(Hand Cut) Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Shoestring Fries

There are some things I’ll just never be able to grasp. Like physics. Or how the trashcan fills up so fast. Or where all my socks go.
For real folks, I have 18 unpaired socks.
And I’m sorry for them. Being a sock isn’t easy already (especially MY socks). But being an unpaired sock is even worse. Forced to make their own solitary way in a world of pairs.
A beautiful love story of Left + Right that started out in a factory faraway, and that ends in separation.
I held the dryer responsible for all these losses.
Because sometimes socks get lost before and after they go into the laundry, but most of the time it seems like the dryer ate them for a snack.
If you ask around, you'll find that pretty much everybody shares my suspicion for the dryer — evil machine.
Or maybe between the washing machine and the dryer, they run way. There's probably a huge black market in runaway single socks somewhere. Who knows...
Anyways, I have 18 unpaired socks, and I’m holding onto them in hopes that their twins will return from the space wrap before I do my annual sock purge.

Another thing I cannot grasp is the difference between a sweet potato and a yam.
I’ve looked it up on Google and apparently sweet potatoes and yams are two completely different things. Two different species of root vegetable, remotely related.
So why are we still calling sweet potatoes -> yams and yams -> sweet potatoes?
Because the U.S. government has perpetuated the error of labeling sweet potatoes "yams." In most cases sweet potatoes are labeled with both terms, which just adds to the confusion.
Turns out I had no fault in this, it’s the Government’s fault.
Let’s blame it on the Government and march on the Congress!
Just kidding. I’m no revolutionary. I’m happy to know that it was not my fault but rather a sort of government conspiracy to try to confuse me. That must be where all of our tax dollars are going(!)

Call them sweet potatoes, call them yams; all I know for certain is that they taste good.
So much, I’ve decided to cut them into shoestring size and baked them until nice and crispy.
Sweet potato shoestring fries people: Are you kidding me?
So good, you take a handful and walk around your apt eating them kinda good.
Honestly I don’t think you really could go wrong with these babies.
Now, I must confess that baking sweet potato fries will make the majority of them crispy, not all though.
Be warned that some of your shoestring fries may be on the soft side.
Still, the majority will get a bit more french fry like and crispy.
I still like even the soft ones, but I'm probably alone on that one.
Trust me though, the flavor is so great you don’t mind sacrificing a bit of crunchiness.
What are you waiting for?! Stuff yo’ face!

(Hand Cut) Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Shoestring Fries                               Print this recipe!

Ingredients

1 medium sweet potato per person
1 tablespoon olive oil (or coconut oil) per sweet potato
A couple of rosemary sprigs, leaves removed from the woody stems
Fine grain sea salt
Ground black pepper
Any seasoning you like such as as garlic powder, ground chipotle, thyme, cayenne or smoked paprika (it really depends on your mood)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and place a rack in the middle. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Wash your potato and remove any unsightly areas. Slice the sweet potato in half, place flat side down and cut thin slices, about ¼ inch thick or smaller. Then turn your thinly sliced pieces on their side and do the same as before cutting thin slices. Try to get them as uniform in thickness as possible so they cook evenly. You may have to go through after cutting and double check your work.
Rinse the potatoes under cold water to help remove some of the starch. Dry well removing as much moisture as possible using a large tea towel (or paper towels).
Place potatoes on your rimmed baking sheets and sprinkle with olive oil.
Toss gently to coat and spread potatoes in a single layer (preferably spread out so they don't touch much) sprinkle with rosemary, salt, black pepper and seasoning of choice.
Bake for 10 minutes and rotate baking sheets, then bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until golden and crispy.
The cooking time really depends on the thickness of your fries so keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.
Serve immediately!

Nutrition facts

One serving (i.e., fries resulting from 1 medium sweet potato) yields 222 calories, 14 grams of fat, 24 grams of carbs and 2 grams of protein.