inspiring~poetry~inspired

Inspiration comes from all places, right?  I guess many artists would say that they’ve been inspired by people, things, nature, situations, art, books, poems and events but I really can't relate because I've certainly never considered myself to be an artist or inspired by anything other than people.  Actually, I could easily say that I’ve never really understood how artists do artistic stuff (I know, I know, I probably could have come up with something better than "how artists do artistic stuff" but I'm not artsy enough to come up with something else!).  For example, my daughter and I have been camping a few times in Bon Echo Provincial Park.  I find the park to be absolutely breathtaking but I don’t think it has ever inspired me to be creative as the propaganda for the park implies:  “Long a favourite destination for painters and photographers, this park is renowned for Mazinaw Rock. This 1.5-kilometre sheer rock face rises 100 metres above Mazinaw Lake, and features over 260 native pictographs - the largest visible collection in Canada. Spend a day or plan overnight adventures in this hiking and canoeing paradise of deep, blue lakes, sandy beaches, granite outcrops and lush green forests.”   Walt Whitman’s poetry was even chiseled into the face of the Rock in foot-tall lettering in 1919.   My guess is that his words probably add to the inspiration provided by the natural environment but not for me. 

Is there something wrong with me?   My inspiration has always come from family and friends (how could you not be inspired by other people and their gifts/talents?).   These inspirational people in my life don’t “get my creative juices flowing” but rather, simply make me want to be a better person (isn’t that what inspiring people do?).  But all that changed in the last few months when I…wait for it…watched Bridget Jones’ Diary!!! Remember my first blog post?  “Inspired by Bridget Jones???”.   That’s right, Bridget Jones somehow inspired me to be an “artist”.  UGH!!!  Let’s not get too excited because by using the word “artist” what I really mean is that I was inspired to be creative.  So first came the creation of my “Just as you are” blog, then came my creative idea to morph the photos of my beloved(s) John Cusack and Colin Firth in “Love Actually…John Cusack or Colin Firth”, then came the drawing in “The Accidental Artist”, then came the poem in “This is me”, and I can’t forget about the many photos of my food that I’ve posted which could be considered “photography” which is an“art”, right?  So yes, I think it’s safe to say that I have been inspired to not only be a better person but to be a creative artist (said with my best French accent which is pretty comical considering I’m a francophone!). 

Okay, so realistically speaking, I never said that I was a talented “creative artist”, and I certainly don’t have to tell you that I’m not a poet.  Remember my first attempt at poetry…”This is me”? Maybe some of you may not consider that to be "poetry" so let’s say it’s a mix between poetry, slam poetry and a rap (can’t you picture me at a slam poetry competition “reciting” my “poem”? But really, can’t you???).   Couldn't we describe poetry the same way we describe beauty - "it's in the eye/ear of the beholder"?  Really though, what is poetry? Well, I’m so glad you asked!  After some extensive research, I found the following on Wikipedia:

Poetry often uses particular forms and conventions to suggest alternative meanings in the words, or to evoke emotional or sensual responses. Devices such as assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and rhythm are sometimes used to achieve musical or incantatory effects. The use of ambiguity, symbolism, irony, and other stylistic elements of poetic diction often leaves a poem open to multiple interpretations. Similarly, metaphor, simile, and metonymy create a resonance between otherwise disparate images—a layering of meanings, forming connections previously not perceived. Kindred forms of resonance may exist, between individual verses, in their patterns of rhyme or rhythm.

Yay for me!  I am a poet and I didn’t even know it :)

Come to think of it, "This is me" wasn’t actually my first attempt at poetry.  I believe this was my first poem (EVER!):

Roses are red

Violets are blue

I know that John Cusack

Secretly loves me!

Okay, so I may not have any poetic talent but I’ve been blessed with many poets in my life, and I also have a great appreciation for poetry (especially when it’s a “love” poem that has been written to me…ahem!).   I know I’m side-tracking a bit (surprise!) but isn’t there something magical about a man who writes or recites poetry for/to you?  Yes, I'm single (surprise!). Okay, back to the wonderful poets in my life…my uncle/godfather is a published francophone poet (he even dedicated his last book to my daughter...what an honour!), my brother is a brilliant (and humble!) poet, and my daughter has been writing poetry since she learned how to write.  Besides my talented family, my favourite poets are Rumi (one of my very first blog posts was his poem “Looking for your face”) ), Khalil Gibran, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost and E.E. Cummings (my fave!). 

