Autumn Overload (and some soup)

Is anybody else as excited as I am about fall? I love everything about this season. The cool, crisp air that smells of spice and crunching leaves. Wrapping myself in a scarf and wearing boots, going pumpkin picking (even if it happens to just be at a roadside stand), and scooping the guts out of the pumpkin for carving. And maybe most of all, I love the food. Pumpkins, apples, pies, sweet potatoes. I've said it before, but I'm not sure I've truly gotten across my love of Autumn. If I could be any spice, I'd be cinnamon, and then I could eternally live in Autumn. It's so warm and comforting, but it also packs some heat. Sweet and sassy!

*Courtesy of Bailey Joyce

Let's Talk About Sweet Potatoes!

Since Lizzie started us off with an Autumnal post, I'd like to keep the theme going.

Do you love sweet potatoes? Your answer should be a resounding YES! Sweet potatoes are wonderful. They're tasty just alone, baked in the oven (if you have the patience), delicious in pie, great as baked "fries", mashed, whipped, fried... really, I could go on forever...
Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite autumnal foods! ...along with pumpkins, of course, and honeycrisp apples (jeeze, oh man are they good! But I'll post about them later...)

Guess what I had with my salmon burger last night? Spicy sweet potato fries! And for dinner the night before? Goat cheese whipped sweet potatoes. And what I made for my friend Lisa for her birthday? Sweet potato granola bars. Are you sensing a pattern here?

Sweet potatoes are a staple food around the world from China, to Africa, to the Caribbean. They're super nutritious, versatile, and did I mention delicious?

Last Christmas, my darling mother gave me a sweet potato cookbook which has a ton of great recipes involving my favorite root vegetable. I've actually only tried a few, but this season, I'm going to make a point of sharing many of them with you. ...but not today. Today, I'm wingin' it!

How does Cinnamon Spiced Sweet Potato Chips sound? (...sorry brevity isn't really my thing.)