Saturday, January 17, 2026

A Funny Story, A Favorite Sweet Potato Recipe, A Seedy Bread & More Recipes to Make This Weekend

Friends, hello.

Yesterday I found myself in the checkout line at our little co-op behind an old man, moving slowly and sweetly grumbling about not wanting to pay for a paper bag for his groceries. And then, when the cashier, Linda, told him he was short a few cents, he sighed and, looking defeated, pulled out his wallet and handed over a larger bill.

After giving him his change, Linda began helping him load his bags into his cart, saying assuringly, "Take your time, there is no rush, you're going to be OK."

To this, the man's head shot up, and, looking incredulous, he said, "I am?" as if this was the worst news in the world. Eyes wide, he shook his head and laughed.

I was dying. I wanted to give him a hug. Or help him out to his car, but by the time I had checked out, he was well on his way.

Anyway, Friends, it made me laugh.

I am writing from Eastern MA, where I am for both a soccer and hockey tournament, and will be cruising between ice rinks and futsal courts for the next three days.

This week, I made two of my favorite recipes — sweet potato taco filling and slow cooker black beans — and found myself eating them together on repeat, often in bowl form like this:

And also burrito form:

Overhead shot of halved sweet potato and black bean burrito.

I know I have sung the praises of these slow-cooker black beans countless times before, but if you have a slow cooker, I can't recommend the recipe enough: it can be assembled in about 5 minutes in the morning and the beans will be cooked by midday. I use this same method for chickpeas, too, but the chickpeas take a little longer to cook.

(Note: There are instructions in the recipe for using an Instant Pot if you prefer. And if you'd rather simmer stovetop, here's my favorite method.)

An overhead shot of a quart of cooked slow cooker black beans.

I can eat these beans straight from the pot — they are perfectly seasoned and just so tasty!

I hadn't made the sweet potato taco filling in such a long time, and I had forgotten how easily it comes together. I use the shredder attachment of my food processor to "grate" the sweet potatoes and in place of the spices I've been using a few teaspoons of Penzeys taco seasoning, which makes the process go just a teensy bit faster.

Sweet Potato Taco Filling

Review of the Week

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

How to Make Ciabatta

"OOOOOHHH-MMMMM-GEEE! My bread came out perfect! There were lots of open crumb, and working with a dough with such high hydration was really not that bad following the tips. I kept one loaf for ourselves and one loaf went to a super happy neighbor. I will make this again!"

— George