Although I would love to post poems written by my uncle, brother and daughter, I’m guessing they’d be pissed (probably not my uncle since he’s published!) so instead, I will dedicate a Robert Frost poem to my brother then I will share my very first poems that were inspired by…wait for it…nature!  Of course, I’m going to dedicate the poems to my daughter (shouldn’t all poetry be dedicated to someone?).   Before I share my poems with you, I’d like to challenge my fellow left-brainers to start using the right side of your brains (trust me, you'll like it!).  What will inspire you to get creative?

To my brother – every day, you inspire me (I know you love this poem!):

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim

Because it was grassy and wanted wear,

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I marked the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Now the drum roll please….

While sitting on a rock next to the stream that runs through my town (that sounds like the title of one of my favourite books – “By the River Piedra I sat down and wept”), the following two poems came to me (seriously out of nowhere!) so that’s why I’m assuming (without “making an ass out of you and me”!) that nature was the inspiration for these poems (and no doubt inspired by other poets)!  I, of course, dedicate these poems to my daughter (whether she likes it or not, she’s the most inspirational person in my life!). 

P.S. Don’t get too excited…they’re just words bunched together to form what some would consider a poem :)

THE JOURNEY TO A QUIET MIND
by Tracey

While standing there, in silence and stillness,

I could feel the earth thaw.
For a moment, I was the earth.

In the depths of meditation,

I was as still as a stone statue.
In that moment, I may have turned to stone.

As I sat, in silence, watching the rushing stream,

I observed a leaf floating by.
In that moment, I was the leaf.

MY JOURNEY
by Tracey

A leaf

Floating along in the stream

Gets stuck to a branch

Submerged in the stream

The leaf is trapped there

Until a gust of wind

Or a strong current

Comes along

To release it

Some leaves are happy

Staying stuck to the branch

While others

Patiently wait

To be released

Sometimes

When the wind

Or current

Is strong enough

The branch will also be released

Along with the leaf

In that moment

I pray

That someday

I will be

The strong wind

Or strong current

That releases

The trapped branch and leaf

My "to do" lists

Yesterday, I had an aha! moment.  You know, the moment that leaves you standing (or sitting) there breathless, speechless, your jaw dropping  to the ground or in my case, your face erupts (yes, the entire face!)  into a smile.  Well, as I was standing in Room #7 waiting for Dr.  Acupuncture (aka spiritual healer), I noticed a poster on the wall.  I  had been in Room #7 once before but hadn’t noticed the poster because it's on the wall behind me but for whatever reason (you know how the universe works , right?), I walked over to that corner of the room when I walked into the room yesterday to put my purse on a chair that hadn’t been there previously.  On the poster was a diagram of a body  (you know, the diagram you studied in biology class that shows the skeleton and the muscles).  Okay, maybe it’s called the anatomy diagram but it had all of the acupuncture points.  The two points on the left shoulder (can't remember if it was specifically for the left or it was both shoulders) represent...wait for it..."shoulds" and "freedom".  So do you understand how this could be an aha! moment yet?

First of all, I’ve been having major shoulder problems. Three or four months ago, I started having pains in my shoulders, mostly in the left shoulder.  The pain progressed to the point where I couldn't lift my arm (still can’t!) up in the air or put my arm behind my back (hence the front closure bras!), thus the reason why I made an appointment to see the acupuncturist (for more information on my shoulder pain and my search for a "cure", please read my blog post "Getting Old(er)").  Secondly, I wrote about "shoulds" in a blog post "The S Word" on February 19th, and I wrote about "freedom" through creativity in a blog post "The Accidental Artist" on January 13th (it really counted as my January 14th blog post...oh the good old days when I blogged everyday!).  I had also been working on a blog post specifically about  freedom because it seemed to be a recurring theme in my life from the books I was reading to conversations with family and friends to therapy sessions (just being honest!) to news stories (tv, print and internet) but I never posted it (probably too personal but I’ll look at it again and possibly post it).  Am I painting a clear picture of the aha! moment yet?  Acupuncture points in a pain-ridden area of my body representing two "issues" that I’ve been thinking about, grappling with, talking about and blooging blogging about!  If you ever doubted the authenticity of my blog posts (I’m sure you didn’t!), please note that I bare my soul on this blog (sadly, for all to read but maybe someone can learn from my life???)! 

