life's been a bit full-force these past few weeks, as i'm sure everyone feels the crazy holiday vibes out there. i'm finding it a bit hard to escape it all, even when i try. i've been saying yes to a lot of fun projects, running myself a little thin, all with a wacky as heck sleeping schedule as of late. weekends spent working have been awesome creatively, but i would be lying if i said that i didn't feel like it was taking something away from time with my husband and our pup. getting consumed and overwhelmed easily is a problem of mine (or at least it can feel that way), so much so that i need someone to shake me out of that. i love it more than anything when my husband, who is the most even, kind and gentle man, tells me i need to put it all down and relax. i listen. and then i remember that balance is clutch, and tuning in to the present moment is what can be the difference between a freak out and and cool calm look at the world.
balance, balance, balance. to me, something that always need balance is the sweet potato. as the sweet potato is already quite sweet, i find that the addition of sweet things this time of year is a little over the top for my personal taste. in an effort to combat that problem, with all the sweetened sweet potato dishes out there, i took a family favorite from years ago and gave it an update. twice baked potatoes were something my mom and i made each year around the holidays. we would make tons of them, and subsequently have those stuffed spuds for days and days, after all the holiday craziness was over - a tried and true favorite we're talking. if you've never had a twice baked potato, it's kind of like eating the creamiest, yummiest mashed potatoes inside a crisp, salty potato skin. some people like eating just the whipped potato filling (hi, mom), and some love eating the whole shebang (hi, rest of the world!). i started recreating this dish with sweet potatoes in mind as i've come to really love them - mostly for their nourishing properties, but also because white potatoes don't sit the best. and since roasting acorn squash the other week with za'atar, and loving how the spice blend cut through the sweetness of the squash, i thought incorporating a super punchy dukkah spice blend would be great here with the sweet potato. fragrant flavors of coriander, fennel, and cumin, some thyme, and my favorite: tangy sumac. i don't know how i didn't put these ingredients together sooner, definitely a power combo!
xo!