The Case of the Accidental Sweet Potato

The Case of the Accidental Sweet Potato,
Or The Hidden Sweet Potato

Sometimes the decisions we make early on prove to just be a "learning experience" later in Fall... especially when it comes to planting and growing.  No matter how many times I plant in my lifetime, I live for not just the bounty of my garden, but for the little surprises, whether good or bad, that befall our Little Lyon Farm.

I have a large terra cotta pot in the front of my house, and this year, because I was planting tomatoes out there also, I decided to plant marigolds.  (In case you don't know, marigolds are awesome companion plants for tomatoes; distracting bugs and helping stave off various diseases.)  Marigolds are gorgeous all on their own, but I like the trailing "filler" plants flowing out of the pot also, so I chose to add in some sweet potato vine.

It was gorgeous!  All summer!

But Fall is upon us, and it was time to start cleaning out my planters of the dead stuff before I had to do it in the snow.  Trust me... living in northwest Ohio, this is the time of year when it can be 65 one day and dump snow on you the next.  I swear our TV weathermen all just have a set of dice to throw in the air before they go on the news.  It's really that unpredictable!!

But I digress....

As I'm pulling the roots of the vines and marigolds out of the pot, low and behold, I came across this MONSTER of a sweet potato hidden away.  Now, I know... you are thinking, "But didn't you expect that to grow?"

Not really.  It's a small pot.  Usually the tubers acclimate to the size of the pot, essentially stunting growth and yielding only potatoes the size of my ring finger.  (Honestly, don't believe me?  Comment below and I promise I will post pictures of the other 8-10 tiny sweet potatoes that were hidden in there!!)

Here is my monster sweet potato... with a tube of Chapstick for size comparison.  :)

Ok, I've seen bigger, but my point is for the size of the pot, this thing is a GIANT!!

I have yet to actually harvest the sweet potato crop in my backyard, but it's coming soon.

No one in my house really even likes these but me, but I figure I cook, they eat.  If they cook, they get an opinion. LOL  So, I usually see how many pounds I get, can 4-10 quarts to have on hand for casserole or sweet potato pie.  The rest I chop up, par boil for 3 min, dunk into ice water, dry them off real well.  I then get out a big cookie sheet and spread them out to freeze individually.  I usually leave them in the freezer this way overnight.  There's nothing worse than going through all that work and then forgetting to cover them!!

I sometimes throw some salt, pepper and onion powder on them before the first freeze, but it's ok to not season until you cook them.  I typically bake these at 400 degrees for 15 min (or until done), flipping about halfway through.  If you haven't already seasoned them, when you are flipping is the time to do it.

You can deep fry them also, and then mix some chili sauce with mayonnaise for a really tasty dipping sauce.

Let me know if you preserve, use or have other ways to keep your sweet potatoes.  I love finding new ways to use them besides the old stand by's.

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