Sweet Potato Putts

First round of the new year today. It was supposed to be sunny, in the mid-50s, but there was frost on the cars in the morning, so I knew it might take awhile to warm up. I had a 10:20am tee time with Bea and Seri. At 10am, Bea called me to tell me she just woke up. (She says she has a sleeping problem, but she probably just stayed up late watching Korean soap operas again.) I told her not to worry. I already called the pro shop to confirm that there was a frost delay, so our tee time would be running 30 minutes late. Seri was at the golf course early, of course, diligently practicing her putting. None of us had played for about 3 weeks, and it showed. But no matter, we were all giddy with the excitement of another year of golf stretched before us, starting right here, right now, with this round.

After nine holes, the skies turned grey and drizzly, and we contemplated stopping play. But we forged on like good golf girls. The high point of today's round, aside from the mere fact of being outdoors swinging clubs again, was that Seri brought a bag full of boiled sweet potatoes as a snack. It wasn't the first time she'd brought them, and if I haven't blogged about them before, it's because I have been silently appreciating their utter awesomeness as a golf snack.

Today, Seri doled out the sweet potatoes at the 10th hole, and for awhile everyone was very distracted eating them, in all their sweet, starchy wholesomeness. We had a fourth person along, a stranger who we'd actually played with once before but who I didn't remember at first. He totally dug the sweet potatoes, and after eating one, he kept crediting everyone's good shots to the sweet potato "carbo boost." After he made a good putt, he said, "That's a sweet potato putt!" It was a little annoying that he complimented himself on his own putt, but if I'd made any good putts, I would have called them sweet potato putts, too.

Anyway, below is Seri's recipe for boiled sweet potatoes. It requires plastic bags made specifically for microwaving. I am usually wary of plastics used for cooking, but even Seri, who buys only organic everything, says they are safe to use.

Seri's Sweet Potatoes (Known to Encourage Good Putting)

1. Cut up some sweet potatoes into 2-inch slices.
2. Put them into a microwaveable plastic bag.
3. Microwave on high for 10 minutes.
4. Let cool.
5. Bring to the golf course, and enjoy!