At the Stove with Lizzie T. Leaf

Our grocery stores occasionally send special prices on a few items for card members. One of ours for August was sweet potatoes, or yams as the notice read. So of course, I had to take advantage of the deal.

Thank you to Elise who shared her recipe on Simply Recipes. Hers was delicious even without the tweaks I made to spice it up a little. Enjoy!

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

Photo by tiramisustudio

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1½-inch cubes
4 large shallots, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. ground marjoram
¼ tsp. cumin seeds (or ground cumin)
3 cups chicken stock
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tbsp. sour cream or plain yogurt (Greek or regular, omit for paleo version) optional

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Combine potatoes and shallots in a large bowl. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt, thyme, marjoram, and cumin. Toss so all pieces are well coated with olive oil and seasonings.

Spread the sweet potatoes and shallots out on a foil lined baking sheet. Roast for 25 minutes or until cooked through and nicely caramelized and browned around the edges. Remove from oven.

Heat the chicken stock in a 2-3 quart saucepan on the stove until steamy.

Place the cooked sweet potatoes and shallots in a blender or food processor. Add the hot chicken stock a half cup at a time. Purée until smooth.

NOTE, when blending hot liquids, fill the blender or food processor bowl no more than a third full, and start with short pulses. Depending on the size of your equipment you may need to work in batches.

Taste for seasoning, add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve in bowls with a good size dollop of sour cream.

Serves 2 to 4

Here's a brief intro to my vampire story that is guaranteed to warm your winter nights.

Socialite Deb Stein lives a life of luxury until she takes the hunk dressed as a vampire to her bed. When she wakes up one of the living dead, she’s pissed-off. To complicate matters more, she has to find a new identity since everyone thinks she's dead. Plus, if she’s dead, she can’t touch her trust fund, and that means she has to work! How can someone who has never held a job find one?

And her social life is in the tank. Her new friends are a street guy called Rat and fellow strippers at the dive where she works. If she ever sees Aaron Lowell again, she’ll put a stake in his heart.

Aaron Lowell feels guilty he took his mentor’s advice and left town after taking the sexy socialite into the undead world. Concerned, he returns to check on her and discovers she’s become a stripper—and not a very happy one when she sees him. But she’s still hot, and he can’t stay away from her, even if their meetings are explosive.

Can two vampires move beyond anger, combined with a strong sexual attraction, to find the kind of love they both crave?

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To read excerpts from other books by Lizzie T. Leaf please click onto Amazon.

Lizzie T. Leaf loved books since she opened her first one. Her dream was to write them herself. Lost in the hectic day to day world of family, job, laundry and housework, writing became a distant memory. When the twinkling ember did spark, it was usually doused by someone demanding their share of her time.

Lizzie's life went full circle. The desire to put the stories that continued to play in her head on paper emerged stronger than ever, and at a time when there was someone who encouraged. Now she lives her dream.

Learn more about Lizzie T. Leaf on her website and blog. Connect with Lizzie on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

See all of Lizzie's book on Amazon.