My First Post. Whew!
...I guess the real question is whether or not I can keep this going? Haha!
Time will tell.
In any event, here is my creation. My love affair with yams began at the early age of 18 when my Abuela made mashed yams for dinner. Until then, I had been extremely skeptical of the veggie, but I guess I was feeling adventurous or something and went ahead and tried them. They weren't terrible and it didn't take long before I discovered yams were incredible with a little salt and a pat of real butter (none of this margarine non-sense). I ate them like that for the next 10 years, not really ever deviating from that course, until I became a little more interested in exploring the wonder that is... a kitchen.
A few months ago, I got married. My husband is a wonderful, athletic, health-conscious man. I like being healthy, too. But I would be lying if I said I prefer (let alone have the self-discipline to choose) a salad over a warm, cheesy, comforting bowl of pasta. Still, I was cooking for two now, and had to compromise. I won't bore you with the details, but after a lot of brainstorming I decided to get creative with my yams.
I began prepping dinner, only to get a less than enthusiastic response from my husband. It wasn't rude or anything like that, just... I could tell he wasn't as excited as I was about my choice for our chicken dinner's side. Apparently, he didn't like yams... or sweet potatoes! As we are still early in our marriage, I'm sure there are lots of things I'll find out he doesn't like, as I'm cooking them. But he's a good sport and will still eat almost anything, even if it's not his favorite. Such was the case in this instance.
We sit down to dinner and begin eating. He says everything is delicious and thanks me for making dinner, as he proceeds to help himself to seconds of the yams. I smile, because I know this is a sign he likes what I made. The next week, as I'm preparing the menu he casually says to me, "You should make those yams again". I ask, equally casually, "Oh, did you like them?" (Ha!) hahahah. We like to tease each other like that.
So the rosemary yams have become what we call, "a repeat."
A word of caution: When I make up a recipe, I don't really use measurements. I go with what tastes good to my taste buds, and what looks balanced to the eye. So you may prefer a little more or a little less of what I've used. You know what you like, and if you'll be eating it, why make it any other way than according to your preferences? Enjoy!
Steamed Savory Yams with Rosemary
About 1 to 1.5 lbs. Yams
About 1 Tbsp. Butter at room temperature
About 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
About 1 tsp. Kosher Salt
About 1 Tbsp. Fresh Rosemary, finely chopped
Peel and cube yams into bite-size pieces, keeping them fairly uniform in size so they all cook in the same amount of time. Toss them into a microwave safe bowl.
Add to the yams, the butter, olive oil, sprinkling the salt evenly over the top. Toss together well.
Place saran wrap over the bowl of yams, leaving a corner open to vent. Heat in microwave for about 4 minutes. Take the bowl out, and stir. Cover again and heat for another 4 minutes. At this point, when you take out the bowl, you'll want to poke a few of your yams to make sure they're cooked through.* Sprinkle the yams with the chopped rosemary and toss. Cover and heat again for another minute.
Voila! They're done. Now dish them up and enjoy.
