Yams or Sweet Potatoes-It's What's for Dinner and Lunch!!

So excited to get organic sweet potatoes in my produce box this week! I love sweet potatoes or yams as they are sometimes called down here.  My grandfather, who had a way with words, called them bugle roots. Anyway, no matter what you call them, just, don't get them near a marshmallow!
The first thing I did was place one of the unpeeled sweet potatoes in a cast iron pan and slow roasted it (at 350 degrees for about 55 minutes) until the juices were oozing from the little fork holes I made before placing in the oven.-If you have ever had a sweet potato explode in your oven, you know why I made the holes.- Once it was tender, I made a slit in the top of the potato and put 1 Tablespoon of Artisana 100% Organic Coconut butter in the top.  I sprinkled the sweet potato with grated cinnamon  and cayenne pepper and dug in.  So quickly in fact,  I didn't get an after picture.
My grandmother , born 1899, loved yams the same way.  She told of walking to school in Mississippi carrying a tin lunch bucket with nothing in it but a baked sweet potato.  It didn't dampen her love of them because I can remember a sweet potato or two left in her oven for anybody needing a snack. 

 This blog was supposed to be about dinner so I guess I'll get back on track now that I've enjoyed my lunch and visit with my memories. 

 Sweet Potato Polenta with Maple Yams on a Base of Wilted Collard Greens 
 inspired by The Chubby Vegetarian 

Maple Yams
1/4 cup  coconut oil (warm if not liquid)
1/4 cup  maple syrup
2 Tablespoons Braggs Liquid Aminos (natural, gluten-free, soy sauce alternative)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon smokey paprika
1 Teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1 crushed garlic clove (from my produce box)
1 large diced sweet potato
 In a medium bowl, mix together all of the ingredients except for the sweet potato. Then add the diced sweet potato and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes -tossing occasionally.
Place the drained, diced sweet potato in a large preheated cast iron pan arranged in a single layer.  Cook stirring once in a while until tender and lightly browned.

Sweet Potato Polenta (aka Corn Grits)
1 baked sweet potato
2 cups of water
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 cup polenta (non-GMO)
1 clove garlic crushed
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 Tablespoon coconut oil
 1/4 cup homemade almond coconut milk (I'll blog about this another time)
Bake one sweet potato at 350 degrees for about 1 hour until tender.  Once cool, peel off the skin and mash with a fork.  Bring water to boil and slowly add polenta whisking to prevent lumps. Reduce heat.  Add mashed sweet potato, salt, crushed garlic clove, cayenne pepper, and  oil stirring well with your whisk to blend sweet potato into the polenta.  Cook slowly until soft, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and add almond milk to achieve the desired consistency.

Wilted Collard Greens
8 cups of stemmed and finely chopped collard greens (Mine were fresh, locally grown, bright green,  and delivered by Annie's Organic Buying Club.)
2 Tablespoon Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon finely minced ginger
1 crushed garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Heat cast iron fry pan then add half of the oil and the ginger, garlic, and pepper stirring for about 5 seconds.  Add the collards and the rest of the oil stirring until the greens begin to wilt.  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir-fry about 2 minutes until greens are crispy tender.

The above recipes serve four.  Adjust seasonings to taste.

To plate:
Place the wilted collard greens on the plate. 
Top with a serving of the sweet potato polenta.
Top the grits with the Maple Yams
Sea salt, cayenne pepper, and parsley to garnish

This is really an easy meal so don't be afraid of what looks like a lot of ingredients.