Okay, so let me get specific about the aha! moment.  The first part of the aha! moment came when I realized with every part of me (mind-body-spirit!) that the mind-body-spirit connection is real.  The second part of the aha! moment came (they were pretty much instantaneous but the first probably lagged the second one by a nanosecond!) when I realized that I had somehow doubted that there was a mind-body-spirit connection (I have an analytical mind that requires proof before belief!).   In that moment, the answer to "who am I?" revealed itself to me.  But as quickly as it appeared to me, it disappeared.  So the answer to the unanswerable question remains a mystery but for that brief moment, the universe (yes, the entire universe!) revealed itself to me, and I knew.  Now, sadly, I no longer know but what I do know is that there is an answer and I've just caught a glimpse!  The lesson though is that we must learn to manage our thoughts and emotions because eventually, they will have their way with our body!  Now, I'm slowly starting to learn the art of letting go :)

All of this to say (I'm long-winded, I know!) that while on this thing I like to call my "spiritual" journey, I've become much more alert to the "whispers" (whether they mean anything or not to other people, they mean something to me! I also believe that there's a cumulative effect to these whispers or signs.  Crazy?  Possibly!).  In addition to seeing my "spiritual healer" on a weekly basis (who knew that acupuncture was so powerful?), I've been breathing (consciously!), I've been practicing mindfulness (to the best of my ability!), I've been meditating (trying to!), I've been walking (sometimes mindfully!), I've been spending time with (or in?) nature, and I've been reading (I have a lot more time available since giving up television!).  I'm currently reading Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya.  In his book, I found two lists that I want to share with you (these lists should be shared with everyone!).  The first is “Daily Necessities for Building a Spiritual Life from Scratch”.  Since discovering this list, I’ve been challenging myself to see how many of these “daily necessities” I can consciously do every day.  So now, I challenge you.  What will you endeavour to do on this list?  I know there’s a lot of shitty stuff going on in our lives and in the world, and that it's sometimes difficult to find our way, and that most of us don’t want to add anything new to our list of things to do but trust me, adding these daily necessities to your life somehow make the crap seem less crappy.  

• Pray
• Meditate
• Be aware/Stay awake
• Bow
• Practise yoga
• Feel
• Chant and sing
• Breathe and smile
• Relax/Enjoy/Laugh/Play
• Create/Envision
• Let Go/Forgive/Accept
• Walk/Exercise/Move
• Work/Serve/Contribute
• Listen/Learn/Enquire
• Consider/Reflect
• Cultivate oneself/Enhance competencies
• Cultivate contentment
• Cultivate flexibility
• Cultivate friendship and collaboration
• Lighten up
• Celebrate and appreciate
• Dream
• Give thanks
• Evolve
• Love
• Share/Give/Receive
• Walk softly/Live gently
• Expand/Radiate/Dissolve
• Simplify
• Surrender/Trust
• Be born anew

The second list is something I thought could complement my blog post on mindfulness,  Mind~Ful~Ness.  After writing that blog post, I quickly realized that I couldn't be mindful because my mind is so full of crap!  You know, those thoughts that consume us.  The destructive thoughts ("I'm not good enough" or "I look fat in those jeans") or the constant judgments of other people ("Oh she really shouldn't be wearing that dress!") or the dialogue that goes on in my head about what I “should” have said or done in a past situation ("I really should have told him to fuck screw off!") or the thoughts that are absolutely meaningless (“I wonder who got kicked off of Dancing with the Stars?” or "Is Addison going to sleep with Sam on Private Practice?").  Regardless of the thought, most of it is garbage, and is taking up prime real estate in your mind (don't you want to have some space available to come up with a cure or send a woman to Mars or understand the meaning of life or solve the Rubik's Cube once and for all?).  It doesn’t help us or anyone else to be thinking those destructive, judgmental, meaningless thoughts so that’s why I’ve taken up the challenge to quiet my mind through mindfulness and meditation (even if people think I'm going crazy or having a midlife crisis!). 

Again, from Lama Surya's book, Awakening the Buddha Within, here are some ways that we can cultivate mindfulness and bring awareness, calm and clarity into our daily activities:

