Camote

Camote is a sweet potato. Maybe not the same variety that you will have with Thanksgiving dinner but this is the one that we are having in San Miguel now.

Wikipedia says, "Sweet potatoes are native to the tropical Americas and were domesticated there at least 5000 years ago."

We find them in the market already cooked. They are enjoyed as a evening snack. In our neighborhood when we hear a calliope whistle, we know the camote man is near by.

One of these evenings if I can get a picture of the camote man I'll do it because a word description doesn't do it justice. He comes pushing a cart up our steep cobblestone street. The chamber of the cart is holding a fire that cooks the camotes. The steam from this is what makes the calliope sing. Sometimes just after he has added fuel to the fire, he has flames licking the sides of the cart.

When you buy one of the camotes, he sprinkles it with cinnamon and adds a dollop of crema. We have eaten them from the camote man. They were pretty good and we are still alive and well. When I am in bed at night and I hear his calliope tooting off on some other street, it kind of makes my mouth water.

I went looking for recipes for Camote just to see if there were other ways to prepare them. How about Dulce de Camote.