Curry Sweet Potato Fries

Remember my two little visitors from last week?

Here's some snapshots from our second encounter when I was on my way to the park...

There they were, hovering over a piece of bread and eating again. Completely unaware of the danger lurking around (not me!)

As the unfriendly intruder came to view and approached them, the couple looked up and were completely shaken by size of their enemy!

Errrr c'mon honey, let's get outta here before he chews us into pieces! *runs*

I imagined the magpie was gleefully thinking, mine mine mine, as he sprinted over to his dinner! 

Bullies are totally uncool, right?

Well, what happened next...to this day, I still don't understand.

Before my eyes, the couple bravely yet cautiously walked back to the bread and the magpie, seeing their return, took off without any fuss.

You know what I think?

They must've put a dumbing spell on the magpie. Or not. I know from previous experiences that magpies still adore carbs despite being meat lovers. Guess this will remain a mystery to me...unless someone knows anything about these strange behaviours!

So perhaps the moral of the story is this: Size does not matter. You can beat the Goliath in your life!

Bye bye Mr. Magpie!

He was pretty much in a trance-like state as he made an exit from the scene.

Happy at last with their dinner. 

Or so you think...

Apparently the lady wasn't impressed. She suspected that the boy cared more about the food than her so she left. 

And I don't think he even noticed!

Me gonna rip this piece 'o bread like a man!

Grrrrr....

Hang on, something doesn't seem right?

Ok, let me think...

Is someone missing? I'm pretty sure I didn't leave the nest alone this morning...

*looks around*

Oooops! Honeyyyy...where are you?

By the way, while I'm in no way claiming to be a mind-reader of these creatures with wings, I will however claim that these curry sweet potato fries I've been making will mostly likely have you hooked!

They have graced my dinner table at least a dozen times as there seems to be an overflowing supply of sweet potatoes in the fridge lately. And this is now one of our favourite ways to indulge this vitamin-A rich food in my home. Crunchy, spicy, sweet...yum!

Oh and learn from that silly lorikeet - don't forget to enjoy your food with your loved ones this week!

Baked Curry Sweet Potato Fries

Adapted from Joy the Baker

Makes 1 potatoes worth of fries. 

• 1 plump sweet potato/yam/orange-fleshed potato, peeled
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large egg white (I omitted this and used another tbsp of olive oil)
• 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

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

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

3. 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.

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

5. In a medium bowl, whisk egg white until foamy and frothy (if using egg whites). 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.

6. 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.

7. Remove fries from the oven and serve immediately.

Have a lovely week ahead!