Sweet Potato Awareness Month

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Chef Diane

My mother loves sweet potatoes.  When I was growing up she used to tell me that she take two hot sweet potatoes to to school every day, one in each pocket, to keep her hands warm on her long uphill walks to school each morning in the snow, then eat the potatoes at lunch. I should have realized that growing up in the south, on the beach, there were no hills or snow to hinder her daily walks, however it wasn’t until recently that my aunt, her sister, told me that she never had to walk up hill in the snow with sweet potatoes in her pockets to keep her hands warm.  But she does however love sweet potatoes.

Every year at Thanksgiving and Christmas she cooks them, puts them in a dish and tops them with marshmallows and bakes them until they are golden brown.  All she adds to the potatoes are butter, and the rest of the family is not as fond of that, but my mother isnt concerned, that means more for her.  I love them with pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon, they are delicious that way, and no leftovers.

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Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamins and beta carotene and antioxidants. They are also a good source of fiber as well.  Actually, the sweet potato is not a potato at all, but a root. I have noticed more use of the sweet potato, especially in the form of fries at local restaurants.  At thanksgiving when my father fries the annual turkey, he also uses the mandarin I gave him and slices up sweet potatoes and fries them as chips.  They are just like Lay's potato chips, only better!  I also have friends who will bake a sweet potato pie instead of pumpkin pie for their thanksgiving dessert.

November is Sweet Potato Awareness Month; this is a perfect time to celebrate with many different delicious dishes.  They are not only good, but good for you.  So this November, bake, fry, or make a pie out of some sweet potatoes.  Below is a recipe for sweet potato pie from southernfood.com to get you started in the month long awareness of this root.

Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients:

4 ounces butter, softened

2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

2 cups granulated sugar

1 small can (5 ounces, about 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 prepared pie shells, unbaked

Preparation:

Mix butter, potatoes, sugar and evaporated milk until well blended.

Add vanilla, eggs, and cinnamon; mix well. Pour into the prepared pie shells.

Bake in a 350° oven for about 1 hour, until set.

Makes 2 pies.