So... That's a yam. Oooookay.

[weaselmom]

Friday afternoon I popped over to Uwajimaya to acquire some yammage and ended up with two organic garnet yams. They were definitely organic, the hippies of the yam world - scrawny, dirty, and funny-looking. But thanks to keikaimalu and kijjohnson, I had a sense of what to do with them. Tonight I prepared one of the yams by spritzing it lightly with olive oil, putting it on a piece of foil on a baking sheet, and roasting it for about an hour at 350. (I did scrub it first and poke holes in it so it wouldn't go off like some carb-intensive grenade.) It was... tasty, in a "Huh. Yam." kind of way. And at least it was orange inside. It was severely lacking in maple syrup or butter or brown sugar or miniature marshmallows, leading me to reconsider that perhaps it's not a yam I want so much as a Snickers bar. However, I am *having* a yam.

Does anybody have any healthful and nutritious yam preparation tips for me? I accidentally looked it up and learned that a yam, even a little hippie yam, has like 41g of carbs. This, plus the fact that the whole process took about an hour and 20 minutes, means that I will not be yamming it up on a daily basis. So I'd like my occasional yam experiences to be special but not artery-clogging. I had it in my head that yams were more nutritious than that, but alas.

Tonight I walked to the store (because our parking lot is still too icy for me to drive) and acquired a small russet potato for baking purposes. I found a recipe on the Internet. But I need to go *back* to the store and buy some decent salt - what do they call it, kosher salt? Mediterranean salt? - and one of those peppercorn grinder thingies. If I'm going to eat a plain baked potato with no butter or sour cream or bacon or cheese, at least the salt and pepper will be of a decent quality.

Comments

[uppityfaggot.livejournal.com]

So. First of all:

*blink*
*blink*

What the hell?!??!?

Okay. I've gotten past it now.

I thought you were doing roasted slices of yam. What happened to that idea? SO much faster. Or if you aren't afraid of microwave ovens you could throw the thing into the microwave oven. Don't forget the poke-poke part.

Let's see. First of all: I need to know what you're trying to do? Well... I need to know why you're doing what you're doing, I guess. Are you trying to avoid fat? carbs? sugar? What is it you're trying to accomplish here?

Once we find that out we'll start seriously getting into the question of condiments because I think that's what you need.

How is it possible I know you so well and never realized you had dark recesses of culinary... um... inquisitiveness? You know what curiousity did to the feret, yes?

[weaselmom.livejournal.com]

Well, now, I was doing roasted slices of *sweet potato* because that's what I had a recipe for. I got the recipe out of the latest Moosewood cookbook and I didn't have a recipe for yams. Are you saying that I could slice my garnet yams like I sliced the sweet potato and cook it that way, faster? The yam was nice and gooshy and I worry that the technique that worked with my dense, woody sweet potato wouldn't work with my yam. It's not that I fear the microwave, it's more that the appearance and texture of microwaved foods don't really jazz me that much. But I'm not fanatical on the topic.

Man, you ask the best questions, and the hardest ones. Let me throw down some stuff here...

What I eat now: In the summer, breakfast was fat-free vanilla yogurt with either fresh fruit or a single serving of low-fat granola. Now it is weight-control oatmeal, sometimes with a serving of minced walnut so I get my daily nut quota. Lunch is a Lean Cuisine lunch entree, because I know *exactly* what I'm getting, they're relatively low sodium, and I don't have time for anything else. Dinner is usually a Lean Cuisine dinner entree to which I've added 1.5 to 2 cups chopped fresh or thawed-frozen vegetables. I was trying to stick to about 1,600 calories a day, but there was some backsliding once the weather went sideways and we couldn't go for walks or hikes, and I've noticed the difference.

