soda Bread (pareve version)

• 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1-1/2 cups water

• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar

• 1/2 cup raisins

• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Combine the flour, brown sugar, salt and baking soda in a bowl. Mix the water and cider vinegar together and pour over the flour mixture. Mix the ingredients until you can form a soft dough. Work in the raisins and caraway seeds, if used. Sprinkle some flour on a work surface and knead the dough 18-20 times. Shape the dough into a ball, then flatten the ball slightly. Cut a small X on top with the tip of a sharp knife. Place the dough on the baking sheet. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Makes one

NOTE: For a more traditional, dairy version use 1-1/2 cups buttermilk in place of the water and cider vinegar