Serving up some Sweet Potato Salad

Did you notice that there is no Weekly Menu this week?  That's because I'm leaving tomorrow morning for vacation.  Wooooohooooooo!!

We were planning to fly this trip but the plane is in for it's annual inspection and didn't get completed in time so now it has turned into a road trip.  Leg 1 of the journey is to the beautiful State of Pennsylvania where we will spend some time with our friends, Keith and Kim.  Keith and Frank served together in the Navy during the Viet Nam war.  It is always a pleasure to spend time with them.

On Tuesday afternoon we will head out to Portsmouth, Virginia where our son Chuck is currently stationed.  Chuck was assigned to Portsmouth Naval Hospital but is now assigned to the USS Lincoln, an aircraft carrier that is in dry dock between missions.  We can't wait to spend a few days with him and are hoping to get a tour of the ship.

Thursday we will be meeting up with all of our dive group in Morehead, North Carolina.  We will have 2 days of sight seeing on land and then 2 days of sight seeing under the sea.

Monday, well I am kinda dreading Monday....we will be driving aaaalllllllll day long.  We will stop for the night and head out again on Tuesday finally arriving in Maple City to spend a night with Jen, Randy and the kids.

Wednesday and Thursday we will be attending the very last POLC conference in Traverse City where Frank will be awarded his retirement plaque.

Friday we are heading home and will be joined by Jen who will be down here touring Wayne State University with Lili.  Lili is then spending the weekend with friends and Jen will stay with us until they head home on Sunday.

Sounds pretty busy doesn't it?  Not to worry, I will find time to check in and share photos of our trip.

I love spending time with family and friends so I am looking forward to this trip.  By the same token, I will miss my family here so I guilted them all into coming for dinner tonight.  Well not all, Anthony doesn't guilt as easy as the rest LOL.  He had previous plans so hopefully we will meet up with him when we get home.

But that leaves us to enjoy Amy, Doug, Nicole, Pierre, Tingting and my little Angel Face.  We have recently gotten a delivery of a hog that we bought from our friends, Vicki and Dave, and filled our freezer so we are eating a lot of pork lately.

Tonight, I am serving up grilled ham steaks along with baked beans, grilled pineapple and a sweet potato salad that I conjured up.

I parboiled some sweet potatoes and then peeled and cut them into large chunks.

I grilled the large chunks until tender with some grill marks showing.

Cut them into smaller chunks and tossed them with black beans and parsley.

I topped it all with a Chile Cumin Lime dressing.

I had this bottle of flavored cottonseed oil on hand.

I had received it from Acala Farms when I participated in the Triple S Bites event.

It had actually gotten shoved behind some other stuff and I came across it again the other day.

I was inspired to use it for this creation.

I knew it would be the perfect blend of seasoning for the sweet potatoes.

I garnished my salad with flat leaf parsley but cilantro would work wonderfully as well.

This salad is quick, healthy and scrumptious.

It has quite a bite to it so you may want to substitute a plain oil for part of the chile cumin oil. 

It can be served as a main course vegetarian/vegan dish or as a side dish.

The eating plan that I am on is based on The Fast Metabolism Diet.  Cottonseed oil is not on the list of approved foods but I am sharing an article written by Acala Farms to express why I believe this salad to be Phase 3 friendly.   If you want to stick strictly with the plan, you can make your own chile cumin infused olive or grapeseed oil.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salad

4 sweet potatoes

1/4 c. chili cumin oil

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

juice of 1 lime

salt and pepper to taste

handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped

Cut the sweet potatoes into large chunks of the same size.  Place into a pot of boiling water until just easily pierced by a fork.  Remove from water and let cool.  When cool to the touch, peel the potato chunks and slice each to about a 1 1/2" thick pieces.  Place the pieces on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush both sides with 2 T. of the oil and season with salt and pepper.  Place on a grill over high heat for about 5 minutes per side, until tender with some grill marks.  Return to the parchment lined baking sheet and let cool.

Cut the cooled potatoes into bite size chunks.  Place in a bowl with the beans and parsley.  Whisk together the remaining 2 T. of oil with the juice from one lime.  Season to taste with salt and pepper then pour over the potato mixture.  Toss gently to coat. Serve immediately or refrigerate, removing from refrigerator a half an hour before serving to bring it to room temperature.  Print Recipe