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Online Contributor
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Online Content Editor
- I am an online content editor for Successful Farming/Agriculture.com and Living the Country Life, but my full-time job is raising three boys on a small farm in south-central Iowa.
Meet Claire.
I met Claire and her parents at the Wide Open Bluegrass festival in Raleigh, NC this past weekend. The North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission had a booth set up in the "Got to Be NC" area of the festival, which was filled with vendors selling food and crafts made from North Carolina products.
Claire and her parents stopped by our booth Saturday to try the Sweet Potato Creamsicle Smoothie. She drank the first sample and cried when her mom took the empty cup away. So we gave her a second. She cried again. We asked her mom if Claire had a sippy cup, which of course she did. What else could we do but fill her cup with Sweet Potato Smoothie?
The Commission represents North Carolina sweet potato farmers and they were at the festival promoting this nutritous vegetable. Many people bake sweet potatoes or use them in casseroles or pies. Visitors to the booth learned there are so many other ways to use sweet potatoes.
Friday night we served Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins. I waited until we were almost out of muffins to try them and thank goodness I waited because I would have eaten an entire tray. Or four. There wouldn't have been any left for the festival visitors. And they enjoyed them. So much so that we were out of muffins by 6:00 p.m. Our booth didn't close until 11.
Saturday we served Sweet Potato Creamsicle Smoothies, Claire's favorite. Yes, you can drink sweet potatoes and bluegrass fans drank them down. We ran out of samples before 8:00 p.m. Flat Aggie helped us serve. He was visiting our farm to learn about sweet potatoes and when I found out he was a bluegrass fan I had to take him with me to the festival.
Here are just a few of the comments we heard:
Where are the muffins you had last night?
I never would have thought to do that with a sweet potato.
Mom, you have to try this. (Said the son as he pulled his mom over to our booth.)
I lost the muffin recipe I picked up last night. Do you have another?
I heard about the muffins you had last night.
That was amazing. (the smoothie)
I love sweet potatoes.
I think sweet potatoes were a hit! Don't feel bad for me because all our samples were eaten. I didn't come home empty handed. This little piggy has a new home.
