Sweet Potato Carrot Crisp

Biopsy Wednesday. Sean was admitted at 6 AM. The procedure was at 9. Dr. Mehta was efficient. She called me in the waiting room at 11:15 and said "we got good tissue. He's doing well. He should be in recovery within the hour. You can see him around 1." I said thank you. I sat. I did not cry in the waiting room. I had made a rule with myself. I would not cry in the waiting room. I held the rule.

Sean was groggy and fine by 1. He had a small bandage on his head. He complained about the gown. He asked for a sandwich. They gave him crackers. He accepted the crackers. By 3 PM he was cleared to go home. I drove him home. He slept on the couch from 4 to 7. I made lasagna. Maureen had the kids.

Friday Dr. Mehta called at 4 PM. I took the call on the back step. She said the preliminary pathology was consistent with an intermediate-grade glial tumor. She said the specific terminology would be finalized with the second-read next week. She said she was "cautiously relieved" that it did not, on preliminary, look like the worst of the differential. She also said she could not rule out that the final read would upgrade the grade. She said treatment planning was going to depend on final path and on a second-opinion review.

Intermediate-grade. Not low. Not the worst. The middle. I have cared for patients with intermediate-grade gliomas for years. The range of outcomes is wide. The treatment is aggressive. The prognosis is real but is not the instant-devastation of the highest grade. I sat with this information for a while on the back step. I did not yet let it become anything more than itself. Preliminary pathology, intermediate-grade, final read pending. These are the facts.

I called Maureen Saturday morning. I said "Ma. Sit down." She said "I am sitting down." She had been in the kitchen. I told her what we knew. I told her the timeline. I told her Sean had had the biopsy already. I told her we had not told her because we had not wanted to give her a week of a frightened wait without a reason. She was silent for a long time. Then she said "Katherine." Then she said "I would have sat with you for the week." She said this without anger. She said it with grief. I said "I know, Ma. I'm sorry." She said "don't be sorry. Get me specifics as they come." I said "I will." I called Sean Sr. next. Sean Sr. said "okay, kid. Tell me when there is work to do." That was his response. Patrick called me at 2 PM after my mother had told him. He cried on the phone. I told him the same thing I had told my mother. He said "whatever you need." Meghan called. Danny called. Sean's mother and sister were told by Sean himself that afternoon. His mother said very little on the phone. She said "Sean. Sean." He said "Ma, I know." She said "I am driving down Sunday." He said "okay, Ma."

Lasagna for Saturday night. The family began arriving. My mother brought soda bread. Sean's mother arrived Sunday morning. The kids had a full house. The kitchen had a full stove. I cooked. Cooking is how I am going to do this. I already know. I have already started. The pot roast and the shepherd's pie and the soup. The tomatoes, ripe now, in a bowl on the counter for anyone to eat whole. The bread. The eggs in the morning. I am going to cook this thing. Whatever it is. I am going to feed us through it.

By Sunday the house was full—Maureen’s soda bread on the counter, Sean’s mother in the guest room, kids underfoot everywhere. I had already made two rounds of lasagna that week and needed something different but with the same weight, the same warmth. I had sweet potatoes and carrots and butter. I had a kitchen full of people who needed to be fed. This crisp is what came out of that afternoon—layered, golden, the kind of thing you can set on the table and let people come back to without asking.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally into 1/4-inch pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For the crisp topping:

3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Set oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Prepare the vegetables. Toss the sliced sweet potatoes and carrots with olive oil, melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper until evenly coated. Spread in an even layer in the prepared baking dish.
Cover and bake. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 25 minutes, until the vegetables are just tender when pierced with a fork.
Make the crisp topping. While the vegetables bake, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Cut in the cold butter with a fork or your fingers until the mixture forms coarse, pea-sized crumbles.
Add the topping. Remove the foil from the baking dish. Scatter the crisp topping evenly over the vegetables.
Bake uncovered. Return the dish to the oven and bake uncovered for 20 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the edges are bubbling.
Rest and serve. Let the crisp cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm as a side alongside any main course.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sweet Potato Carrot Crisp — The Dish I Made While We Waited for the Final Read