Procrastination, Vol. I: Spicy baked camote fries with creamy cilantro dip

So I’ve been writing this personal essay, and it’s driving me crazy. I don’t know whether I’m being relevatory enough, funny enough, honest enough, or whether the whole thing is just completely narcissistic, and why the hell would anyone care?

By around noon yesterday I wanted to tear my hair out. So I took a break to peel some potatoes.

I’d been eyeing The Tofu Cookbook’s spicy potato wedges or a few days. As a sidenote, I’d forgotten I’d even owned the Tofu Cookbook until last weekend — my mom had given it to as as a semi-joke wedding gift. Crayton hates tofu with the fire of mil demonios.

Even he would like these, though. Potatoes covered in cumin and cayenne pepper, served with a cool, creamy silken-tofu dip. I picked up some Mexican sweet potatoes at the supermarket — they’re white on the inside — and I chopped and marinated them, covered ’em in lime zest, roasted them in the oven. While they were cooking, I zapped the sauce in my food processor and added some cilantro because I thought that would taste good.

About 50 minutes later, I had crispy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside fries that were heavenly good. The sauce didn’t make me jump up and down. But it made a good, cool foil — a foil with protein! — to the spiciness of the potatoes.

Afterward, Lola arrived to clean, and we had a long chat about God’s grace, our weeks, swine flu boredom. (Stuff we usually talk about.) I offered her my extra batch of un-risen cinnamon rolls, which she accepted. By the time she left I felt much better about the essay. And by 7 p.m…. I’d actually come up with a draft I was happy with. Which is HUGE.

Maybe these fries will help you solve your writing problems, too. Or whatever else you need a break from. (They’re awesome with beer, by the way.) The recipe’s after the jump.

Spicy Sweet Potato Wedges with Cilantro-Tofu dip
Adapted from The Tofu Cookbook by Becky Johnson
Serves 4-6 as a side dish

3 good-sized sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 scant tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
grated zest from 2 limes
3 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt and ground black pepper

For the dip:
1 garlic clove, crushed
6 oz/175g silken tofu
dash of lime juice (I squeezed half of one lime)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small bunch cilantro — about 1/2 cup of loosely packed leaves

1. Peel the potatoes, if you’re into that. (I was — mine looked a little worse for the wear.) Cut them lengthwise in half, then cut each half into quarters. If you like small fries, like I do (heh), cut the quarters in half. Place them in a bowl with the spices, zest, oil and salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 425F/220C/Gas 7. Back for 30 to 50 minutes, depending on your altitude. Turn them a few times to make sure they’re evenly browned. Fries should be shrunken down from their original sizes, just a bit, and golden brown and crispy when done.

3. For the dip, throw everything EXCEPT the oil into the food processor. Pulse until smooth, and then, with the the motor running, add the oil in a smooth stream. Scrape with spatula into a serving bowl, and add salt and pepper to taste. Put fries on a pretty purple platter and get to eatin’.