Take a Leap and Try Yam Chowder

It all started when I was in the mood for clam chowder. Well, really it began when I had a couple of strips of bacon and thought “hmmm, what can I make?” Now, back to my plan for clam chowder. I rounded up one can of clams…dated 2010. Oops, time to clean out the cabinet. I found a leftover potato in a bag in the garage. It was dimpled, squishy and was growing eyes. Ok, no clam chowder because I didn’t want to go to the store.

I eyed a yam. Yes, I thought, this will do nicely. I grabbed an onion (fresh) and dinner was on the way. My Yam chowder turned out to be quite good, even to my non yam loving housemates. It was rich, sweet and a beautiful color. I only made enough for 2-3 servings, as it was only an experiment.

Here’s what I used:

1 small yam, peeled and cubed

1 small onion, chopped

2 strips thick sliced bacon, chopped

1 1/2 cups half and half (more or less depending on your taste)

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)

pinch of pepper

pinch of paprika

pinch of parsley

Here’s how I did it:

Add bacon to pan and sauté for about 2 minutes on medium high heat. Add onion and yam. Cook, stirring for 5-6 minutes, until bacon looks done (longer if you like your bacon crisp). Lower heat to low and add remaining ingredients. Heat very slowly for about 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it so milk won’t curdle or scald. Just warm until yams are tender. Serve.

                                     Enjoy!