sweet potato apples
September 17, 2010 No time for yammering tonight! Let’s get right to it.
I am up to 11 apples total…and Chris, well, obviously he’s still only at 1.
Dicing an apple and topping it on oats is a GREAT idea. I always love crunch on my oats, but piles of granola are pretty calorie dense. Enter, a diced apple! And, since I don’t like baked, hot, soft, mushy apple, this raw apple topping was perfect!
I liked this method much more than when I cooked the grated apple into the oats. It’s a no brainer to top apple with peanut butter.
Ahhh, drippy peanut butter, I love you SO.
A few people asked if I refrigerate my nut butters. Typically no. There shouldn’t be any harm, especially if you go through it as fast as I do. It will definitely keep longer in the fridge, but it should be good for at least a few months, when stored in a dark cool place.
I looked up some info on dry roasting nuts but need to spend more time checking it all out. I found some conflicting methods, so i’ll definitely get back to you on that. Also, I found the organic, un-salted pnuts in bulk at Whole Foods. However, you can’t always find them in their bulk section. Sometimes they are in a pre-bagged area. Your best bet and probably best deal, would be to order them online.
Enough about oatmeal.
Let’s talk more about apples. And sweet potatoes. And my cooking extravaganza on Wednesday.
It started at noon with sweet potatoes + apples.
And it didn’t end until 8pm, when Chris and I were shoveling my homemade naan into our faces. Don’t worry, I’ll fill you in on that meal soon. But yes, that was the mystery bread from yesterday.
Who doesn’t love a delicious potato pancake every now + again?? My favorite topping for potato pancakes is applesauce. So, I thought combining apples + potato would be a great together. Thanks to Naomi, for suggesting the idea to use sweet potato! Brilliant.
I checked out about 5 different recipes for potato pancakes, just to get an idea of ratios.
I veganized these suckers too!
Sweet Tater Apple Pancakes [used this recipe for appx. ratios potato apple pancakes]
- 1 large sweet potato [this was about 6” long]
- 5 small apples, or 2 large apples [I used the local apples my aunt gave me – they were very crisp, sweet with a slight sour bite – I would suggest a nice crisp apple for this and nothing too sour]
- 2T ground flax meal + 6T water [or 2 eggs, lightly beaten]
- 1/4c whole wheat flour
- 1t salt
- 1T pure cane sugar
- 1t [rounded] cinnamon
- olive oil for cooking
- Whisk together the flax + water and set aside.
- Grate apple + sweet potato. Your arm will feel like it’s going to fall off, but it will be worth it.
- Press grated apple between paper towels to soak up some of the moisture.
- In a large bowl mix together sweet potato, apple, flour, salt, sugar + cinnamon.
- Add in flax mixture and stir well to combine.
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium-low heat with a few Tbs of olive oil.
- Form into balls, about 1/4c worth, place in the pan and flatten with a spatula [about 1/4- 1/2” thick].
- Let cook until a deep brown color is reached [about 5min] and flip to cook on the other side.
- Transfer to baking sheet with oven on 250* to keep warm, while you cook the rest of the batch.
- Add a little more oil to the pan if needed, and let heat up before adding in more of the batter.
*You want to make sure the pan is not too hot, because it will brown the bottoms too quickly and your potato won’t have enough time to cook. It takes some patience!
**Be very careful when flipping. I use stainless steel pans and they did want to stick to the pan a bit. At this point though it was my first batch and they needed a little extra flour. The second batch, with more flour worked much better. [at first I used 2T but recommend using the full 1/4c as noted in my recipe] If your apples seem dry, try adding less at first. You don’t want to over-do it with the flour because they won’t have the nice potato/apple texture, they will be too thick and floury.
It was a little tricky figuring out the flour but after the first batch in the pan, I got the hang of it. And, that first batch was still more than edible, just a little broken apart. :)
Typically, I think more oil is used. But I wanted to keep this light + healthy.
While I was cooking these, I stuck whole kale stems in the oven, at 350* topped with olive oil + salt.
While it looks pretty, it made it impossible to eat. When you go to bite the crunchy kale it breaks off the stem from hitting your face. It was a mess. I had to shuck it all off the stem. Then I shoveled it in my mouth with my hands. It was not a pretty scene!
MmmmmMMMMmmmm
What to top them with? It’s more like what CAN’T you top these with??
In order from favorite [1] to least favorite [4].
- peanut butter
- applesauce
- coconut butter
- Greek yogurt
But they were all really tasty!! I was so excited about these. It’s definitely a bit of a process to make, but in my mind, totally worth it. The flavor + texture was great and they are super healthy! Also, they make great leftovers. I have even been munching on them cold out of the fridge. :) These 4 pancakes [about 3-4” diameter] made me SO full.
The dogs are LOVING the huge backyard. This is actually not a depressed Dakota, for a change. It’s an “I’m completely exhausted about to collapse” Dakota.
Here eyes were closing while standing.
Kenna-Beans has been wearing herself out as well. When they do finally come inside, they RUN to the bedroom to get their sleep on. It’s pretty funny.
Kenna is healing from a moving accident we had. :( Of the 20 windows we had in our old house, literally, only 3 opened and one of them wouldn’t stay open. Well Kenna happened to put her head in the window that doesn’t stay open, and Chris forgot that it just slams shut when you let go. Poor thing. She was fine 2 seconds later though! Just a little fur missing.
Delicious Thursday leftovers.
- Reheat.
- Add banana.
- Add yogurt.
