eat your heart out, new york fries.

We've officially declared this week: the week of amazing suppers. C (the roomie's gf) is staying with us for their Spring Break and for the past two nights the four of us have had supper together. With Abby under the table, as usual. So for the rest of this week I'm going to attempt a food post every night. I promise you delicious looking photos & somewhat original recipes. Sound good?

Tonight we had oven-baked fries with the works. All day I had been craving a big veggie nacho poutine from Smoke's poutinerie. It's basically nacho toppings on fries. Think peppers, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream etc. Like New York Fries Veggie Works. Knowing how bad they are for me and thinking of the havoc they would reek on my sensitive [not to mention lactose-intolerant] stomach, I decided to recreate my own version at home. I hope you ate supper already, because this might make you hungry.

For the fries:

Wash up your potatoes well. Slice them lengthwise once and then lay both halves flat. Cut fries into ~1cm slices. Put them immediately into a bowl of the very hot tap water. (I got this tip from a forum online. I guess it draws out the starch and helps make them crispier. Trust.)

Preheat oven to 425f. Once the potatoes have soaked and then oven is hot, dry them off with paper towel.

Spread a baking sheet with olive oil, about 4T. Spread it around with your hand or a pastry brush & sprinkle the sheet generously with salt.

Lay the fries on the pan so they are not touching.

Bake for about 30 minutes, turning every 8-10 minutes. The more you turn them, the less likely it is they will stick. If you have parchment paper, all the better! When they're almost cooked, sprinkle them with chili powder or your favorite spice.

Drain on paper towel and serve piping hot.

Load them up:

Here's whats on mine:

chili, guacamole, Tofutti sour cream, red onion, green onion, bell peppers, tomato, Daiya imitation cheese.

Technically "healthier", not deep-fried and all five food groups. Good enough for me!

Did you ever try to make a healthier version of a fast-food or restaurant favorite?

Sweet Potato Roasties & BBQ Mayo

 When I eat sweet potato fries I try to convince myself that they're healthy. I mean, they are vegetables. Not that I feel guilty about eating food. I really don't. But, I try to follow the Canada Food Guide as much as I can so I guess it's more like me squeezing in an extra serving of veggies. Moving on, last week I had a few sweet potatoes to use up and because I definitely do not have the patience to cut them into perfect fry shapes... I made roasties aka. hashbrowns. Much less time consuming and just as delicious.

It would be pointless for me to type up a recipe for these. Really all you need to do is cut up the potatoes, toss with some olive oil, salt, pepper and chili powder. Roast em in the oven for a bit and then broil them.

Now, if you're going to try one thing from my blog... trust me, try this BBQ mayo. I whipped this up sometime last year trying to recreate the cajun mayo restaurants serve with their SP fries. Ketchup is just not the same. This sauce is tangy, sweet and can be spicy if you ramp up the chili powder. It works well with fish, steak, sandwiches, regular fries and chicken too. I've started making a little extra so I can have some for leftovers. Oh, I bet it would be awesome on hamburgers too. Someone should try that and let me know how it is... Haha.

So listen, it only takes 1 minute to make and I guarantee you have everything you need to make it in your fridge/cupboard right now. Mayo, BBQ sauce & chili powder. That's it. Mix half mayo, half BBQ sauce and sprinkle in some chili powder. Done. (Almost) instant sauce.

she doesn't photograph well...

Enjoy & indulge,
Janelle