Yummy Yams

Garnet Yams

Now, for one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes—garnet yams. Again, this is super easy, and if you want to, you can do the initial roast ahead of time. I love garnet yams for their flavor, consistency, and versatility.

Now, you get to decide. Do you want super simple with nothing more added? The garnet yams can be just by themselves for the addition to your feast. Or do you want to go sweet or savory?

Sweet Garnet Yam Yumminess

This recipe will make enough for 8 to 10 servings (Though it depends totally on whether your folks eat it as a side dish!)

You can easily reduce the amount for smaller groups.

For 8 to 10 servings, use 5 pounds of garnet yams.

Put on a baking sheet and roast 50 minutes at 400° or until they are barely tender yet hold their shape (not mushy).

Let cool completely at room temperature. (You can do this up to 2 days ahead).

On the day of baking, remove skins and cut yams into ½ inch thick slices.

Butter a 2-quart baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter. Arrange yam slices in the dish, slightly overlapping. Turn oven to 375°.

In a small pan, on medium heat, mix ½ cup your choice of syrup, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and 4 tablespoons of butter. Whisk to combine and pour mixture over yams.

In a small bowl, mix ¾ cup coarsely chopped pecans, ¹/₃ cup flour (easy to use gluten-free flour),¹/₃ cup light brown sugar*, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Add 3 tablespoons butter and rub in with fingers until mixture is evenly moistened and forms clumps. Sprinkle over yams.

Bake yams for 35 minutes or until topping is browned.

Now, imagine making this with apple slices and blackberries. Absolute yumminess!

Savory Garnet Yam Yumminess

For 4 servings, use 2 garnet yams.

Peel and cut 2 yams into ½ inch thick chunks.

Put yams on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and roast 10 to 15 minutes at 400° or until they are barely tender yet hold their shape (not mushy).

In a large pan, sauté 4 to 6 slices of bacon cut into chunks. When getting crispy and brown, add 1 large onion (cut into ½ inch pieces or larger), and sauté until onions are soft.

Add 2 Granny Smith apples (chopped into ½ inch to ¾ inch pieces) and sauté for a few minutes. Stir in the roasted yams and sauté until they are cooked and starting to become crispy. (7 to 8 minutes)

Transfer to your serving platter and sprinkle with scallion greens and ½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds or toasted almonds.

*A sweet tip from Judy Baker, the Badass Book Marketing Mentor and healthy cook

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Rosa’s Salsa Verde

I love Mexican food! And, as often takes place with me in the kitchen, when I find a real easy recipe that my taste buds get excited about, I often have a tendency to overdo it. I make too much at a time or make it too often. But I have found that there is never too much of this yummy salsa!
I got this great recipe from Rosa, our cook and housekeeper, on a family vacation in Mexico.

Rosa’s Salsa Verde

3 large tomatillos (4-5 small)

1 avocado

½ jalapeno (more for extra spicy)

⅛ onion (more if you want)

Cilantro – small bunch

1/2 lime

Salt

Variation: add ⅓ to ½ cucumber
All goes in a blender. (Be careful if you use the cucumber. It has a tendency to quickly double the quantity in your blender)

How We Use It

We use it as a chip dip, vegetable dip, salad dressing, sandwich spread, fish dip, the list goes on. And it lasts for a long time in the frig. I discovered that it stays good for two weeks after I had made a huge quantity. I had doubled the recipe and then decided to add the cucumber so there were four jars waiting for multiple uses.
Hope you enjoy this “salsa” as much as we do!