As the lone vegan attending my cousin's Thanksgiving dinner, I have been given my first opportunity to bring something other than salad, so I figured this dish better be exceptional.
My trial run ended with the smoke alarm going off as I had become distracted with other activities and didn't notice the pot had dried out, resulting in charred sweet potatoes and the stench that was to last for days as a reminder that I will never appear on the Food Network.
In my determination to create the ultimate vegan dish to wow the carnivores at the gathering, I have noticed that none of my focus had been on preparing for the actual reason we are gathering; To acknowledge all the blessings we have received and express our gratitude. Perhaps, even share those blessings with others.
Truly feeling gratitute can be a challenging thing in our superficial, self-obsessed culture where the media would leave us to believe the most newsworthy story is what Pippa Middleton wore down the street yesterday, while almost completely ignoring the proverbial elephant in the world room that there are thousands of people starving, or already dead, in Somalia as we speak.
Without the realization of that we are outrageously fortunate, compared to the world scale, we are uncapable of feeling true gratitude, nor are we inspired to help those who are in lack. I encourage you to join me in actually taking time to count our blessings and then pay a bit of it forward. If you would like to help out with the East Africa drought, this is an excellent organization.
https://donate.mcc.org/project/east-africa-2011-drought-response
Caramelized sweet potatoes
1 pound sweet potatoes
1/2 cup pineapple pieces
1/4 cup coconut oil or margarine
1/4 cup raw sugar or maple syrup
2 tbsp pineapple juice
pinch of ground cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger powder combined
Boil unpeeled sweet potatoes in pan of salted water until just tender. Remove from heat and drain well. Cool slightly, then peel.
Preheat oven to 400F or 200C
Thickly slice sweet potatoes and arrange in a single, over-lapping layer in a greased oven-proof dish. Drizzle melted margarine or coconut oil on top.
Sprinkle with the sugar, juice and spices. Bake 30-40 minutes, basting occasionally, until golden brown.
