Instructions: We all know what lies ahead. Thats temptation just around the corner. And as usual this column will lead the charge as recipe requests for holiday favorites find their way into my mailboxes over the next few months. Goodness knows, no one ever requests vegetable recipes. No, we all want to make the cakes and pies and cookies that remind us of home and hearth at the holidays.

In general, requests for desserts dominate my mail year-round. So, its almost a welcome respite when someone wonders about a recipe for something healthful, such as jicama. Also known as the Mexican potato, jicama is a tuberous root, loaded with vitamin C. And its one of those items I bypass too frequently at the grocery store because I cant think of anything to do with it besides eating it raw.

Fortunately, Home Plates readers had several ideas.

Maree Lubran of Saratoga offered a gingered carrots and jicama recipe that makes an interesting side dish. And Sue Cam says the jicama salad recipe she sent is crisp, cool and refreshing. For a bit of simple virtuosity, Cam suggests following the lead of Mexican restaurants and serving thin sticks of jicama dipped in lime juice and sprinkled with cayenne pepper. Connie Bertuca of Santa Cruz substitutes jicama in recipes calling for water chestnuts. She also enjoys it in brunch salads along with oranges, cilantro and lime juice.

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