No matter how far you travel, and how much you see,

your eyes are still in your own head.

Charles Cofone     1968

I’ll have cherry vanilla, please.

Charles Cofone at the Guild Guitar factory in Westerly, RI, 1968.

His yesterday ended so late, his today has not started yet!!!

A Rind is a terrible thing to waste.     Compost!!!

yam harvest dance

I confess. I am confused. I used to think I knew the difference between a yam and a sweet potato. I thought YAMS were mostly yellow inside and when you cooked them up they had a tendency to be “stringy”. And I thought SWEET POTATOES were hard and bright orange inside and when you cooked them up they had more of a natural sweet flavor to them. When I go to the markets these days and ask for sweet potatoes, they usually are labeled “yams”??? If I ask about them, most of the people I talk to are as confused as I am.

Now I Googled the question “what is the difference between yams and sweet potatoes?” I found a site www.loc.gov  and the website is entitled “Every Day Mysteries”.  According to this article you can tell the difference thusly:

Yams are native to Africa. Compared to Sweet Potatoes they are drier and starchier. Sweet Potato skin color can vary from white to yellow to reddish to brown, and even purple. Inside they are mostly white, orange, or red.

[keep reading for a yummy-in-the-tummy recipe for a sweet potato something or other]

There are basically two variety of Sweet Potatoes. One is firm and the other is soft. The firm ones were grown in the USA first. Later, when the soft ones were cultivated, to differentiate they were called “yams” after the African vegetable. Personally, now I think it is all mixed up together!

At any rate, here is a treat for you.

I had two BIG Sweet Potatoes/Yams that, when cut open were very firm and very bright orange. I wanted to make something different with them. Inspiration hit high gear. I took a ceramic 9” pie pan and greased it with coconut oil*.

*[my son has me using coconut oil instead of butter these days because its kind of fat is “good for you”, and we do both like the flavor and smell of it. A little goes a long way! I have tried cooking different things with coconut oil instead of butter or olive oil. It all depends on your dish. The coconut oil compliments certain things and then again not other things. I don’t like the taste of eggs, however, if you fry them or scramble them in the coconut oil and add a little dash of curry powder….YUMMY!!!]

Back to the sweet potato/yam thing.

You will need:

a 9” pie pan

coconut oil, to grease the pie pan and to add to the sweet potato mix

two large eggs beaten

two large peeled steamed sweet potatoes/yams

heaping tsp of curry

heaping tsp of powdered ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp of salt

2 tsp of sugar

1/4 c of Swiss Muesli cereal

First, you peel, cut into smaller pieces, and steam the sweet potatoes/yams till they are soft enough to mash. Make them up like you would mashed potatoes, only while they are hot to warm add some coconut oil instead of butter. (this does add its flavor to the dish….and also if you have not used coconut oil yet, it is like a soft past or hardened oil.)

In a large mixing bowl mash the potatoes/yams. Add a big tablespoon of coconut oil. Mix will. Add the two beaten eggs and mix well. Sprinkle in, individually at a time, the curry, then the ginger, then the nutmeg, and then the salt and sugar, mixing well each time.

Place this mixture in, and spread it out, in the pie pan.

On the top of the mixture sprinkle the Swiss Muesli mix evenly. Not too much.

Sprinkle a little bit of sugar over the top of this.

Add tiny dollops of coconut oil to different spots all around the top of the mixture.

Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven uncovered.

I baked it for 25 minutes, then checked it periodically to see when it seemed “done” as far as the eggs in the mixture having firmed it up.

Because I am in Boulder, CO, at an elevation of 5400 ft above sea level, I think it took longer to bake. I chose to bake it at the lower temperature and slowly, unlike a pumpkin pie with a crust that you bake at a higher temp first and then lower.

You just have to experiment with this as far as done-ness and the amount of ingredients you add. I find at this altitude it seems like it takes more seasoning to get the flavors. So, adjust your recipe accordingly.

(I am thinking of adding very thin sliced small pieces of raw apple on the top with the Swiss Muesli next time)

Let me tell you…..this is one tasty satisfying dish, AND it can be served as the main dish, a side dish, or a dessert!!!  Hot, warm, or cold. It is SO yummy!

IF someone else made a dish like this already……sorry I am saying it is an original. But it was an idea that came to me one afternoon. 

Oh, and yes. It helps if you like/love Sweet Potatoes/Yams!!!!!

Till next time when I will discuss which came first ….. the chicken or the puppy?

Willow Whisperwood