Why I'm doing it: My reasons, though dim and poorly formed, make sense to me but are hard to articulate. I'm trying to make the food that I eat count for something, nutritionally, so I'm trying to eat food that is closer to its whole and natural form, hence a simply roasted yam or sweet potato. Just the tuber and a bit of olive oil. Or a cup of chopped raw bell pepper or tomato. When the weather was nicer and we were geocaching and hiking, which we will do again, I wanted food to serve me well as healthful fuel. It seems to me that it would be easier to try to learn how to cook fresh, raw vegetables than fresh, raw meat. Also, if I screw it up, the effects wouldn't be so dire.

This worthy desire *has* to be balanced with my shocking incompetence in the kitchen, defined as lack of skills, implements, ingredients, etc. That means any recipes or techniques have to include the bare minimum of steps and ingredients. I don't understand anything about cooking and I don't know any of the vocabulary. Shawn and I had a frank exchange of opinions today about what a saute pan is, and I still don't know. I didn't even know how to properly scrub my yam and probably ingested a fair bit of dirt with it (organic, of course).

I am definitely trying to avoid trans fats (the whole hydrogenation thing) and not overdo it on fats of other kinds, and what I do eat should ideally be the beneficial kind (e.g., olive oil, walnuts, and almonds). This is complicated by the fact that I *hate* the smell of cooking butter. It makes me feel sick. I am trying to cut back a bit on sugar because for a while there I was 100% addicted to it, especially refined sugar. That's why I was so shocked to find out how much sugar (albeit natural) there is in some of these veggies. I *hope* there is some benefit in vitamins and other nutrients in tubers. To sum up, I'm looking for sane, healthful, balanced amounts of fat, carbs, and sugar. (And who isn't?)

Does any of this make any sense?

You would be surprised at how deep and dark my culinary inquisitiveness goes. When I was younger - teens, maybe - I checked out armloads and armloads of cooking books from the library. Not so much cookbooks (mundane collections of recipes) as books about specific types and regions of cookery. It was like porn for me, beautiful and unattainable. If I had cable, I'd be watching cooking shows all the time, but none of it ever EVER sinks in.

Curiosity is what got the ferret's whiskers singed when he just had to discover what candles were all about.

[uppityfaggot.livejournal.com]

That's brilliant. Your plan is so smart.

I wish you had Mondays off or I had weekends. We could play instructively in the kitchen. I am a scandalously good teacher.

The thing about yams: I love 'em roasted, lightly steamed, in soup, in stews, in puddings, in pies, on pizza and raw. Steaming isn't as hard as it sounds. Then you can do hilarious things to them like marinating them in a little vinegar, basil, garlic, salt and black pepper. SOME fat isn't bad so, before you eat them you could drizzle them with just a bit of good olive oil. Before your eyes roll back in your head and you pass out from frustration: those really WERE sketchy instructions. If you're interested in a recipe (or interested in making those along side me) let's do that.

You can totally do the same slice-y/roast-y thing with yams that you did with the sweet potatoes. Consider them mostly interchangeable for most purposes. The average sweet potato is a little more likely to be woody than the average yam but really they are pretty much the same. I roast yams all the time. I even put them in a mole for my son's favorite vegan birthday dinner. They're VERY sturdy if not overcooked.

I'll underscore this again: in the US the yam is a kind of sweet potato. It's an orange-y variety, but it is just a variety.

I agree that the end product is not as interesting when you cook with a microwave. Microwave ovens cook by screwing with the water in the food so often the end result of "baking" a yam in the microwave is to dry it out. Condiments are needed.

Condiments that I think go well with a baked yam: vinegar, a very little oil; a sprinkle of dried thyme or of dried basil; salt and pepper, yes - but consider mild or bittersweet Spanish paprika (I think the kind we put on the yam chips is too hot for you, yes?); a little soy sauce with rice vinegar and chili oil would be lovely; real maple syrup is incredible on them - you could mix a little maple syrup with a bit of orange juice and, yes, you'd be adding some calories, but a little would go a long way.

