What do the holidays mean for you?

The holidays are here and we are thinking of all our wonderful patients and wanted to send our holiday wishes to you.

I was not raised in the United States so I did not grow up with many of the traditions and nostalgia for what the holidays mean for many people here. In fact in my country our New Year is on the 1st day of Spring. It is called Nowruz and is a celebration of nature's rebirth that lasts for two weeks. But no matter what walks of life we are from or traditions we have there is one thing I think we all share during the holidays and that is the SPIRIT of the holidays. Whether we are just wishing someone “Happy Holidays” or the warm feelings of gathering with family and friends, we can all share in the spirit of the holidays.

So for fun I thought I would share with you one of my favorite recipes I like to make at this time of year – BAKED CANDIED YAMS. Apparently the idea of sweat potatoes or yams cooked with sugar referred to as sweet potato pudding dates back as far as 1796 in the United States. I got this recipe came from https://iheartrecipes.com/

So I hope you are getting into the spirit of things. What do you love about the holidays?

Wishing you the very best Holiday Season.

RECIPE:

BAKED CANDIED YAMS

Prep Time 15 min Cook Time 45 min Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 5 medium sized yams

• 8 tbsp salted butter

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• ½ tsp ground nutmeg

• ¼ tsp ground clove

• ¼ tsp ground ginger

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• ¼ cup brown sugar

• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract (not imitation)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Wash the yams.

3. Peel, then chop the yams (make sure that they are about ½ inch thick).

4. Place the yams into a 9 x 13 baking dish.

5. Place the butter into a medium sized pot, then melt it over medium heat.

6. Once the butter is melted, sprinkle in the white and brown sugar, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, and ground clove.

7. Turn the stove off, mix the ingredients, then add in the vanilla extract.

8. Pour the candied mixture over the yams, and try to coat all the yams with the candied mixture.

9. Next, cover the bake dish with foil, then bake the yams in the oven for 30 minutes.

10. Remove the yams from the oven and baste them with the candied mixture.

11. Cover the yams, and bake them for another 15-20 minutes.

12. Remove the yams from the oven, and let them sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

13. Enjoy!

Come on in to see us any time. We’d love to say hello and make sure your family’s teeth are healthy and brilliant.