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Is a sweet potato as sweet as a yam? Let’s find out. The true yam is the tuber of a tropical vine and is not related to the sweet potato at all. The darker skinned potato that we find most often in the produce department is often mistakenly called a yam. This thick, dark orange potato has a bright orange, sweet flesh with a moist texture. It is found everywhere in American grocery stores, while yams are found in Latin American and the Caribbean. The true yam has a brown or black skin that looks a little like the bark of a tree, with an off-white, purple or red flesh. This tuber can grow more than seven feet long and can weigh up to 100 pounds. You could feed 50 or more people at a sitting!

The very good thing about both of them is in being cholesterol free, fat free, low in sodium, high in fiber, high in Vitamins A and C and high in beta carotene.

Don’t wait for the holidays to serve them. With all that nutrition packed under its skin, we should be eating sweet potato often Try a recipe or two and you might like to put it on your Thanksgiving menu. Clip this column and put it in the veggie section of your favorite cookbook or recipe file box.

SOUTHERN SWEET POTATO BAKE
6 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into one inch chunks
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1-8 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained well
1/2 c. each, packed brown sugar and melted butter
2 T. grated orange peel
1 t. each, cinnamon and vanilla
3/4 t. salt
Chopped pecans, optional

Cook potatoes until tender, but not mushy. Add remaining ingredients. Turn into a 9x13 inch baking pan or 2-1/2 quart casserole dish and level. Sprinkle with chopped pecans if you like. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until a dinner knife inserted near center comes out clean. (You may even have to bake 5-10 minutes longer if the casserole dish is deep.) Makes eight to 10 servings.


When ordering in a restaurant, you may have the option of choosing the kind of potato fries you’d like... as in sweet potato fries. They are yummy!

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SPICY SWEET 
POTATO WEDGES
3 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed, not peeled, cut in 1/2 inch wide wedges
1 T. canola or vegetable oil
1 t. each, sugar and chili powder
3/4 t. salt
2 T. maple syrup
1 t. cider vinegar

In a bowl, toss potatoes with oil. Combine sugar, chili powder and salt; sprinkle over potatoes and toss to coat. Spread on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes, shaking pan once during baking. Combine syrup in vinegar, mixing well. Drizzle over potatoes. Serve immediately. Makes four servings. Note: You can use ketchup, ranch or honey mustard dressing for a dipping sauce.

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STUFFED SWEET POTATOES
6 medium sweet potatoes
1-8 oz. can crushed pineapple, in its own juice, drained
1/2 c. orange juice
1 t. butter or margarine, melted

Pierce sweet potatoes with a fork in several places. Bake at 400 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until potatoes are tender in the middle. Cool slightly to handle easily. Cut a thin slice, a little over 1/4 inch off the top of each potato and discard. Carefully scoop out pulp, keeping the shell from falling apart. (I use an ice cream scoop to remove the pulp.) In a large bowl, mash pulp with remaining ingredients. Refill potato shells; place in 9x13 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray or line the pan with non-stick foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until heated through. Makes six servings. Note: You can make the stuffed potatoes ahead of time. Put them in the fridge, covered. Take them out of the fridge an hour ahead of baking time.

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SWEET POTATO 
SURPRISE
1-18 oz. can dry pack sweet potatoes
1 T. brown sugar
6 large marshmallows
1 T. butter or margarine, melted
1/2 c. coarsely crushed cornflake or Special K crumbs

Grease square 8x8 inch pan, or line with non-stick foil. In a medium bowl, mash potatoes with brown sugar. Shape 1/3 c. of potato mixture around each marshmallow into a ball. Brush one potato ball at a time with butter; roll in crumbs to coat. Place in pan. Bake uncovered 8-10 minutes or until coating is golden brown. The younger set would like these. A sneaky way for them to eat sweet potatoes. Makes six potato balls. Nutritional values: One serving - 135 calories, 0 grams saturated fat, 0 mg  cholesterol, 95 mg sodium, 2 grams of protein.

Thought for the Day: One of the expressions around is that we can’t be the world’s policeman. But guess who gets called when suddenly someone needs a cop!?

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