This recipe is another combination of several found on the web, well, originally found on the web. It's modified beyond recognition, except for some preparation methods and a few ingredients. It's great as a side dish, and makes a good potluck take-along since it does not need heating.

This recipe is easy. I would say it serves about 12 as a side dish. You could use it as a luncheon dish with some protein object. A couple deviled eggs maybe.

Note: You will want to cook the rice the night before, or early in the morning, so it can get cold. You can use leftover rice for this... make a generous pot of rice for dinner, use the rest for this salad! You can do the sweet potato the night before too, or in the morning... this is a good recipe to make parts ahead.

• 1 cup mixed wild rice and brown rice, or white rice if that's what you have! I used about 1/4 cup wild and 3/4 cup white
• 2 cups water to cook rice
• Salt for the rice (about a teaspoon in the cooking water)

• 1 large sweet potato or two smaller ones. Enough for 2 cups when cubed to about 3/8 inch (a little smaller than regular six-sided dice).
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon EACH salt and pepper

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Cool. The baking cooks the sweet potato but lets the outside get firm, so you don't have mushy stuff when you mix it. Don't overcook.

• The cooled rice (2 cups cooked rice)
• The cooled sweet potato
• 1 apple, cored and diced. Leave skin on. I used granny smith which was perfect.
• 1 orange, peeled and chopped. I used a large navel orange. No seeds. :-) Two would work too.
• dash of mace
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice, or a mix of lemon and lime
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup maple syrup. To taste! If you want sweet, add the upper amount. If you want a touch sweet and mostly flavor, add the lower.
• more olive oil if needed, to make it hang together a bit. I probably put a couple more Tablespoons in.
• Raisins! About 1/3 to 1/2 cup. To your liking.
• I would have put 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts in if this weren't a potluck. They would go really well and would add the protein needed for a luncheon dish.

That is it! It's a bit of pre-prep, but after that, it's very easy. It carries well... doesn't have to be icy cold, doesn't have dairy so it can stand out on the table of a potluck. Tastes great the next day. Goes with lots of meals. Has good nutrition, especially if you used brown rice.

You could make a spicy curry version of this too, putting in your favorite curry seasonings (or curry powder) and eliminating the maple syrup and spices.

(My old house really looked like that in the winter!)

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Last Modified: 24 March 2013