• Breathe and smile. Take a moment to let go, and just be. Enjoy it.
• Do standing meditation while waiting in line for a movie or bus or train.  Just stand there, breathe, and awaken.
• Whenever you sit down or stand up, stop and appreciate a moment of change, of freedom.
• Whenever you cross the threshold, go through a doorway, or enter a room, see it as entering a temple and do so reverently.
• Walk barefoot in the grass or on a thick carpet and feel fully each sensation with your toes and soles.
• Walk on the edge of a beach, where the water meets the sand, with your eyes closed, feeling your way along, totally vigilant and attentive.
• Walk slowly upon crunchy snow or autumn leaves, attending to the crackle of each step.
• Sing, chant, or pray till you totally forget and lose yourself; then stop and drop into a moment of inexpressible isness, completely beyond concepts, stories, and strategies.
• Experience simple, repetitive work like sewing, embroidering, or even washing dishes as meditation in action, focusing totally on the moment in hand and nothing else.
• Try doing manual labor in a sacred manner, just doing what you are doing as if it is the ultimate divine service, for it is.
• When eating, chew each mouthful fifty or one hundred times, getting the most out of the food as well as further nourished by the richness of each moment.
• Try chewing one single raisin for several minutes and experiencing everything you can about it.
• Before speaking, notice what motivate your words.
• Set a beeper on your watch or alarm clock to ring every hour on the hour, reminding you to wake up and appreciate the miracle of every moment. Call yourself by name and say, "Wake up!"
• Recognize the Buddha light shining in everyone and everything and treat others accordingly.
• Enjoy the indescribable joy and peace of meditation.

So what are you going to add to your “to do” list?  I'm thinking that I'd like to start chanting (don't worry...it would be in the privacy of my own home!).  Anyone have any good chants they'd like to share?

Holy Sweetness

I still can’t believe I’ve been sugarless since January 19^th (check out my blog post “Survival of the sugarless”)  so that’s an astounding 74 days or 10.5 weeks of being sugar-free!  Holy crap, I don’t think I’ve ever stuck to something for that length of time (40 days for Lent is probably the longest!).  I’m actually REALLY proud of myself (and trust me, that’s not an easy thing for me to say about myself!).   It's incredible the rewards that have been reaped as a result of being sugarless...more energy, less brain fog, weight loss, brighter complexion, more control over the food that I eat, no pimples or zits (anyone who has suffered with acne knows that there is a difference between a siz and a pimple!).  That's just to name a few of the benefits!  So how did I do it?  Well, Sarah will be the first to say “that’s not true Mom!”  Okay, so since I brought up Lent, I guess I should confess.  The truth is that I have slipped.  I had a microgram of Sarah’s homemade chocolate pudding (that microgram was delish!) which she rudely made in my presence then raved about it to me (that’s right, me, the sugarless wonder!), so how could I resist?  The tip of my little finger somehow found its way into the bowl of pudding (oops!) then that finger found its way into my mouth (mmmm oops!).  Before I move on to confession #2 (yes, there's more to confess!), I need to acknowledge that Sarah has been wonderful throughout this sugarless period.  Not only because she put up with me but she also sacrificed by not having anything with sugar in the house (who needs sugar anyways?).  The only thing with sugar that I will buy for her is chocolate (in moderation!).  So if she wants chocolate, I buy her chocolate but then she has to hide it from me (I know it sounds pathetic but we do what we need to do!) so thanks Sare (P.S. I love you!!!).  I'm happy to say that I've reached a place where I'm okay with people eating junk food or treats with sugar in front of me (Sarah with her chocolate, Reb with her baked goods, and BFF with her damn swedish berries!).  Honestly, there was a time when I would feel violent violently ill seeing someone eat ice cream or chocolate or candy but I'm much better now :) 

So back to my confession...I also had a micro-slice of Reb’s super-yummy banana bread which she rudely baked right before I arrived so the aroma of freshly-baked banana bread was impossible to resist (my willpower can only help me resist so much, hence the reason I’m now a hermit!).  Then finally (it’s a tri-confession!), there’s a half of a cupcake that found its way into my mouth then down my digestive tract (and you all know where it then ended up so why even bother?) at Reb’s birthday party (I’m seeing a sabotaging trend with this Reb girl, the same Reb who doesn’t read my blog! But I must give Reb credit...she made a banana bread that was sugar-free!  I love that child!).  The half-cupcake was earl grey with lemon frosting…how could I resist?  Besides it was Reb’s 13^th birthday so I couldn’t say no.  Isn’t it bad luck or something to not eat the birthday (cup) cake?  It’s part of the celebration, right?  It could have been worse…I could have eaten two cupcakes and an extra-large piece of DQ ice cream cake (yes, my favourite!).  Hell, I didn’t even have a birthday cake for my birthday!  That was my first birthday celebration without a birthday cake (EVER!).  I figured it was probably bad luck not to eat a piece of my own birthday cake so I decided "no cake for me"; that is until we celebrated Reb’s birthday 12 days after mine!

