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.

One Pot Wonder: Italian Vegetable Soup & Cornbread

Summer is unofficially over, which means it's time to get back to routines and schedules. And I could not be happier. I know, I sound like a total party pooper. Don't get me wrong, I do love summer, but come late August every year, I'm itching for cooler weather, apples and pumpkins, prime time TV, and a week when I can just stay put and get back in the kitchen.

Now I don't want to jinx it, but I think it's safe to say that the dog days of summer are finally past us. The weather in NYC has been just divine, and I've finally had a few weekends where I can stay home and relax instead of living out of a suitcase between graduations, vacations, and beach visits. So with some extra time on my hands, it was about time I got back in the kitchen with one of my favorite Sunday traditions: one pot meals!

As I've said here before, one pot meals are clutch for young, busy and poor folks (like me)! They're a major timesaver during the week, and much healthier and more cost effective than ordering takeout everyday for lunch or dinner. On the menu this week is a big, biiiig pot of Italian vegetable soup. Besides chopping up all the vegetables, you essentially just dump and stir everything into a big pot. And because I always need a little carb-age to truly hold me over, I made a lighter version of hearty cornbread. While it may officially be summer until this Saturday, this Italian vegetable soup and cornbread says fall is here to stay.

Italian Vegetable Soup
serves 6-8

Ingredients:
2 cups escarole, chopped
2 cups baby spinach
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 zucchini, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 fennel bulb, chopped
28 oz can diced tomatoes
6 cups vegetable broth
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
2 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

Add escarole, spinach, garlic, onion, zucchini, red bell pepper, fennel, canned tomatoes, vegetable broth, red pepper flakes, thyme and oregano to a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 10-15 minutes until vegetables are cooked through. Season with salt and pepper and top with parsley and basil.

Healthy Cornbread
serves 12

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray an 8x8 inch pan with cooking spray.

Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir in yogurt and eggs until combined and batter is smooth. Pour into pan and bake 20-25 minutes until tender and cooked through in the center.

Eggcellent Spinach, Mushroom & Goat Cheese Frittata

One of my favorite dishes that my mom makes is her quiche. Quiche was a staple in my mom's weekly round-up of dinner recipes. Most frequently she'd make broccoli and cheddar quiche, which was delicious and suited to the picky taste buds of my younger siblings. But my favorite was the bacon and Jarlsberg quiche; the more pungent flavor of the Swiss cheese and the saltiness of the bacon were most satisfying to my "refined" palate as a kid.

Quiche always seemed like such an elegant dish to me when I was younger. I remember my French teacher used to ooh and ah about Quiche Lorraine, and I would envision myself enjoying the savory bite as I sipped un cafe au lait along the Seine (in fact, this is still a dream of mine...). Something about the indulgent ingredients - creamy cheese, fatty bacon, buttery crust - made me think quiche was a dish reserved for experienced cooks...

And it could be if you have the time and patience to make your own pie crust. But since moving to NYC, quiche has become one of my go-to dishes for entertaining or potlucks. Okay, I cheat and use pre-made pie crust, but it still tastes delicious and saves me so much time. From there, it's just a matter of mixing your eggs and preferred cheeses/veggies/meats et voila... quiche straight from Paris!

Now you're probably expecting a quiche recipe, when in fact I'm going to give you a recipe for a frittata. A frittata is like an Italian quiche, sans crust; therefore making it slightly healthier (depending on what cheese and other fatty goodness you put inside). In an effort to balance out the obscene amount of gingerbread and cookies I'll be eating in the coming weeks, I decided to fare on the lighter side by amping up the vegetables and opting for a lighter cheese (i.e. goat cheese). The great thing about this frittata (or quiche for that matter) is that it tastes great hot, cold or at room temperature, and makes for a delicious breakfast, lunch or dinner. Even though I cheat on the crust (or avoid it all together as I did here), I can still feel like a chic Parisian while I eat my frittata from my desk in New York. Bon appetit!

Spinach, Mushroom & Goat Cheese Frittata
makes 5-6 servings
Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 cups baby bella mushrooms, chopped
3 cups fresh baby spinach
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper
7 eggs, beaten
4 oz goat cheese

1. Melt butter in a nonstick, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and mushroom. Sprinkle with a pinch of red pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper. Stir to coat in butter and cook until onions become translucent, about 6 minutes.
2. Add the spinach to the pan. Stir until the spinach wilts down.
3. Add the eggs to the skillet. Continue to cook over medium-high heat, swirling around the eggs with a rubber spatula.
4. When the eggs start to set and the sides come together, sprinkle the goat cheese on top. Place the pan under the broiler until the eggs are fluffy and slightly golden, and the cheese is melted - about 4 minutes.
5. Allow frittata to cool slightly before cutting into slices. Serve warm, cold or a room temperature.