there is a root plant called a cassava that grows prolifically in a region of africa. it is a basic staple there and their rate of naturally occurring twins is 4 times higher than the rest of the world's numbers. studies have linked that bump in percentage to this cassava, which is a type of wild yam. something in the yam encourages egg release, often 2 eggs at once.
i've read plenty of "trying to conceive" forums over the last two years and women buy canned yams by the cartful in hopes that it will stimulate their systems into giving them the chance for a much desired baby (or two!) when their insurance companies can't foot the bill for more technical procedures.
the thing is, i'm not sure if any of those women were actually buying YAMS. yams and sweet potatoes are not the same thing at all, though american supermarkets have lumped them into the same category. i don't know many people that can distinguish between the two. heck, i don't know for sure that i can. the basic rule for differentiation as far as i know is that true yams are ENORMOUS, pale, and not at all orange. they are very low in beta-carotene, the substance that gives a sweet potato that delightful color. we can't grow yams here in the states, so finding them can be a bit of a challenge.
most of our friends and family know that E and i are hoping to have a second kiddo as soon as possible. twins run in both sides of our families (my dad is a fraternal twin whose twin brother had identical twins, E's brother/sister are twins.) and we've both agreed that we would LOVE to have twins. we appreciate the bond that twins have and i would love to knock two kids out of labor in one sitting. and when they both move out, it's like a double pay raise! HOLLA!!! we've joked quite a bit about wives tales that guarantee the conception of twins and i've told him numerous times that i'm going to eat nothing but yams until we get pregnant.
that will never happen, i love cheese too much to cut it out of my diet ;)
but i sent him out friday night to get me some sweet potatoes because i was really craving one and i needed some more veggies for jp (i always need more veggies for "jp". such a great excuse to get goods at 6pm on a friday!). i got a call from him asking if i wanted sweet potatoes or yams and if it really made any kind of difference. "yams? they have yams at sam's club?" "that's what it says on the box. yams/sweet potatoes" "oh, so they're just falsely advertised sweet potatoes. get 'em anyway, maybe it'll work!". so he got them and came home.
i wasn't listening very well when he called--he told me the weight, it did not register.
he came home with a 10lb box of sweet potatoes.
that should be enough tuber to satisfy my jones....
i baked 5 at once. i ate 2 with hot sauce and butter (don't judge me!), mashed one up for jp, and put the other two into the refrigerator with an internal promise to make sweet potato bread today.
here's where it starts getting.... interesting. i love sweet potato bread, but i'm truly not in the mood for muffins or muffin-like bread. sweet potato bread is generally a southern thing and thus is loaded with butter, sugar, and maple syrup. i wanted a healthy alternative. rather than googling "healthy sweet potato breads", i decided to experiment.
the theory i had was to take one of the breads i really loved the taste of and substitute the sweet potato in for the butter the recipe calls for.
are you baffled? would you like a glimpse into the logic of an overly confident cooking diva?
applesauce is an acceptable sub for butter in baking recipes. sweet potatoes, when mashed, are... almost... not really... but, maybe sort of close... to the texture of applesauce. do you think i've lost my mind? i think i have. so if applesauce can work, maybe sweet potatoes can too! WHO KNOWS?!!? NOT ME!!!
so i made the bread as i usually would. warm water+yeast until foamy, and then the rest of the ingredients. except no butter. mashed sweet potatoes.
it ended up needing significantly more flour than the original recipe, but the dough was the right consistency.
it didn't rise as high as the butter version did, but it's also much cooler in our house right now than it was when i made the original bread.
here's the real kicker. halfway through its bake in the oven, our power went out for the first time in our marriage. ooooooooof course. we located some candles, realized we need to buy a flashlight, and E quickly turned the massive grill on for me and the bread was thrown in.
here's the final result:
it has a really nice crunchy crust and a very slight sweet potato taste. i suppose i could always try it again later with more sweet potato and whole wheat bread for an extra healthy version, but this is pretty good! i'm excited to use it for sandwiches--a little extra nutrition packed into every bite!
here's the recipe
northern sweet potato bread
6 tbsp mashed sweet potatoes
1c warm water
2 packets dry yeast, or 1 1/2 tbsp
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
about 4c white flour
put the warm water and yeast into a bowl, let sit until foamy.
add the potatoes, salt, sugar and 3c of flour. add flour 1/2c at a time to the dough until it reaches a smooth, good bread consistency.
knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes until it feels uniform. put the dough into a well greased bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise for an hour in a warm place.
preheat to 425
grease a baking sheet. take the dough out. grab 2/3 of the dough and shape it into a ball. lay it on the baking sheet and flatten it out just a tad. roll the other 1/3 into a ball and put it on top of the first one. using a sharp knife, cut slits from the center out toward the bottom all around the bread.
bake until golden brown, about 30-40 minutes
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