These were my Sunday morning breakfast….

because I’m weird.

because I was hungry.

because I couldn’t really wrap my brain around walking to the grocery store in the rain.

because all I wanted was potato goodness.

because I love the color of turmeric and curry.

because spicy is nice.

because curry totally does not go with coffee but I made it work anyway.

Crispy, baked fries are spiced with curry and red pepper flakes.  Spicy.  Salty.  Yummy.  I used egg white as a binder because I like the way it makes the spices stick to the potato.  If you want to make these more of a vegan treat, you an simply toss the potatoes in olive oil and sprinkle the spice on top.  You know?

For the dipping sauce, I combined thick Greek yogurt with cumin, olive oil and salt.  Simple and delicious.  Healthy, too.. that’s just crazy.

Baked Curry Sweet Potato Fries with Yogurt Dipping Sauce

Makes 1 potatoes worth of fries.  This recipe is easily multiplied

Print this Recipe!

1 plump sweet potato/yam/orange-fleshed potato, peeled

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large egg white

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Yogurt Sauce:

1/3 cup Greet yogurt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon olive oil

salt to taste

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Peel sweet potato and slice off the top  and bottom points of the potato.  With potato positioned north to south, use a large knife to slice potato into 1/3-inch potato planks.  Stack planks in two piles, and slice, north to south, into 1/3-inch sticks.  Fries!

Place potato sticks onto prepared baking sheet and toss with olive oil.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk egg white until foamy and frothy.  Add curry powder, cumin, turmeric, and crushed red pepper flakes and whisk to incorporate.  Pour the egg white mixture over the potato sticks and gentle toss to coat the potatoes.

Place in the oven and bake to desired doneness and crispiness, my fries took about 40 minutes.  While the fries bake, stir together yogurt, cumin, olive oil and salt.  Place in a small serving dish.

Remove fries from the oven and serve immediately with dipping sauce.

I’m a flake.

Ok… maybe that’s a little harsh.

I flaked on plans I made last Friday night, and I felt guilty until exactly this morning.

See… (I’ll try keep this short) I was supposed to go to see a friend’s play on Friday night.  You know,  it’s just one of those things you do.  Friend.  Theater.  You just go see it.

I was on the list.  The play was showing walking distance from my house.  I had no other plans.  The weather was gorgeous.  Really… I’d have to be a complete jerkface to not show up, right?  Well I didn’t, and here’s why…

I threw on my favorite jeans.  I was wearing my cute jacket and scarf.  I walked myself over to the theater feeling pretty good about the world.  That’s when I saw it:  a crowd of strangers.  I froze.  All the charm and clever wit that I might have possessed simply drained out of my system.  I suppose that happens to the best of us sometimes.  In my case, rather than facing my spontaneous fear of strangers, I turned myself right around and walked back home.

On the way home I concocted an elaborate lie to tell my friend the next time I saw him.  It was full of stress, drama, lost time and regret.  I stopped myself.  Literally.  In the middle of my street.

Why lie?  Why not keep it simple?  Why not express a little vulnerability?  Why not just say I couldn’t handle strangerdanger that particular night?

That’s just what I did.  Next time I say my friend, I simply apologized, looked him directly in the eye and told him what a ‘fraidycat I was.  It felt like one of those simply, human moments when you just lay it all out there for better or worse.

Life is complicated enough.  Why disguise your vulnerabilities with lies?  And why disguise your potatoes with a bunch of nonsense?

There are few things in the world more simple and honest that a potato.

These Oven Baked Fries with Herbes de Provence are a lovely way to celebrate simplicity.  Herbes de Provence is a spice mixture that usually contains thyme, rosemary, basil, bay leaf, marjoram and lavender.  It’s gentle and kind, and a classy touch to these oven potatoes.