Thanksgiving = Yams

I’ve always thought it was a darn shame that my food culture has tended to avoid sweet potatoes and yams outside of the holiday season. As a kid, I NEVER saw a sweet potato on the dinner table or on a restaurant menu. Recently, it has been a great joy to witness a shift in this culture. Restaurants, burger joints, and shopping carts have begun to embrace this healthy and delicious food source! Yams and Sweets are SO FRIGGIN YUMMY!

So in honor of one of my FAVORITE foods, I made a little holiday appropriate side dish. Please don’t be fooled by the holiday association. You could eat this for breakfast, snack, or dessert any old day of the year. Seriously…do what you want. And what I want are these yams. All day.

Sweet Pecan Yams

3 lb. garnet yams (red skinned and orange flesh… you could also use hannah sweet potatoes, japanese yams, etc.)
1 orange
1/2 c. pecans
1/2 c. coconut sugar
1/4 c. coconut oil, melted
2 tsp. cinnamon*
1 tsp. ginger powder*
1 tsp. vanilla extract
sea salt

*you could use a general pumpkin pie spice instead, or your favorite combination of nutmeg, ground cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, or ginger powder.

** add some turmeric or maca powder for a super boost!

1. Preheat oven 375 – 400.
2. Place your yams (un-skinned and pierced with a knife or fork) on a foil-lined baking sheet
3. Bake for 35-45 mins until REALLY SOFT and bubbly. You will see some syrupy liquid bubbling out of the piercings or ends of the yams.
4. Set aside to cool.
5. Chop up the pecans and mix in a bowl with coconut sugar, cinnamon, salt, and coconut oil.
6. Once the yams are cool enough to handle, remove skins and discard.
7. Mash the flesh until somewhat smooth.
8. Mix the yams with juice from the orange, ginger powder, and vanilla extract. (you can also add some zest if you like)
9. Put the mash in an 8 x 8 baking dish and top with the sugar mixture.
10. Bake again for about 10-15 mins before serving.
11. Eat eat eat!