What the hell is agave nectar?

I first heard of agave nectar from Gwyneth Paltrow. Yes, Gwynie and I are close – in fact she sends me an email every month with the cute pet name called GOOP. (It truly is a great website with great ideas for cooking, travel, reading and lifestyle www.goop.com)

Anyway, Gwynie’s recipes kept calling for the use of agave nectar in baking and other foods but I had never seen it until recently.Agave nectar comes from Mexico and is sweet like honey, but not as thick, so I find it combines more easily in dressings and marinades. Wiki says…..."Agave nectars are sold in light, amber, dark, and raw varieties. Light agave nectar has a mild, almost neutral flavor, and is generally used in delicate tasting foods and drinks. Dark agave nectar has stronger caramel notes, is sometimes used "straight out of the bottle" as a topping for pancakes and waffles."

I also learned that it has a much lower glycemix index than honey (83) or corn syrup (89) at 27. This is quite important since the Adventurious Teen is a type 1 diabetic so we are encouraged to consumer foods lower in the glycemix index because they impact blood sugar levels differently. And because it is processed at a temperature below 118F, it is considered a “raw food”. Who knew!?!?

A few weeks ago when I was visiting mecca for food hoarders – Costco – and they had a 2 pack on for $7.39!! What a deal. So I bought it and then had to find a use for it. Hence it’s use in today’s sweet potato and black bean salad.This recipe is adapted from a video from the on-line NY Times that my friend Michelle from North Carolina, who I met in Belize, posted to her FB page a few months back. It has become a staple for me. I make it for lunch sometimes and just toss it on salad greens. It is pretty and kind of Hallowe’en-ie even.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Salad

400g sweet potatoes (peeled and chopped in a plastic box makes life easier)
1 cup cooked or canned black beans (rinse if they are canned)
2 tsp. agave nectar (you can substitute honey)1/2 -1 clove garlic, chopped (the stuff in the jar is fine)
Juice of 2 limes
1/2 of a red pepper and 1/2 a yellow pepper, sliced and chopped
1/3-1/2 cup chopped cilantro (depending on your taste)

Roast sweet potoatoes in the oven or toaster oven for about 45 min. Let cool slightly while you chop the vegetables. Combine agave nectar and lime juice in a bowl. Toss everything together and add salt and pepper to your taste!

We paired this with a pork roast from the freezer that we threw in the slow cooker still frozen this morning.  We were smart when we vac-sealed it as we poured in some PC marinade at the time.  While I have a slow cooker with a  timer, I prefer to use my old one with knobs for all day cooking – the secret is to plug it into a wall timer (yes that you’d use for your lights).  I have it come on 2 hours after I leave for work (roast is still pretty frozen), let it cook for 5 hrs, have it turn off, then I turn it on again when I get home.  Works perfectly and the meat doesn’t get dried out