I'm worried about giving you too much information all at once. If anything doesn't make sense call me for God's sake, while you're doing this. I would be thrilled to help you in the kitchen. Really. Thrilled.

Ask anybody.

[uppityfaggot.livejournal.com]

Why can't you edit comments???

I'm going to go kill myself now.

"along side"???

Jesus.

[uppityfaggot.livejournal.com]

Oh. And, crap. That was supposed to say "I roast bite-sized pieces of yam all the time."

But I can't edit comments.

I hate LJ.

I'm so humiliated.

[weaselmom.livejournal.com]

Not at all, not at all! Do what I do, which is if I notice an error in one of my comments, I hit Select All and Copy, and then I delete the comment and paste it into a new comment window and make the changes there.

[weaselmom.livejournal.com]

Keikaimalu suggested mashing yams with a bit of crumbled goat cheese, which a couple of people thought sounded absolutely larrupin'. I'm thinking about splitting the next one lengthwise like a baked potato and putting in just a teaspoon of butter and, as you said, a bit of salt and pepper. The other condiments make me a bit nervous, as I don't have much of a palate for salty or sour flavors. We don't actually own any vinegar or soy sauce. You're the only person who can get me to try just about anything in the spirit of adventure - the feijoada is a prime example of that. And Shawn's eyes glaze over when he talks about your marinated mushrooms.

You're really helping me think through what I'm trying to accomplish here. I definitely want to be able to cook vegetables in their simplest and purest state with as few sauces and ingredients as possible, and *then* work up to adding things to them. These starchy little tuber guys aren't the most healthful things in the world. I want to be able to make broccoli (and that other stuff - broccolini? broccolitini? what the hell is it called?) tasty without covering it in cheese sauce. And bell peppers. And green beans.

On the bright side, I have nowhere to go but up. It's all progress. One reason I haven't asked any of you wonderful folks for hands-on help is because I'm so embarrassed about my *utter* cluelessness. I don't want people to lose patience with me, or worse to jeopardize a friendship, over something like this.

I'm telling you, my mom has a *lot* to answer for.

[uppityfaggot.livejournal.com]

I love goat cheese. I assume you're talking about chevre. It's a pretty mild cheese, though, to pair with yams - unless you're talking about flavored chevres. It would go all melty, but it's pretty much a wash, nutrition-wise, with butter.

Hm. And it's true that I keep forgetting that you're a picky eater. You never are a picky eaeter at my house and we hardly ever go out to eat together anymore. I didn't remember that you don't really like sour/salt.

Yams are bizarrely good for you. High in complex carbs, high in anti-oxidents, high in vitamins. These things are GREAT for you.

MOST green vegetables respond very well to being steamed. That includes broccoli and green beans. I don't really like green bell peppers nearly as much as I like red or yellow bell peppers, but I like them all best raw or fire-roasted.

If there aren't any other reasons you haven't asked for hands-on help then you're forgetting that some of us are even willing to play Robo-Rally with you.

[weaselmom.livejournal.com]

Well, *she* was talking about goat cheese. I don't know from chevre. Thank goodness you're here to reassure me about yams being good for you! So help me with the scrubbing process. I scrubbed my yam with a wet paper towel and got most of the surface dirt off, but I rubbed a bit hard and some of the skin started coming off. This made me nervous, because a naked yam is a loathsome thing. Shawn said to scrub away. Who's right?

I'm not a picky eater at your house because you very rarely make, say, Garlic-glazed Onions in Mayonnaise Sauce. You always make the yummiest stuff, and I even forgive you guys your regrettable predilection for cow tongue. Besides, you introduced me to tetilla! I'm with you, I don't really like green bell peppers, but I *always* have a red, yellow or orange one in the house. I don't know what roasted bell pepper tastes like.

I'm not sure that being *willing* to play Robo-Rally with me is a selling point. Usually I'm only forced to play R-R if I've been bad.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Good lord, woman! Cooking again? And vegetables again? Wow. Next thing we know, 900-pound man-eating hogs shall alight upon the topmost branches of sycamore trees!

