Sweet Potatoe Fries with Garlic

It's so boring to talk about the weather, but I have to tell you how much ours is driving me crazy. As my friend Brandy put it: our weather is being totally bi-polar. Cold one day, gorgeous the next, then raining, then add 3 or 4 days of sunny-could-be-gorgeous if it wasn't for the high winds. When I say that I'm ready for spring, what I really mean is that I'm ready for the perfect kind of spring days. I want to be cooking on the grill and playing outside with the kids while the smell of barbecue is in the air, not guessing everyday how I should dress the kids, promising park days and canceling them, or freezing my tail off! Maybe we can just skip to summer and take away the 90-100 degree temps?

I planned burgers for a day I was hopeful would be nice enough to be outside, but then just as it always seems to go during spring in New Mexico, the winds picked up right around dinner time. No one wants a sandy burger, and no one wants to stand outside at the grill while 25 mph (with occasional gusts up to 35+) are slapping them in the face.

So we made do and I cooked the burgers inside on a skillet and enjoyed them anyway. Especially since We had these delicious sweet potato fries to accompany them. This is a recipe you definitely don't want to miss. So much healthier than traditional french fries, and I think tastier. A great way to get kids to eat more veggies for sure. As for the burgers, they were great too. Just a regular patty oozing with melted Gouda cheese. Instead of lettuce, we used arugula.

p.s. Don't forget to enter the GrowCookEat giveaway if you haven't already. You could win a selection of seeds from Burpee and a copy of the book You Grow Girl.

Sweet Frites with Garlic and Sea Salt
from Eat Well

• 2 lbs orange fleshed sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• coarse sea salt
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Rinse and dry the sweet potatoes. Cut potatoes lengthwise, without peeling them, into slices 1/2 inch thick, then cut each slice into batons about 1/4 inch wide and 3 inches long. Arrange in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet (I lined mine with a silicone baking mat so they wouldn't stick) and toss with olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Roast, stirring with a spatula midway through baking time, until tender and browned on the edges, about 20-25 minutes.

In a bowl, mix Parmesan, parsley, and garlic. Sprinkle over warm oven fries and mix gently to coat. Season to taste with additional salt, and serve immediately. Serves 4 as a side dish.