Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato Soup

October. The month the living oaks start dropping their old leaves — not the dramatic dying of maple trees up North, but a quiet shedding, making room for what comes next. Savannah in October is the most beautiful version of itself: the temperature is bearable, the tourists thin out, and the city belongs to the people who live here again.

I got a call from Tasha this week. She doesn't call often — she's shy, a little intimidated by me, which Marcus finds hilarious and I find flattering. She said, "Miss Dot, I wanted to ask you something." I braced myself because when a pregnant woman says "I wanted to ask you something," it could be anything. She said, "If the baby is a girl, would it be okay if we used the middle name Mae? After you?"

I sat down. I sat down and I put my hand on my chest and I breathed. Mae. My middle name. Hattie Pearl's middle name. A name that has been carried through three generations of Williams women, and now a fourth generation — a Henderson generation, a great-grandchild generation — wants to carry it too.

I said, "Baby, it would be the honor of my life." And I meant every word. Every single word.

After I hung up, I called Earl in from the living room. He came in slow, the way he comes everywhere now, and I told him. He looked at me and his eyes got shiny and he said, "Mae." Just the name. Just the one word. And then he went back to his recliner because Earl Henderson processes his emotions in private, in that chair, with the weather channel playing. That chair has held more feelings than any therapist's couch in Georgia.

The freezer meals for Tasha are multiplying. I added sweet potato soup this week, and a batch of my pimento cheese because Tasha mentioned once that she loves it. I remembered. I always remember what people love to eat. It's the most useful skill I have.

Made a big pot of Brunswick stew — the Georgia version, with pulled pork and chicken and butter beans and tomatoes and corn, simmered for hours until everything melts together into something that is more than the sum of its parts. That's what Brunswick stew is, baby. It's a metaphor. You put in the separate pieces of your life and you cook them long enough and they become one thing. One warm, good thing.

Now go on and feed somebody.

When Tasha asked if the baby could carry the name Mae, I needed to do something with my hands — something that felt like an answer, like a gift I could pack into a container and send across town. This sweet potato soup was already on my list for her freezer, and after that phone call, I made it again, slower this time, letting the whole house fill up with the smell of it. Sweet potato soup is the gentlest thing I know how to cook: soft and golden and warm all the way through, just like what I was feeling.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 6 hours | Total Time: 6 hours 15 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
Fresh parsley or chives, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Layer the vegetables. Place the cubed sweet potatoes, chopped onion, and minced garlic into the slow cooker. Drizzle with olive oil and stir to coat.
Add the broth and spices. Pour in the chicken or vegetable broth. Sprinkle in the ginger, cumin, smoked paprika, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir everything together gently.
Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours, or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until the sweet potatoes are completely tender and falling apart.
Blend until smooth. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup directly in the slow cooker until smooth and creamy. Alternatively, carefully transfer in batches to a countertop blender.
Stir in the coconut milk. Pour in the coconut milk and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper as needed.
Serve or freeze. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley or chives. To freeze, cool completely and store in airtight containers for up to 3 months. Reheat gently on the stovetop, adding a splash of broth if needed to loosen.

Nutrition (per serving)

Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato Soup — The Pot I Made for Tasha and the Baby Yet to Come