So yes, I have slipped three times (or as my Dad would say "tree times"!) but the point is that I didn’t fall!  How does one go from having a sweet tooth (or in my case, an entire mouthful of sweet teeth!) or more accurately, being a sugar addict (seriously!) to being sugarless?  Simply put, you quit eating sugar!  But you have to have something that will fill sugar’s shoes.  No, I did not choose that poison called artificial sweetener.  Who wants that shit in their body?  Have you ever read about the dangers of artificial sweeteners?  In my opinion, much more dangerous than my sugar addiction but I’ll let you decide for yourself.  Who am I to tell you what you should and shouldn’t eat?  I certainly don’t want to hear anyone tell me that I shouldn’t eat something but I certainly do feel that learning about what we put in our mouth (go ahead, insert dirty joke!) is critical to our well-being.    So yes, education is important (did you hear that kids?).  You need to know where sugar is hidden found and trust me, it’s everywhere!  Besides the obvious (chocolate, ice cream, candy…my previous holy trinity of pleasure!), it’s in yogurt, salsa, bread, pizza, ketchup, juice, soy milk, peanut butter, jam, salad dressing, and even in some bottled water!  Don't trust the packaging when it says "sugar-free" because it's probably loaded with something worse than sugar.  You need to be diligent in reading labels!  I’ve always had to read labels since I’m Mom to a hard-core vegetarian but this is the first time I’ve had to look for sugar which is also disguised as rice syrup, cane juice, fructose or pretty much anything that ends in –ose, and it’s shocking to me how many products contain sugar (I think it's time we start a revolution...a war on sugar!).   The only way to know with certainty what you're eating is to prepare your food from scratch.  It's not only healthier, it's fun too (yes, cooking is fun!).   

Needless to say, the first-three weeks of Operation Sugarless were very difficult (underlying “very” doesn’t even begin to communicate the level of difficulty!).  I’m guessing it was similar to what a drug addict or an alcoholic go through when they decide to quit abusing a substance (let’s face it, sugar is a substance that is killing people!).   Cravings, headaches, nausea, dizziness and bitchiness were just a few of the sugar-withdrawal symptoms that I experienced during those three-weeks but I’m happy to say that my…wait for it…precious juicer got me through the tough times (check out my blog posts “J-J-Juice” and "RIP Sir Juice-a-lot") !  Surprisingly, juicing fruits and veggies rid me of my cravings.  Sure there’s sugar in fruits and vegetables but it’s different (really, it’s different!).  I was lucky to find something healthy that filled the void!  I also started eating yogurt (real yogurt…just milk and bacteria!) with bananas and blueberries as my daily snack (it felt like a treat!) and have continued with this daily ritual.  My holy trinity of redeemers couldn’t be complete without my…wait for it…sweet potato!  That’s right, this root vegetable is now one of my favourite foods!  Since I don’t eat sugar, the sweet potato sometimes tastes so sweet that I have to eat it with something tart.  

Now that I've revealed my new holy trinity of pleasure (derived from food!), I thought it would be fun (it's blatantly obvious that I no longer have a clear understanding of the word "fun"!) to dedicate a blog post to the sweet potato.  First of all, let’s clarify something of great importance…a sweet potato is not a yam!   I’m offended when my sweet potato is referred to as a yam so I thought I should explain the distinction immediately (the word "yam" just doesn't sound worthy of the sweet potato's greatness!).  I guess I’ll start with the appearance since it is the most noticeable difference.    A sweet potato is short, stubby and has slightly tapered ends, with a thin yellow or orange skin, and a smooth appearance, and its flesh is a pale yellow or orange depending on the variety.   A yam is long and cylindrical (a yam can grow to be over 7 feet long!) with rough and scaly skin which resembles the bark of a tree, has brownish almost black skin with flesh coloured purple, red or off-white depending on the variety.  Sure if I were to date either, I would probably go with a yam (sorry but rough and scaly trumps short and stubby…not that I would date a root vegetable but some of the men I have dated have had the intellect of a vegetable, the really stoopid vegetables but when I was describing the sweet potato and yam, I felt like I was reading through online dating ads…not that I know anything about online dating because I don’t…okay, so, wow, I really don’t get out much!) but to eat, I’m loving the sweet potato!  When it comes to the taste, sweet potatoes are sweet (duh, really?) while yams have a starchier taste (so I’ve read!).  Unfortunately, grocery stores usually mistakenly label sweet potatoes as yams but in fact, you are buying a sweet potato.  According to my extensive research, it is difficult to find yams in supermarkets across North America since yams are only popular vegetables in Latin American and Caribbean markets, with over 150 varieties available worldwide. Interestingly, yams contain more natural sugar than sweet potatoes and have a higher moisture content.  Great, now I’m going to be obsessed with finding a yam (not that I have an obsessive personality!).  So I can't help but wonder (surprise!), when Americans serve candied yams for Thanksgiving, are they actually serving candied sweet potatoes?  Just food for thought :)

