Sister Breksa HATES sweet potatoes. But she sent this picture of boiled un-seasoned sweet potatoes…that she was eating. Her conclusion? Missions do change people.
Sweet Potato Festival
"Every year Kadena Town [located in Nakagami District, Okinawa Prefecture, population 13,823] celebrates its great man Noguni Soukan, who, in 1605, brought the sweet potato to Okinawa from China, saving the people from starvation. The annual Noguni Soukan Festival is named after the humble man." The Japanese sweet potato is purple in color and has a nuttier flavor than the orange/yellow varieties found in the United States.
"Noguni Soukan brought home some sweet potato plants from Fuzhou, in Fujian Prefecture in China, and then grew them in his place of birth, the Noguni district of Kadena. From there this tuberous root eventually spread to all of Japan."
From: http://www.japanupdate.com/2013/10/noguni-soukan-festival-honors-introduction-of-sweet-potato/
Sweet potatoes, or Satsuma-imo, are made into myriad of dishes, both sweet and savory, but the simplest way they are enjoyed is roasted over hot coals until their flesh is soft and tender and their natural sugars caramelize.
--http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art69041.asp
