Double Sweets with Beets Pizza

Pizza is my favorite food, so what better way to showcase the versatility of  sweet potatoes than to make them into a pizza? The only question for me was what to pair them with? I scoured the veggie department to find the perfect compliment when my eyes came across these......

.....Beets! Sweets with beets? You betcha! The only problem was that I had never in my life cooked a beet, so this entire endeavor was "fly by the seat of my pants".

The bounty included 2 sweet potatoes, 5 beets, and 1/2 of a large, sweet onion.

These babies were really red...and just how do you slice a beet?

It turns out that it's easiest to slice them in a food processor.

Aren't they beautiful?

Let's not forget the star of the show---sweet potatoes! It was a challenge for me to get even pieces out of these...I could feel Chef Robert Irvine's disapproval as I wielded my knife.....

No pizza is complete without onions.

I broke this recipe into two parts: the topping and the dough. I decided to roast some beets, sweet potatoes and onions for my topping, while the dough would incorporate sweet potatoes, as well.

Sweet Potato Pizza Dough printable recipe

Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Beets, and Onions printable recipe

After chopping my veggies, I put them in a plastic bag with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 minced cloves of garlic, a teaspoon of kosher salt, a teaspoon of Italian seasoning and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. I had some "fig infused" balsamic vinegar in the cupboard, and it worked well, but use any kind that you have.

Then I squished it all together......

.....and put it on a foil lined pan. Bake this at 400 degrees F. for about 45 minutes, taking it out once to stir it up. Be prepared to sniff up that wonderful smell.

The beets look a little like pepperoni...

But wait! I had two sweet potatoes. While the veggies were roasting, I baked one sweet potato separately. I used half of that potato for the dough.

The sweet potato turned the dough a beautiful shade of orange.

I divided the dough in half and shaped it into a 12" circle on my well-used Silpat.

Then I sprinkled my pizza peel with some cornmeal.

I topped the dough with a drizzle of olive oil, a couple of tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and a little more salt.

I put half of the roasted veggies on the first pizza, then put some sliced mushrooms on top. Gotta have the mushrooms.

I used a cup of shredded smoked provolone cheese for the grand finale.

Preheat that pizza stone to 450 degrees F. and bake the pizza for 12-15 minutes.

Is that yum or what?

Huge hit with the beet hating husband!! Sweet Potatoes make everything better!!



Sweet Potato Scones with Dried Cherries and Spiced Date Butter....No Sugar Added!

WooHoo--it's time for the North Carolina SweetPotatoes Blogger's Recipe Contest. Last year, if you recall, I went a little sweet potato crazy, making such things as Sweet Potato Bruschetta and (my personal favorite) Green Eggs and Yam. While I didn't win, I had such a good time with it that I was hoping to give it another try.

The challenge this year from the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission: Create healthy foods using sweet potatoes. As much as I like butter and sugar (and sweet potatoes!), this one is a hard one for me. Luckily, we are still in the healthy eating mode at our house, so it was easy to get approval from the family on my ideas. Since desserts are my thing, I thought I'd give the "sweets" category a try. No sugar or sugar substitutes allowed. Yikes.

Sweet Potato Scones with Dried Cherries and Spiced Date Butter

Printable Recipe

1 large sweet potato, baked, cooled, peeled and mashed (a little over a cup)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1-1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup dried tart cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine the sweet potato, buttermilk, canola oil, vanilla and cinnamon. Sift or whisk together the white whole wheat flour and one cup of the all purpose flour, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Mix in the dried cherries and then add the sweet potato mixture. Stir together until well blended, adding enough of the remaining flour to make a stiff dough.

I baked the sweet potato -a large one- at 400 degrees for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. I used most of it in the recipe, a little over a cup.

I couldn't very well use cream and butter for a "healthy" recipe, so I chose canola oil and buttermilk. The buttermilk combines with the baking soda to give the scones a nice lift.

I'm a whisker not a sifter...mainly because I need a new sifter. Be sure to blend it well, so you don't bite into a slew of baking soda...icky.

The cherries added a nice bit of sweetness.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for just a few seconds. Divide the dough in half and pat each half into a circle, about 6 inches in diameter. Place the circles of dough on a large baking sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper. Cut each circle into 8 wedges and separate slightly.

I cut them into 6 sections, but I would have preferred them a tad smaller.

Bake scones for 25-28 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve warm or room temperature with a dollop of spiced date butter.

These are good enough to eat on their own, but if you like them a bit sweeter, try the date butter.

For the date butter, combine 1 (8 oz) package of dates with a cup of water in a small saucepan. Add 1 cinnamon stick and ¼ teaspoon ginger. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until very soft, adding additional water if needed. Place the cooked dates in a food processor and blend until smooth. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Making the date butter was so easy! Add whatever spices you like. I kept it simple with a cinnamon stick and a bit of ginger.

 

Even with the whole wheat flour, the sweet potatoes keep these scones from being dry. And they taste even better the next day.

What should I try next? I'm thinking a vegetarian entree. What healthy sweet potato meal would you make?

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I procrastinated for a very long time before breaking down and making red velvet cupcakes. I really didn't get the attraction. Red food coloring? Wth? But, I kept hearing how good they were. Seriously, everytime I brought up the subject, my sister went on and on about how good red velvet cake was. So, today I decided I was going to give it a try.

The very first thing that I had to do was find a good recipe. Naturally, I googled. Holy cow---there are a slew of red velvet cake recipes out there! I found out a few things about the history of the cake, as well. Back in the day, beets used to provide the color. I kind of get that-- like how carrots or zucchini can make baked goods moist. Now, almost all of the recipes use red food coloring. Really, that's the part that gave me some misgivings. A few drops I can understand, but a bottle? Some of those recipes used a 1/4 cup of food coloring! Yikes! I ended up making up my own recipe by picking out the things that sounded good in several recipes:

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups cake flour
1 ½ cups sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 ½ cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 oz (1 bottle) red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.; line cupcake pans with liners.

All of the recipes I found used some cocoa powder, but they varied alot....from 1 teaspoon (really?) to 1/2 cup. Most specified a tablespoon or two, so I decided to use just one tablespoon. I was going for the red color.

You can sift it if it makes you feel better. I like to whisk.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa and soda in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, buttermilk and oil and blend well. Stir in the vinegar, vanilla, and almond extract. Add the food coloring, making sure to blend in completely.

Now that is red.

Fill the cupcake liners ¾ full. Bake cupcakes for 15-18 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched.

Frost with buttercream or cream cheese frosting.

I almost decided not to frost them, but I couldn't disappoint. I chose a buttercream frosting this time, but a nice cream cheese frosting is probably classic for a red velvet cake.

The verdict? Yum! Next time I will make them with the cream cheese frosting just to compare.