- Top with drippy peanut butter.
Complete satisfaction.
I’m so excited for Saturday. We’re heading to the Sustainable Living Fair, right here in Ft. Collins. Come check it out if you’re in the area!! Happy Friday friends!! :)
Ashley
Recipes, apple, oats, sweet potatoes
Reader Comments (56)
Oh my gosh! I made - literally - that exact sweet potato/apple dish a few days ago!! They look EXACTLY the same! Small world :)
I have the same exact problem with roasted kale... It gets EVERYWHERE! Your pancakes look like something i would love for breakfast tomorrow, i might even wake up early to try em' out! I am guessing they won't look as pretty as yours, but i will be running on 3 hours of sleep, so that will be my excuse. ;) Your dogs are so cute!
I love how you veganized those pancakes. What a versatile recipe! Breakfast or dinner. Just the way I like my food :)
I love the look of the potato pancakes-I've made zucchini one and potato before, but never sweet potato. Poor Kenna! :( That sounds painful, but glad she's ok. I definitely want two dogs later on, it seems like they have so much fun interacting and playing with each other. Too bad it's more work!
OH YUM!! i am so happy that you made these! they look absolutely delicious!!! I KNEW you could come up with an amazing recipe!!...now send me some hehe :)
I don't refrigerate my nut butters either. I don't see the point if I'm consuming them in a week! :) I think that method is only meant for the rookie nut butter eaters. :)
Love the idea of SP and Apple Pancakes!
I've been waiting for those babies! um....YUM!
Ashley, I love you on so many levels right now for making those sweet potato pancakes. No joke. in. love.
Good morning beautiful! I love all of the beautiful pictures on this post and the food is making me drool. I almost always put raw, diced apples on my oats...with almond butter and pumpkin pie spice ANd in the winter I put pears. So yummy!
And Kenna... oh my. Just so much like Mr. Dex! When he gets hurt, a minute later it's like it never happened and he's as happy as can be. But the difference would be that Dex would forever be scared of that windown. He's a coward!
oh yum! so many 'delicious' photos! they all look so great!
YUM! I can't wait to try these! I might be most excited about the way you used the leftovers.
LOVE the looks of those potato pancakes! So perfect for fall, and some of my favorite flavours combined!
I am *patiently* waiting for that home made naan recipe!!
xo
Kris
you can't be serious! these look amazing...that sandwich of the cakes cracks me up...it's totally an ashley thing to do! love it!
Those look and sound fantastic!!! Totally bookmarking!
Awww poor Kenna :( hope she feels better. The potato pancakes look amazing; love sweet and savory fall dishes :)
The good Jewish girl in me is amped to see sweet potato pancakes! I must make these!
Oh my gosh, I have all the ingredients for these! Yayy, I can't wait to make them. :)
Mhm, sweet potato pancakes... Specially with all those toppings, it must taste great!
Hm. I always refrigerate my nut butters, but maybe I'll stop. I prefer them drippy :)
okay I really wish I had some sweet potatoes on hand to make these...YUM!
That picture of the two apples is adorable. Now which of your lovely concoctions should I make first....
O LOVE the sweet potato pancakes, yum.
YUM those pancakes look great! Thanks!!! I guess I have a new recipe for potato pancakes on Channukah! :)
your pups are ADORABLE !! :)
what an ingenious idea for potato pancakes! and the banana stack looks tasty!
Can't. Wait. To. Make. These.
those look so good, way more exciting than the traditional potato pancake!
They look awesome! Dakota is sooo cute, the perfect boxer face, not droopy or drooly in the slightest!
I should have made it a quadruple stack!
Thanks!! Yes, definitely. I was raised Jewish too and have always loved tater pancakes!
Thank you!!! I was pretty excited about it :)
If you already have them in the fridge, I would keep them in. But with your next jars, try just leaving them out :)
Let me know what you think!
hehehe, I was raised Jewish as well
Haha, she's good :) It happened 2 weeks ago at the old house. Hope you have a great weekend Emily!
Thanks Paige!
You know me too well :)
It's coming, promise!!
I think I am too ;)
Thank you so much Abby!! It was my first time doing the diced apple thing. Yum!! Oooh, pears...I don't think I've tried that. I know, Kenna + Dex are like twins. Good thing it happened at the old house...she wasn't a fan of that window after it happened either!
Aww, thank you Chelsey!!!!!!!!
Yupp, they're definitely fine if eaten in a few weeks/months! Have a great weekend Lauren!
HAhaa, I wish I could mail food to all of my blog friends!!!
Ooooh, zucc + potato. I like that idea! Two dogs are WAY more work. We love them both, but yah...it's intense :) Especially if they're both big.
Thanks girl ;)
Let me know if you try them Adam. They would definitely be a fabulous breakfast. mmmm Today I ate them as a snack in between my swim + bike ride!
That's awesome!! :) They're so good.
Those pancakes look fantastic!!! Can't wait to see your post on the homemade naan. It has to be one of the best breads ever :)
Ok, that is a downright gorgeous bowl of oats. And your dog is so adorable!!
YUMMMY looking oats. i bet the apple was amazing, and that pb on top....oh my.
i've been really wanting to try out your kale chips! they seem so weird to me but i love trying new recipes even though they sound weird.
I love apples on top of my oats:):) I agreee that they taste way better raw then mushy! I cant wait till its apple season here so i can get some fresh ones!!!!
These little pancakes look great! And I can't wait till it gets a little colder out so I can try out some of your yummy oats breakfast creations!