Jamaican Sausage Black Bean and Rice with Sweet Potatoes

"A wind has blown the rain away and blown the sky away and all the leaves away, and the trees stand. I think, I too, have known autumn too long."
e.e. cummings

Did you know that by the end of the 1950's e.e. cummings, otherwise known as Edward Estlin Cummings, was the second most widely read poet in the United States, after Robert Frost?
October 14th is e.e. cummings's birthday. He was a poet with an non-conformist style who took a lot of liberties with his writing. His poems fall, flow, jump and dance with their patterns and use of punctuation. Cummings wrote them in lower case letters, never capitalized the word i, made up words and seemed to have no set of rules. 

e.e. cummings wrote romantic and sensual poems, traditionally styled verse with sonnets that had a flair for wit and whimsy. Cummings' work was also known for its focus on nature.When he died he left behind a rich legacy of 25 books of prose, poetry, charcoal and pencil drawings, plays and stories.

So I picked an easy, fast and healthy dish for our weeknight supper and enjoyed reading more about e.e. cummings at https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/e-e-cummings while waiting for the dish to cook.  

Jamaican Sausage Black Bean and Rice with Sweet Potatoes 

https://www.bhg.com/recipe/jamaican-sausage-and-black-bean-bake/
but my plans were derailed not being able to find Orzo (an Italian pasta like rice) one of the main ingredients. Two grocery stores did not carry nor had they ever heard of orzo before!! Remember I am up north with limited options. So getting creative I redid the recipe with a package of Black Beans and Rice which I already had. Spices were included in the packet. I roasted sweet potatoes ahead which added more flavor to the dish.   

The recipe called for chicken sausage with mango and jalapeno. A shopping bonus was the discovery of another product called Gilbert's Aloha Chicken Sausage with Pineapple, Ginger and Brown Sugar. 

Ordinarily I avoid endorsing a lot of products but Gilbert's Aloha knocks all  others out of the ball park.
It has no artificial ingredients, minimally processed, no added nitrates , gluten free, pork free, fully cooked, tastes great and only 129 calories per sausage link.
Recipe serves 3-4 depending on the size of the bowl. I used a large fry pan to make this dish. 
Ingredients:

• 2 cups diced sweet potatoes (1 medium sweet potato) 
• 1 TB. each olive oil and maple syrup
• Sprinkle of Saigon cinnamon and crushed thyme
• 1 package of black beans and rice
• Optional 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1 package chicken sausage links e.g. chicken sausage links with mango and jalepeno or habanero and green chile or Gilberts Aloha Brand with Pineapple, Brown Sugar and Ginger  

Directions:

• Dice 3 sausage links and set aside. 
• Toss diced sweet potatoes with olive oil and maple syrup. Spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon and crushed thyme. 
• Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Stir once during the cooking time. Remove and set aside. 
• Cook black beans and rice according to manufacturer's package directions. 
• Last 10 minutes of cooking time add in diced sausages and roasted sweet potatoes. If using corn add in at this time.