Mississippi

Quinoa Sweet Potato Boat

Devlyn W. (original recipe)

In preparing this post, I stumbled upon a couple of positive stories about Mississippi. The Georgia post was long and heavy, so maybe this is an opportunity to briefly share some good news from the South.

First, Mississippi is one of ten states that still reject federal funds to expand Medicaid coverage but this could be changing. The governor, Tate "Jerk" Reeves, says he will veto the expansion, but it's already passed the lower chamber with a veto-proof majority and proponents hope it can do the same in the upper chamber. For some reason, bigtime Republican personalities feel they need to reject anything associated with Obama, but it looks like the representatives who are closest to real-world communities are coming around to the idea of giving healthcare to 100s of thousands of (working!) Mississippians who presently can't afford it. Obamacare isn't the healthcare system any of us want, but it's a lot better than nothing. If this happens, it will make a meaningful difference in people's lives, so let's hope, clap our hands and believe.

Second, over the last decade, Mississippi students' reading scores have improved dramatically, from close to last in the country to about average. The Mississippi Miracle is much debated. Some argue its significance is exaggerated, while no one can precisely say what led to the improvements, suggesting it is the Mississippi Mystery. In any event, it seems to be a positive development. Reading is necessary to make it very far in the world, not to mention unlocks a world of ideas and knowledge that is a lot harder to tap into later in life, if you missed out during formative years. I assume you are reading this right now, so surely you understand.

I thought there should be Three so I went hunting for one more Good News item and apparently the first two were the low-hanging fruit. I thought maybe I could find a positive environmental news story, and the best I found is that Mississippi will soon have a Climate Action Plan thanks to $3 million in the Inflation Reduction Act. I interned in the New York State Office of Climate Change so it's fun to imagine everyone's Mississippian counterparts, flushed with cash, ready to do good work for the environment that they are charged with protecting. Unfortunately, the real money is the round of competitive grants that follow, and there is no time for Mississippi to develop its Climate Action Plan and generate projects to apply for funding before the deadline. So maybe good news but not great news.

So there you have it! Maybe it's not perfect, but maybe things are at least going in the right direction in the Magnolia State, in at least Three ways.

I also read the sweet potato chapter in a book about superfoods because this recipe features the Southern vegetable all-star. I'll spare you details but suffice to say, sweet potatoes are about as healthy as you can get. My town's food-co-op sells about a half-dozen different varieties, which is pretty crazy. Thorough readers will know I am not enamored with sweet potatoes but also that in this project I am committed to turning new culinary leaves, so I head into this meal not knowing what to expect but strangely optimistic. The recipe has a lot else going on. I think I will be fine.

Ingredients

• 1 medium Sweet potato, punctured with a fork

• 1/2 cu. uncooked Quinoa

• 3/4 cu. + 2 Tbs. Water

• 1/2 cube No-chicken bouillon

• Olive oil

• 1 small Shallot, chopped

• 1 clove Garlic, minced

• 3/4 cu. (1/2 15-oz. can) Black beans, drained and rinsed

• 7.5-oz. can Corn

• 1/4 tsp. ground Cumin

• 1/4 tsp. Aleppo pepper

• 1/4 tsp. Paprika

• 1/4 tsp. ground Coriander

• Pinch of Cayenne pepper

• 1 Tbs. Honey

• Juice of 1 1/2 small Limes

• 1/4 cu. Cilantro, chopped

• 1 Tbs. Breadcrumbs

• 1 Tbs. ground Almonds

• 1/2 tsp. Nutritional yeast

• Vegan Sour cream

Preparation

Bake potato in a 400 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring quinoa, water, and bouillon to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer 15 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute shallot for about 5 minutes, then add garlic, black beans, quinoa, corn, spices, honey, lime juice, and half the cilantro. Cook 5 minutes more.

Keep oven hot. Allow sweet potato to cool or (like me) burn your fingers handling it too soon. Cut in half, then scoop out a little of the flesh to create a cavity. Fill/top with black bean mixture. Then mix breadcrumbs, almonds, and nutritional yeast and sprinkle over sweet potato boats. Return to oven and bake another 5-10 minutes. Then remove and garnish with remaining cilantro and vegan sour cream.

Discussion

I'm not going to claim I suddenly love sweet potatoes, but I liked this and I think I am starting to get used to them (if only I had the Virgin Islands to do over again!).

The recipe calls for sour cream but my corner store doesn't sell vegan sour cream so I was faced with the dilemma of what to do. I decided to drive all the way downtown to shop for vegan sour cream. As a sweet potato lightweight, I predicted it would be a help. I'm glad I did, although it would have been good even if I hadn't.

Mississippi, I feel our time together was short, but hopefully it was an opportunity to get to know each other a little better, and I wish you great luck in your endeavors, be they passing healthcare expansion or a reading test, or forging a climate action plan so that Mississippi can be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

Georgia

Mississippi Home to the first public college for women in the U.S., "Mississippi Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls" um...

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