Winter Squash, Beet, and Avocado Toast

I don’t know about you but this weekend I just want to keep things simple. And easy. (That applies to life and food.) And I’m pretty sure that I am not the only one.

Which brings me the toast, or fancy toast as some people call it. Simple in it’s own right of being a piece of bread cooked until lightly crunchy and toasty. Piled on with stuff, almost like a sandwich, but it left opened faced because, well just because. This particular piece toast is piled on with stuff is what I have been eating all week (roasted squash, beets and avocado) and am pretty sure is my new favorite food combination.

So for lunch, wanting to share my favorite flavors, I toasted a nice big piece of my homemade sourdough, grabbed the stuff (some people call left overs which you might have bunch of but I just call it ready to eat food) and made the mr a fantastic, beautiful, and delicious piece of goodness that we call toast.

The mr, well he was a little spectacle at first but one bite and he was in. Might just be his new favorite food combo too.

Gosh he is lucky I have such good taste. HA

Now to the Toast!!!

The stuff. A good add piece of bread. (or rolls, or baguette.. whatever you have). Also need mashed winter squash (I used mashed butternut and there is also sweet potato in there too). Roasted and sliced beet, 1/2 an avocado, a little red cabbage, salt and pepper, a splash of vinegar, and red pepper flakes.

How it’s done. Step 1. Toast bread to preferred toasted-ness. Step 2. Cover entire side (right to the edges) with mashed up winter squash. Step 3. Add on sliced roasted beet. Step 4. Layer on avocado then mash it up. Step 5. Add on shredded cabbage Step 6. Drizzle on vinegar and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Last step. EAT IT!

-C

---

Winter Squash, Beet, and Avocado Toast

makes one great piece of toast

• a few slices of roasted or steamed beet (cold or warm)

• about 1/3 cup mashed winter squash and or sweet potato (cold or warm)

• 1/2 an avocado

• 1 big piece of good bread

• salt and pepper

• teaspoon red or white wine vinegar

• a small little handful of shredded cabbage (optional)

• red pepper flakes

Grab great bread and toast it to your preferred toastedness. Once toasted cover with mashed squash then add on the sliced beet. Now grab avocado, place on top of beets and mash with a fork, Top with shredded cabbage and drizzle the top with the vinegar. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and red pepper flake.

Eat.

Warm Balsamic Delicata, onion, and Kale Salad

Let us talk about how winter squash is like one of the best foods ever. Seriously. Hardy, creamy, rich, and full of the nutty, sweet flavors of all the good things. How anyone says they don’t like winter squash is beyond me. I sometimes even feel like I put myself in danger of exploding when I am around enough cooked squash. I can eat and eat it until it’s gone, which is fine if it’s a serving or two, but when you roast up a 10 pound butternut, well, that is when the danger is real. I am getting better at holding back, but man, sometimes I just can't (or don’t want to?) help myself. ( You might also wonder why I cook 10 pounds of squash at a time. It’s because I will eat it all in a few days and I might as well cook a bunch at once, for efficiency sake.)

Now the delicata squah. If you haven’t had it before, stop what you are doing and go get one. You need to try it because it is amazing. Sweet, nutty, creamy. So good! And another good thing is that they are not giant, so you can buy one and eat the whole thing and not worry about overeating until you can’t move, unless that is the goal. In that case, just buy a bunch. HA.

Anyway, it’s getting to that time of year where salad is still great, it is just great warm. And with winter squash. Don’t you agree? So we cook up the squash, grab the kale and make one heck of a salad to eat all to your face. Because that is what will happen. You will make it , taste it, and not want to share it. It is too good to share. (Yes salads can be too good to share, so if you are planning on feeding others, plan accordingly)

To the salad!

The stuff. Kale, a delicata squash, red onion, some balsamic vinegar, a touch of maple, spicy brown mustard, a handful of toasted seeds, and salt and pepper.

Start with the squash. Cut it in half and scoop seeds from booth sides (these seeds are great roasted). After deseeded, cut both pieces into 1/4-1/2 inch thick rounds. And NO!!!!, do not peel the skin.

Grab the onion and cut into 1/4 inch rounds too.

Place the squash on a very lightly oiled baking sheet so the pieces are not overlapping each other. Then toss on the onion which is fine if it overlaps. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and lots of cracked pepper and pop into a hot oven.

In the meantime, mix the dressing situation together. Mustard, maple, and balsamic in a jar, mix and done.

Chop the kale too. Into mouth sized pieces.

Once squash is cooked all nice and tender, remove pan from oven. Take all the kale and toss on top then take the dressing and drizzle it all over the kale. Pop the pan back into the oven for a minutes or two, just until the kale starts to ever so slightly wilt.

Pull the pan back out and give it a good toss.

Dump it all into a big bowl, toss in the toasted seeds, and call it. Now grab a fork and start eating.

-C

---

Warm Balsamic Delicata, Onion, and Kale Salad

Can be a main dish for 1 or a side for a few

• 1 delicata squash

• 1 bunch of kale (around 3/4 pound)

• 1 smallish red onion

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 1 -2 teaspoons maple syrup (more for a slightly sweeter, maple-y flavor)

• 2 tablespoons brown or dijon mustard

• 1/4 cup toasted seeds of choice (I used pumpkin and sunflower)

Preheat oven to 400

Cut delicata squash in half and scoop out all the seeds (you can save seeds to toast up later if you want), then slice the squash into 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick rounds. Grab onion and cut into thin slices. Take onion and squash and place them onto a very lightly oiled baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Don’t let the squash overlap, but it is fine for the onion to overlap the squash and itself. Pop the pan into the oven and bake until the squash starts to brown and is fork tender, which should take about 10-15 minutes.

In the meantime, chop kale into small mouth sized pieces and set aside. And mix the balsamic, mustard, and maple together to create the dressing.

Once the squash and onions are cooked, toss the kale onto the pan and drizzle the whole thing with the balsamic mixture. Toss it all around and pop pan back into oven for another minute or two, just to let kale get a touch wilted.

Remove pan from oven, dump everything from pan onto a plate, and toss in the toasted seeds.

Grab a fork. Eat.