Balancing Act: Roasted Fall Vegetable Salad

While fall is the ideal time of year for comfort food - apple pie, mashed potatoes, stuffing - it's also the easiest time of year to pack on a few extra pounds. Thanks to the cooler weather, it's easy to hide what all that pie does to your middle underneath layers and loose sweaters. And though I'm not one to sacrifice my favorite fall foods for vanity's sake, I don't want to be cursing those extra helpings of cider donuts come next spring. So in order to get the most of the comforting fall flavors we all love, I look to the many hearty vegetables the autumn harvest has to offer.

This salad with roasted butternut squash, brussels sprouts and beets is so satisfying that you won't feel like you're missing out at all. Plus, just look at those colors. If that doesn't look like fall, I don't know what does. And if anything, eat this salad so you can feel a little less guilty about polishing off that bag of candy corn after.

Roasted Fall Vegetable Salad
makes 4 entrée-sized servings

Ingredients:
1 lb butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
1 lb brussels sprouts, halved
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cups precooked beets, quartered
1/4 cup gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
16 oz baby spinach (or 2 bags of the pre-washed kind from the grocery store)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Assemble the squash and brussels sprouts on the baking sheet so they're in one even layer. If the pan is too crowded, use 2 baking sheets. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Using your hands, toss the veggies so they're evenly coated in oil. Roast in the oven about 30 minutes, or until tender and slightly browned. Allow the veggies to cool slightly.
3. Top the spinach with beets, gorgonzola, walnuts and roasted veggies. I don't use any extra dressing for this, because I find the beets and roasted veggies help moisten the spinach, but if you want to drizzle with some extra olive oil, more power to ya.

Brown Bag Lunch: Quinoa with Corn, Tomatoes & Avocado

After a weekend full of indulgences - burgers & milkshakes at Schnipper's, pasta at Piccolo Angolo, and smoked salmon wrapped poached eggs at Penelope - I was craving something healthy and simple for lunch this week. I stumbled upon this recipe at Serious Eats for quinoa with corn, tomatoes and avocado last week, and instantly thought of it as the perfect brown bag lunch.

This quinoa is great to throw together on a Sunday afternoon and have ready for the rest of the week. It's tasty at room temperature or cold, so it makes for a great bring-to-work lunch. Plus, the avocado and quinoa are nice and filling, so you won't be looking for snacks at your desk an hour after lunch.

Quinoa with Corn, Tomatoes, Avocado & Lime
makes 4-5 servings

Ingredients:
2 tbs olive oil, divided
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 cup pre-washed quinoa
1-2/3 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1 tsp salt, divided
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 cobs of fresh corn, cooked and kernels removed
3 scallions, white and green parts, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tbs lime juice, from 1-2 limes
2 avocados, cut into bite-sized chunks

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in medium pot over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Add quinoa to onions, stirring constantly for 3-4 minutes. Add vegetable broth and stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt. Turn up heat to high and bring to a boil. Cover pot, turn down heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is cooked. Let cool slightly.

3. When quinoa is cool, add remaining olive oil, tomatoes, corn, scallions, jalapeño, cilantro, salt and lime juice. Top with avocado.

Sweating for Soup

The weather in New York City just doesn't want to change. I still can't walk outside without getting an attractive little sweat stain on my back, and my electric bill continues to grow as I pump the AC.

Hello Fall, you were supposed to start on Friday. Where are you?!? Okay, fine. You're not ready to show yet, but I will do everything in my power to tempt you out. Starting with delicious food.

So on this lovely, muggy Sunday afternoon I decided it would be the perfect time to make a big, steaming pot of soup. Yes, I was literally sweating over my stove and had to air myself out every 5 minutes by standing in front of my AC, but the end result was totally worth the steam sauna.

I intended to make cauliflower parsnip soup - yet another recipe from my favorite blog Big Girls Small Kitchen - but when Trader Joe's didn't have parsnips, I decided to take my own spin on it and do a cauliflower carrot ginger soup. It was super simple and made my apartment smell so warm and slightly sweet from the carrots and ginger. And the best part is now I have a delicious, healthy lunch for the whole week, and it only took one pot, about 40 minutes, and lil-bit-a sweat.

Fine, Fall. Be stubborn. But even if you refuse to come, I can at least eat like you are here.

Cauliflower Carrot Ginger Soup
Makes 6-8 servings


2 tbs olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 head cauliflower, chopped
1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
7-8 fresh thyme sprigs
8 cups vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, cover, and cook until translucent - about 8 minutes.
2. Add cauliflower, carrots, ginger, thyme, vegetable stock, salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Remove the thyme stems and season with salt and pepper if needed.
4. Purée the soup with an immersion blender or food processor, until mostly smooth but still somewhat chunky. Garnish with fresh thyme.

Soup simmering away...Me sweating away

This soup just looks like fall