Citrusy Sweet Potatoes

Ok so work is really starting to get in the way of my blogging... Good thing today is Columbus day, and I can finally get caught up.

I made this side dish a few weeks ago as part of a bigger meal.  Timing with my cooking is something I really have to work on.  I thought this meal was going to be quick and easy... easy yes, but quick, not so much!  The sweet potatoes ended up taking much longer than I thought, which threw off my timing for everything else.  (Check back soon for the beef skewers that were also part of the meal!)

The Citrusy Sweet Potatoes are the perfect dish if you have the feeling where you love fall, but are still slightly holding on to summer.  Weird way to describe a dish right??  However, the sweet potatoes make it a great fall side dish, while the pomegranate and lime make it feel more like a summer dish.  Hence the summer leading to fall dish! I originally got the idea for this dish from the Whole Living Blog.  (Seriously, if you don't subscribe to it, it is a MUST!)

Ingredients: (for 2 people)

2 sweet potatoes

1/4 cup of unsweetened coconut flakes 

2 tablespoons cilantro

1 pomegranate

1 lime

Sidenote:  The originally recipe called for toasted unsweetened coconut flakes.  I didn't find the unsweetened coconut flakes until after I made these (Whole Foods bulk section), so I went with just what's in the baking section of my regular grocery store.  I also didn't toast them because of my timing issue.  I will be trying that with dinner tonight though!  The original recipe also used coconut milk, but I am not a fan of it!



Steps:
1)  Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork so steam can escape.

2)  Bake on a cookie sheet for about 45 minutes.  (I ended up having to put mine in the microwave for an additional 10 minutes).


3)  While the sweet potatoes are cooking, cut open the pomegranate.  I read somewhere the best way to do this is under water.  I cut the pomegranate in half horizontally, then soaked each half upside-down in water.  After about 5 minutes, it's much easier to break apart the pomegranate (in the water!).  The seeds start to separate from the rind.

4) When the sweet potatoes are done, and have cooled enough so you can touch them, cut them in half.   Slightly mash each side.  If you can't easily do this, then they probably need to cook longer.


5)  Sprinkle the top of each potato with the pomegranate seeds, coconut flakes, cilantro (chopped).  It's really tasters choice with how much you add of each.  Then squeeze the lime juice on top of each potato, about half a lime per potato!

~Eat Well and Be Happy~