Don’t you just loveeee winter?! Just kidding, it can be pretty terrible. Once the holidays have passed, the decorations have come down and the novelty of snow has gone away, it’s pretty dreary.
Moving to Calgary, everyone told me I had to learn to ski to get through the winter. And guess what, I tried. I attempted snow boarding first because, I’m cool too ya know. Epic fail, even with those five professional lessons. Then I took a year off before giving skiing a go. Much easier it turns out. However…still not what I would describe as “fun.” I love everything else about skiing: the mountains, the fresh air, the après ski beers, the renting cabins with your friends and cocktails in a hot tub at the end of the day. But…the actual skiing part? I’m just not that into it. I’m happy if I make it through a run without seriously thinking I’m going to die. I know it’s great cardio but my heart races so much from fear that I think it might be doing more harm than good. Hurling myself down a mountain…it’s just not natural to me. Hiking up and down on a summer day on my own two feet, much more my style. Plus, being pregnant, it’s probably best I sit this season out. Darn.
But that’s good because it leaves more time for cooking up stews like this one. And when I say stew, I mean stew. It’s thick and comforting and seriously so flavourful you kinda wonder why everything you eat isn’t this good. Seriously though, would our tastebuds get a little worn out maybe?
Or maybe I just love this so much because it contains two of my absolute favourite foods; peanut butter and sweet potatoes. You really can’t go wrong, trust me. The original recipe for this was a Weight Watchers’ recipe that someone in our family started making years ago. I’ve changed it just slightly to add a little more heartiness to it with the coconut milk, but honestly, I love both recipes just the same.
If you try this one out, let me know what you think in the comments below! Stay warm!
Recipe adapted from: Weight Watcher’s
| Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew with Spinach | Print |
- 1 tablespoon olive or coconut oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
- 2 small-medium sweet potatoes, diced* (about 4-5 cups)
- 1 carrot, diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons freshly grated ginger root
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ a jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
- 2 cups vegetables broth
- ½ can light coconut milk (about ¾ cup)
- ¼ cup natural peanut butter, smooth
- 4 cups packed, then chopped, fresh spinach leaves
- cilantro, optional for garnish
- In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, and let cook 2-3 minutes.
- Add bell pepper, sweet potatoes, carrot, garlic and ginger to the pot as you chop each one. Ad the ground cloves, salt and jalapeno.
- Stir and let cook 1 minute before adding the vegetable broth.
- Bring to a low boil, cover, and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are cooked through and tender.
- Next add the coconut milk and natural peanut butter and stir slowly to incorporate them completely.
- Add the spinach, stir, return the cover to the pot and let the spinach cook until wilted, about 5 minutes.
- Taste and add more salt or pepper if necessary. I added a bit more salt.
- Serve hot, garnished with cilantro if desired.
Ummm…… DIANE…Anna fed me some of this when I was visiting her this weekend and OH MY GOSH; I’m obsessed. It’s amazing!!!
Thanks Kim!! Glad you liked it! And so glad you guys got to hang out 🙂 xoxo
This is absolutely delicious! Thank Di!
Thank Anna! Glad you like it! 🙂 xoxo