Monday, October 14, 2013

Roasted Butternut Squash, Apple & Wild Rice Salad on a bed of Warm Kale

I found myself in an odd position today, craving both salad but also something that would stick to my ribs a little but more than some lettuce and raw veggies. After a little bit of imagining, I came up with this yummy dish. This is another addition to my "fall line" of dishes I suppose..a delicious warm and autumnal salad.  A lot of these ingredients actually came right from our garden (well...at least the kale and the butternut squash, and we handpicked the apples at a local farm..props to fall in new england!) which makes it even more special. This combines the sweetness of apple, the roasty, spicy goodness of cinnamon spiced butternut squash, the delicate pungency of shallot, the nuttiness of wild rice, and the earthiness of sage. The combination is amazing, especially on a nice big bed of warm, lightly steamed kale. This, being an experiment, came out wayyy better than I intended it to on the first shot, and I don't think this recipe really needs many tweaks. I really like it because I didn't want anything too heavy, but it did feel like it would be unsatisfying and unatural to eat a big green salad as it is starting to get much cooler out. This is a perfect solution if you're sharing the same problem (or simply want to eat a super delicious and nutritious plate of fall produce). 



Saturday, October 12, 2013

Sage Scented Sweet Potato and Brussels Sprout Hash

Fall is my favorite. I absolutely love the changing leaves, the sweater and  leggings weather, pumpkins, apple picking, and other things of the like. But one of my most favorite things about fall is the amazing tastes it brings about. It is around this time that our bodies start craving the foods that grow naturally in the cooler months--sweeter root veggies, heartier greens, and earthy herbs, all of which prepare us for a healthy and happy winter. Sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts and sage is a perfect example of this. All of these are hearty through the winter and start flourishing during the fall. It's no coincidence that they taste amazing together. So, in the end Fall was the inspiration for this amazing hash. It is absolutely delicious, and also healthy due to the nutrient dense veggies, herbs and spices. I also tried to channel a little bit of a smoky bacon taste (though not overwhelming by any means) as a little bit of an homage to the classic potato hash. You can totally choose to omit those ingredients if they don't appeal to you though. Try this for breakfast, lunch or dinner, with eggs, without eggs, whatever you like...get creative and most of all, enjoy!