Sweet potato turnovers and art therapy for stress relief

Alexander Hardy
getsomejoy
Published in
3 min readDec 22, 2021
Sweet potato turnovers by DeSuMama

Welcome to installment #59 of GetSomeJoy’s Daily Breakfast Situation, a weekday check-in with recipes, joy-flavored stories, and tools for thriving.

As part of my weekly GetSomeJoy Twitter Spaces, I’m hosting a mental health check-in and sharing resources with some wonderful folks tonight at 8pm EST with writer and family caregiver Terryn Hall, coach and disability justice advocate Hakeem Pitts, writer and KRKA Radio co-host Henry Philyaw, and others who drop in to talk about feelings.

You should come through. I’m bringing snacks.

We’ll discuss what’s bringing them joy, how they’re faring in the Age of The Rona, and the resources, supportive rituals, or communities that have been helping them cope or thrive during this raggedy moment in history.

What’s been helping you make it through?

You know what’s been getting me through? Aside from the second season of South Side, it’s the daydreams I’ve been having about the things I would do with this sweet potato turnover recipe from DeSuMama.

Simple sweet potato turnovers (or empanadas) by DeSuMama

I’ve made savory roasted acorn squash empanadas, but have yet to try a sweet potato moment. I deserve this. And not just because its Hand Pie Week.

The recipe, as presented, is pretty straightforward—prepared pie crust plus your existing candied sweet potatoes, an egg wash and sprinkled sugar. But a calorie-positive voice inside me wants to know what stewed meats or cheeses would turn this cute snack situation into the savory symphony my greedy soul desires.

But that’s just me.

A few things to moisturize your spirit:

  • Here is a very important interview with Anaya, who really loves bacon.
  • Aimee Liu shared, via ZORA, what she learned about her family’s history and the racism her father and aunt navigated as young Asians from Shanghai working in 1930s Hollywood.

Not until late in his life, just a few years before he died, did I learn that both Dad and his sister Lotus performed onscreen with some of the biggest movie stars of the 1930s.

Dassit.

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Alexander Hardy
getsomejoy

Grits-powered writer, home chef, & mental health warrior. Founder: GetSomeJoy + The War on Spiritual Ashiness. getsomejoy.com + thealexanderhardy.com