Ingredients:

3 medium yams, cubed and baked 1/4 cup fresh lime juice 3/4 cup olive oil 2 tsp liquid honey 1/2 small red onion, finely diced 1 medium green bell pepper, finely diced 8 cherry tomatoes cut in half or 4 Romas cut in quarters* 1/3 cup of chopped fresh cilantro or sliced green onion Salt and/or fresh ground pepper to taste

1 to 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground chili powder 1 can (19 oz) black beans 1 cup peas/brocolli/green beans* 1 medium red bell pepper, finely diced

 Preparations:

 Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Wash yams and poke with a fork and place in a baking dish (use parchment paper - it saves on cleanup).  Cover and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.  Check often as you want the yams firm, not too soft.  Cool them on a wire rack and then take the peel off and cut the yams into 1 inch cubes.

Combine the lime juice, oil, honey, garlic, cumin, chili powder in a bowl.  Stir to blend.  Add the yams and remaining ingredients and toss to combine.  Refrigerate until needed.  Can be made several hours before serving, gently toss before doing so.

Variations:

I use dried beans.  Once in the habit, it's easy to do.  Clean your beans of debris and dirt/sticks, place in a large glass bowl with water that more than covers the beans.  Place two thumb size pieces of kombu (dried pacific kelp) to soak with the beans.  I then cover it with a towel and leave it overnight.  The next day, I rinse the beans and discard the kombu.  Put the beans in a pot with plenty of clean cold water and 2 more pieces of kombu (kombu aids in digestion of the beans and helps replace minerals and enzymes missing from drying).  Bring to a boil, stirring often and scraping off the white foam as needed (getting rid of that white foam also aids in digestion).  Black beans will take up to an hour to cook.  You know they're done when  you can squish them to the roof of your mouth.  Remove from heat and rinse well.  I'll freeze portions of cooked beans to use in other dishes so they're ready.

Feel free to add whatever veggies you have on hand.  I'll use peas or brocolli or green beans (all raw) or I may use a combo of all three.  Any veggies will work.  Use either the cherry tomatoes or the Romas but not both.  I use Roma as they aren't as juicy.

You can even replace the yams with banana squash.  If you want a more distinct pepper taste, instead of green bell pepper, use a fresh, mildly spiced poblano pepper.

I've even added one teaspoon of curry with all the other spices for a whole different flavour.