Um, I cooked tonight, too. Some Little Caesar's garlic-bread kit foodstuff. Yum! Lots of garlic and "Buttery Sauce™." And I used real vegetables to make it into a pizza! (aka "pasta sauce")

Hooray for you!
Chris

[weaselmom.livejournal.com]

IKEA breadsticks, eh? Well, I guess anything that involves assembling ingredients and applying a source of heat has to count as cooking. Lord knows I am *not* one to talk. I misread your comment somehow and came up with "Butterfly Sauce" but that just didn't seem right.

I don't think Fiona likes it when I cook, or more specifically, when I put something in the oven. I begin to suspect that she has a delicate respiratory system, because she coughs a lot if I cook or have a fire or light candles. The microwave bothers her not at all, fortunately.

How you holding up in the snow and ice, bro?

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Poor little thing!

It's damned icy here, and that means I'm pretty much immobile. Ironic? Let's see: The Crossfire's tires are not made for this weather and are about ten inches too wide for grip, so no traction. The scooter(s) aren't the smartest thing to use when the roads are coated in an inch-thick frosting of ice. The pickup truck pretty much just sits & spins on ice (I suppose I could fill the bed with a ton of sand, but, um, no thanks). I wouldn't ride the BMW in this weather, nor the Chevy. And the hearse is still DOA.

On the plus side, the Crossfire makes EXCELLENT donuts at intersections ;-)

[weaselmom.livejournal.com]

Good gravy. Will you have to walk to work tomorrow? Up a horrible, icy hill? Shawn just bought these cool studded strap-ons* at REI so next time he spends countless hours pushing cars up our hill in the ice, he will have some traction. You might want to consider this. I looked at the weather map in the Sunday Times, and it was so weird to see the whole middle of the continent awash in icy white and blue. I can't even begrudge the Bears their win over the Seahawks, because the Chicagoans probably need the diversion right now. Be safe out there.

*Okay, settle down, you freaks.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

No work today: MLK day and snow day! Strap-ons... say, I think they make those for cars, too....

[weaselmom.livejournal.com]

What's the matter with me that I can't remember that it's MLK Day? Probably because we don't get it off - we give up all these Monday holidays to get the week between Christmas and New Year's. The deli downstairs, which I planned to use for a catered lunch meeting today, is also closed. Unpleasant surprise.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Oh, sure, the food-service folks get the day off but not those who need their eats. How very MLKish... or something.

[justinluv.livejournal.com]

But... there is lowfat or fat free sour cream! Quite tasty once you get used to it, too. :)

I admire your dedication. Kurt and I are attempting another one of our healthy eating kicks and to me, that's just cereal, skim milk, and lean cuisines.

I love reading your journal. You write so nicely. :) I laughed about the yam.

[weaselmom.livejournal.com]

You're right, and there's salsa, which I always forget about, but is also yummy! The Quaker weight-control oatmeal isn't bad at all and is super easy to make at work, and oatmeal is good for your cholesterol levels.

The dedication comes from a couple of places. In the last 6-8 months I have found a few excellent role models, and I have literally watched them eat to see what a healthful breakfast or snack or lunch *looks* like. I also found something in my life that I wanted *more* than I wanted to comfort myself and try to banish sadness with food (by which I mean junk food and dessert). I want to be able to hike, to be able to do five miles without effort. The other thing is all of a sudden it is starting to become really apparent what aging does to your body. If I don't start eating for health beginning right now, I don't know what will happen. I've already outlived my dad - he died at 43 from his *second* heart attack, and I have a wonky heart too.

Thank you for your sweet comment. I'd post more often if I felt I had anything to say. If it weren't for hyperbole, I'd have no writing style at all. Oh! Here's a funny thing: I don't know what it was exactly, but I let Kaylee sniff the cooked yam, and her tail fluffed out. Should I be scared?