Baked sweet potato fries with maple syrup are my favorite side. You can eat so many of them and you still want more. I call it dessert.

This past spring I took the sweet potato challenge. That is, I am trying to grow my own sweet potatoes. They can take up to 180 days to mature. I planted them on May 1st and I am still waiting for their beautiful roots to produce for me. They are definitely a vegetable that requires patience. A few days ago I noticed that some of the leaves on the sweet potato plants were turning yellow at the end of the vine so I dug a few of the up. To my surprise, they looked great! Now I all have to do is let them cure for ten days and see if my labor and patience paid off.

Baked sweet potato fries are my default side when I’m not sure what to make. They’re really easy and the only trick is to make sure you cut the fries at uniform thickness. This ensures that some fries don’t cook faster than others and leave you with several burnt fries.

Once cut, all you need to do is throw them into a large bowl, drizzle some olive oil over them and add the spice mixture. My mixture is a combination of salt, cinnamon and paprika.

PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES COOK TIME: 20 MINUTES SERVINGS: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into fries of uniform width
• olive oil
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 425. Place sliced sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Drizzle generously with olive oil.Throw in the spices and toss the fries until all are coated.
2. Bake for about 20 minutes on a baking sheet or until the fries are soft and the edges are dark and crispy. Serve with maple syrup or your favorite sauce.