Since I’m not an expert on sweet potatoes (or yams!), my research has been, well, educational.  I’ve learned that there are several varieties of sweet potatoes including Goldrush, Georgia Red, Centennial, Puerto Rico, New Jersey, and Velvet.  I just ran to my pantry (while I was up, I remembered that I had a load of laundry waiting to be transferred to the dryer, started making dinner then remembered why I was up…the joys of an aging mind!) and found that I’m currently eating California grown premium organic sweet potato…no variety listed (note to self:  find a local producer for organic sweet potatoes!).  While I was reading the information on the bag, I came across suggestions on what to add to your sweet potato including margarine/butter, cinnamon, brown sugar or mini-marshmallows.  Lovely!  Now I have to picture my sweet potato with brown sugar or mini-marshmallows.  Why not suggest adding chocolate, ice cream and licorice to the sweet potato?  We could call it Tracey's Holy Trinity of Pleasure Sweet Potato!  Boy, am I living in a cruel, cruel world!  Thankfully, I also discovered that one sweet potato provides 440% of your daily recommended vitamin A dose.  That can’t be bad, right?  Okay, if it’s topped with brown sugar and marshmallows, it is!   I swear, I didn’t want this blog post to turn into an encyclopedic entry for sweet potatoes but it feels like it has slowly taken a turn with all this talk of varieties and vitamins.  I simply want to share my enjoyment of this sweet and tasty root vegetable with you. 

Yes, of course, I’m going to share a new recipe with you (that’s just what I do!) and an amateur photo (I admit that I’m not very good at photographing food!) but before I do that, I thought you should know that there are many ways to prepare sweet potatoes.  Currently, my favourite method is roasting the sweet potatoes.  You just peel them, slice them and toss them on a cookie (mmmm….cookies!) sheet with some EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil) or my new favourite oil, coconut oil, sprinkle with salt then put them in the oven at 325 degrees Farhenheit for 20 minutes or so (depending on how dark you want them, and although my family and friends would say that I like them dark, I actually like my sweet potatoes lightly roasted!).  I usually toss in whatever else is in the fridge that could be roasted including carrots, asparagus, onions and garlic.  If you prefer, you could make sweet potato fries with them by putting them in an oven preheated at 425 degrees Farhenheit for 30 minutes or so (keep an eye on them because the sugar in the potatoes could cause them to burn due to caramelization!).  Don’t forget to serve your sweet potato fries with mayonnaise and garlic, or mayonnaise and cumin dip (yum!).  I also enjoy boiling my sweet potatoes (the same way you would boil potatoes) then top with salsa or make a baked sweet potato topped with sour cream, green onions and cheddar cheese (I’m so hungry right now!).   I believe my Mom has cooked sweet potatoes, whole, in the microwave but I'm not sure how long or how to prepare them.  It's a nice way to serve the sweet potato.  All you have to do is scoop out the potato (Mom, feel free to share your cooking tips!).  However you choose to prepare the sweet potato, trust me, you’ll love it! 

So now onto my recipe…as you know, I’m a big fan of quinoa (check out my blog post “It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s quinoa”)  mostly because it is a complete protein (perfect for vegetarians!) so I try to incorporate quinoa into as many meals as possible (I’ve even added it to my yogurt with bananas and blueberries snack!).  I decided to try a new recipe from my Quinoa 365 cookbook by Green and Hemming…sweet potato and coconut quinoa soup (it was delish!).  It not only combined two of my favourite things but also included the nutritional benefits of coconut (I’ll save that rant for another blog post…you’re welcome!).  Here’s the recipe…try it, you’ll love it :)

Sweet potato and coconut quinoa soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup quinoa
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 cup plain yogurt or sour cream (optional)

Heat oil in a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in quinoa, sweet potato, and vegetable stock and turn heat on high until boiling. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes until the quinoa and sweet potatoes are cooked.  Puree mixture with an immersion blender or in small batches in a regular blender.  Return to low heat and add coconut milk and chili powder. Serve topped with yogurt or sour cream. 

Sweet Potato and Quinoa Coconut Soup
(it tastes better than it looks...blame it on the photographer!)