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Real Life Math: Sweet Potato Casserole
Nov. 13th, 2008 10:59 pm(Or "Am I Blowing This Recipe?")
I tasted this really yummy sweet potato casserole that was obviously a dessert though served as a side dish. I did not ask for the recipe because I figured it would be really super evil. But Robin did. And I was right. But I decided to leave out some of the evil stuff and see if it was still good. (That's not where the math part comes in, though.)
Ingredients
"3 cups mashed sweet potatoes" - it turns out that the sweet potatoes that come in a big can are enough to make only 2 cups and I don't have any more sweet potatoes in the house. So, let the math begin.
"1 cup sugar" - I don't think so. Just plain sweet potatoes are pretty sweet, so I'm leaving this out.
"2/3 cup margarine, melted and divided" - I'm leaving out the half that gets mixed in but keeping the half that goes in the topping. 1/3 x 2/3 = 2/9. I do not have a 2/9 cup measuring cup or a 1/9 cup measuring cup, but 2/9 is just slightly less than 2/8 which is 1/4. So I almost but not quite filled a 1/4-cup measuring cup. With walnut oil. (Yes, there are many reasons this recipe might not work!)
"2 eggs, slightly beaten" - 2 x 2/3 = 4/3 = not happening. I read somewhere that most recipes assume you are using extra large eggs. I have only large eggs, so I used the two smallest ones from the carton.
"1 tsp vanilla" - 1 x 2/3 = 2/3. My closest measuring spoon was 3/4, so I underfilled that slightly.
"1/2 cup milk" - 1/2 x 2/3 = 1/3. Easy!
"1/3 cup all-purpose flour" - I used almost 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour.
"1 cup firmly packed brown sugar" - Easy.
"1 cup chopped nuts, pecans" - last time I bought nuts I discovered it was cheaper to get halves than to get little pieces. That seemed odd, because I'd think the chopped ones would be cheaper because you could include all the broken parts. I figured I could chop them myself. So I measured out a bit more than 2/3 cup walnut halves, chopped them, remeasured them, didn't have enough, chopped a few more, had a little too much, and threw them all in anyway.
"1 cup flaked coconut" - easy. Except I probably used the wrong kind of coconut. I was probably supposed to use the sweetened moist kind but I used the unsweetened dehydrated kind.
"Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, 1/3 cup margarine, eggs, vanilla and milk. Mix well." - I combined the sweet potatoes, eggs, vanilla and milk.
"Spoon into a greased 1.5 quart casserole." - Easy: I used a 1-quart pie pan.
"Gradually add flour to remaining 1/3 cup of margarine. Stir until smooth, add remaining ingredients, (mixture will be crumbly). Sprinkle over casserole." - Easy.
"Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes." I set the oven for 325 but it was 350 when I put the casserole in. I set the timer for 25 minutes but didn't hear it go off. When I checked it, it was bubbling properly, but a little darker than I like at the edges, and the oven was 400 degrees. Smells good, though. And this doesn't seem like one of those picky recipes where you have to measure everything exactly.
It's for a potluck lunch tomorrow, and it's the sort of thing you can notice a bite taken out of, so I'll have to get back to you on whether it's any good. If it is, I'll try a better version later and give you a picture and nice recipe format and all that.
I tasted this really yummy sweet potato casserole that was obviously a dessert though served as a side dish. I did not ask for the recipe because I figured it would be really super evil. But Robin did. And I was right. But I decided to leave out some of the evil stuff and see if it was still good. (That's not where the math part comes in, though.)
Ingredients
"3 cups mashed sweet potatoes" - it turns out that the sweet potatoes that come in a big can are enough to make only 2 cups and I don't have any more sweet potatoes in the house. So, let the math begin.
"1 cup sugar" - I don't think so. Just plain sweet potatoes are pretty sweet, so I'm leaving this out.
"2/3 cup margarine, melted and divided" - I'm leaving out the half that gets mixed in but keeping the half that goes in the topping. 1/3 x 2/3 = 2/9. I do not have a 2/9 cup measuring cup or a 1/9 cup measuring cup, but 2/9 is just slightly less than 2/8 which is 1/4. So I almost but not quite filled a 1/4-cup measuring cup. With walnut oil. (Yes, there are many reasons this recipe might not work!)
"2 eggs, slightly beaten" - 2 x 2/3 = 4/3 = not happening. I read somewhere that most recipes assume you are using extra large eggs. I have only large eggs, so I used the two smallest ones from the carton.
"1 tsp vanilla" - 1 x 2/3 = 2/3. My closest measuring spoon was 3/4, so I underfilled that slightly.
"1/2 cup milk" - 1/2 x 2/3 = 1/3. Easy!
"1/3 cup all-purpose flour" - I used almost 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour.
"1 cup firmly packed brown sugar" - Easy.
"1 cup chopped nuts, pecans" - last time I bought nuts I discovered it was cheaper to get halves than to get little pieces. That seemed odd, because I'd think the chopped ones would be cheaper because you could include all the broken parts. I figured I could chop them myself. So I measured out a bit more than 2/3 cup walnut halves, chopped them, remeasured them, didn't have enough, chopped a few more, had a little too much, and threw them all in anyway.
"1 cup flaked coconut" - easy. Except I probably used the wrong kind of coconut. I was probably supposed to use the sweetened moist kind but I used the unsweetened dehydrated kind.
"Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, 1/3 cup margarine, eggs, vanilla and milk. Mix well." - I combined the sweet potatoes, eggs, vanilla and milk.
"Spoon into a greased 1.5 quart casserole." - Easy: I used a 1-quart pie pan.
"Gradually add flour to remaining 1/3 cup of margarine. Stir until smooth, add remaining ingredients, (mixture will be crumbly). Sprinkle over casserole." - Easy.
"Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes." I set the oven for 325 but it was 350 when I put the casserole in. I set the timer for 25 minutes but didn't hear it go off. When I checked it, it was bubbling properly, but a little darker than I like at the edges, and the oven was 400 degrees. Smells good, though. And this doesn't seem like one of those picky recipes where you have to measure everything exactly.
It's for a potluck lunch tomorrow, and it's the sort of thing you can notice a bite taken out of, so I'll have to get back to you on whether it's any good. If it is, I'll try a better version later and give you a picture and nice recipe format and all that.