I yam what I yam; with all due apologies to the creators of Popeye.

Sweet potatoes, often called yams, are part of many a holiday menu. When I was a kid, we used to bake them in the oven. Each person got his or her sweet potato. We\’d get the skin off as well as we could without burning ourselves; mash the vegetable with a fork, and put on some margarine. I, for one, like some salt on my sweet potato, too.

If your thoughts are turning to something fancier, there are recipes galore out there; and this one looks pretty good to me. Some cooks like to cut the baked sweet potatoes into cubes, and mix them with a brown-sugar sauce. Others slice the baked \”sweeties\”, and layer them in a baking dish. Then they pour a sweet \”gravy\” (e.g. with brown sugar) over them; and bake. (Of course peel the baked sweet potatoes before going any father with these dishes!)

If you don\’t want to fire up the oven, raw sweet potato is actually pretty good. I grate enough of the raw vegetable to make a cup or so. I mix in either plain or vanilla yogurt, depending on whether I\’m in the mood for savory or sweet; and then season however I like.

What would Popeye think of these dishes? I expect he\’d turn them down in favor of spinach; but like Popeye, I yam what I yam.