1 small yam
1/2 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon sour cream
1/4 cup scallions
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Bake yam until easily pierced with a fork, about 45 minutes.
3. Slice yam in half crosswise and then make a large slit lengthwise.
4. Combine yogurt, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and pepper and spoon into the center of the yam.
5. Top with a dollop of sour cream and scallions. Serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings

2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg, beaten

4 slices bacon, cooked and halved
1/2 cup cheddar, grated
1/2 cup Monterey jack, grated
1/4 cup parmesan, grated
1 ounce cream cheese, softened
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Add yeast, sugar and ¼ cup water to a small bowl and let sit for 5 minutes.
3. Combine flour, salt, oil and the rest of the water and mix with the yeast mixture. Add more flour or water if necessary.
4. Pick up the ball of dough with your hands and knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth.
5. Roll out dough to ¼" thickness and cut out circles with the rim of a glass.
6. Combine cheeses, cream cheese and beaten egg and season with salt and pepper.
7. Place a piece of bacon into the center of a circle and top with about a tablespoon of the cheese mixture.
8. Fold over, crimp the edges and brush with beaten egg. Repeat for remaining circles.
9. Place pastries on a greased baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Makes 8 pastries

1/2 medium avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon bacon fat
1/2 cup pineapple, diced
19 ounce canned mixed beans
1 teaspoon mustard
salt

1. Coat avocado with lemon juice to prevent browning.
2. Melt the butter with the bacon fat in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. Mix in the pineapple and beans and season with a pinch of salt.
4. Stir the mustard into the cooking juices and add the avocado.
5. continuing cooking for another minute or two, enough to warm the avocado, then serve.

Makes 4 servings

When I made the Burekas, the first batch of dough (the one the recipe originally called for) had twice as much better as it actually should have. Of course, I followed the recipe as it were and ended up with a crumbly grease ball. It sat in my fridge until tonight when I decided to add some more flour and water and turn it into something. Originally I was going to make stuffed pockets of pesto and tuna, but Shannon said she wasn't into it (and, truthfully, I wasn't really in the mood for a pesto dish either) so I stuffed them with cheeses and bacon instead, which is clearly the better choice. This resulted in Bacon and Cheese Pastries, which was kind of like an enclosed quiche. The stuffing ended up tasting like very light scrambled eggs and, to my surprise, the crust was actually very light and flaky despite my constant amount of kneading to incorporate all of the flour and water to make usable dough. Perhaps all that sitting in the fridge allowed the gluten to do its thing? I don't know enough about it to be sure.

I was looking through the Silver Spoon cookbook for some recipe ideas and came up with one for Exotic Beans. Having not steered me wrong so far, I threw the seemingly unrelated ingredients of pineapple, avocado and beans into the pan with the bacon fat (instead of butter and ham as called for in the original recipe) and hoped for the best. Well, it was not good. That's not to say it was bad, because I ate my portion, but I also immediately threw away the leftovers because I knew we'd never eat them again. Perhaps one of the "weird" elements added (avocado, pineapple or mustard) could've worked for me, but altogether it just seemed like this mouthful of unrelated flavors that didn't really do it for me.

On the other hand, the green onions and cinnamon with the Yam with Cinnamon Yogurt was actually quite complimentary. I was pretty much flying by the seat of my pants with this dinner, so I'm glad that making use of some things kicking around the kitchen ended up well. I suppose I should recognize by now that I'm generally aimlessly coasting through this whole thing and making pretty much anything that I don't recall eating. Anyhow, the yams tasted kind of like the Aloha Sweet Potatoes except creamier and definitely not as sweet. Of course, you can't really go wrong with adding brown sugar and cinnamon to yams, but the creaminess of the yogurt and the little bit of bite from the green onions definitely sets it apart from the typical fare.