Harvest Apple Wild Rice

Sort of odd to have a "Harvest"/ Fall-ish post in the middle of Summer, but when a girl has a craving, she must act on it. I always have good intentions with the whole "An apple a day...", but nearing the end of the week I seem to have a whole lot of uneaten apples to use up. Craving, mixed with necessity, brought about this concoction which is wild rice gone sweet and sour. This is fun to make, and can be tweaked several different ways (I just used what I had in my fridge and cupboards). Either way this is an easy dish that can be served as a side, or cold as a salad.

Ingredients (serves 4-6):
1 large sweet potato, chopped (into 1 inch cubes)
1 apple, cored and chopped
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 cup chopped walnuts, or pecans

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup maple syrup + 1 tsp agave OR 1 tbsp sugar (brown or white)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
lots of pepper

2 cups cooked wild rice blend (still warm)
1 big handful of raisins, or cranberries

1) Place all of the chopped ingredients into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Whisk together the sauce ingredients and pour over the chopped ingredients. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes uncovered, stir, and bake for an additional 15 minutes covered. Stir all of the ingredients with the cooked (warm) wild rice and raisins, and cover for 5 minutes to allow the rice to soak up the flavor. Stir, serve and enjoy!

* I like to serve this with a great salad and some marinated tofu OR vegan chicken.