Yams! Don't Fear Your Roots...

Yams have a bad reputation as a yucky holiday food because of the disgusting, canned version of them that sits botchulating* on grocery store shelves, month after month.  It seems that many hosts have wrongfully served this foul, canned yam abomination at holiday dinners and frightened their guests from ever eating yams at a holiday meal again. But yams are actually really awesome! You just have to prepare them from scratch. So throw out the canned yams and set aside your prejudices. This recipe takes time but it's not difficult and the ingredients list is short.

Cooking Soundtrack: Arch Enemy - Root of All Evil 

You will need:

A food processor - OR - a potato masher, force of will, and the time and patience to mash the yams with your own strength
A pot full of water for boiling yams
2 medium sized yams (they need to fit in the pot you are boiling them in)
An 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 baking dish
1/4 C Earth Balance
1 T sugar
Dash of sea salt
1/3 C light coconut milk
Vegan Marshmallows such as Dandies Brand (if you hate marshmallows, just leave them off)

                                   You can see I've already eaten half the bag. They're dandy!

Start by boiling water. Add the yams and boil them for 20 - 25 minutes, turning them halfway through. Drain the yams, and let them cool completely to the touch. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. After the yams are cool, peel them, slice them, and throw them in the food processor with the rest of the ingredients, except for the marshmallows. Process the yams until they are are pureed, scraping down the sides with a spatula repeatedly. 

Once pureed, spread the yams in the baking dish and bake covered for 30 mins. Remove the yams after 30 minutes and top with marshmallows, then place uncovered in the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes. Don't leave them unattended as they will burn quickly.

Once your marshmallows are browned your yams are done! Sorry, no photos this time. The yams were eaten immediately.

*botchulating:  when a food becomes increasingly contaminated with botulism bacteria