Roasted Squash Salad

Quite frankly, this is a combination of ingredients that had never crossed my mind.. until I took a look at what I had left hanging around from the past fall and winter! I used the pretty cross-cuts of the delicata squash that my sister grew in her garden last year (still good!), a large potato chopped into thumb-sized peices, some kale, radishes, almonds and some miso and curry.
It was good. It really was.
The flavor was bold and vibrant and it was a breeze to make - no need to peel this type of squash. I suspect you could do endless riffs on this depending on what you have on hand, or what is in season. The nuts give a great texture and crunch. Feel free to play around with this general idea.

Roasted Delicata Squash Salad

1/2 pound potatoes, cut into thumb sized paices
3/4 pound delicata squash, (or butternut squash)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white miso
1 tsp curry
3/4 tsp cummin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp salt
1 garlic cloves finly minced
a pinch of cinnamon
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, (About 1 lemon, you could also use lime)
A big bunch of kale, finely chopped (cabbage works well here too)
4 radishes, very thinly sliced
1/4 c toasted almonds, other toasted nuts

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees. If the potatoes aren't tiny, slice them into pieces no larger than your thumb. Cut the delicata squash in half length-wise, and use a spoon to clear out all the seeds. Cut into 1/2-inch wide half-moons. You can leave the peel on if your using delicata squash.
In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, and next 7 ingredients. Place the potatoes and squash in a large bowl with 1/2 of the miso/curry/oil. Toss well, then turn out onto a baking sheet. Bake until everything is baked through and browned, about 25-30 minutes. Toss once or twice along the way after things start to brown a bit. Keep an eye on things though, you can go from browned to burned in a flash.
In the meantime, whisk the lemon juice into the remaining miso-harissa oil. Stir the kale into the leftover dressing and set aside.
Place the warm roasted vegetables in a bowl and toss with the kale mixture, radishes, and almonds.

Frittata

This particular recipe was inspired by a few things - the fact that it is january, a new year, and time to start over from scratch... and clean out the cupboard and fridge!

Plus, I have a box of potatoes that are begining to start to want to grow and wilt, so that was another encintive. I also have 4 dozen eggs in my fridge (from my wonderful happy chickens!!)

A Tasty Frittata Recipe is what I came up with.

Frittatas are good. They fill your belly, and help use up leftovers in your refrigerator. Plus you can eat them for reakfast, lunch, or dinner; and it's quick.

Frittata Recipe

2 large cloves garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 small bunch cilantro
1 chile, seeds removed
2 pinches ground cumin
a couple big pinches of salt
6 large eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 small potatoes, very very thinly sliced
1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
a couple more pinches of salt

Preheat your oven to 450F degrees. Make a sauce by pureeing the garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, cilantro, chile, cumin, and salt until very smooth. Set aside.
In a medium bowl whisk the eggs with a small pinch of salt. Set aside.
In a 8 1/2-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat add the olive oil, onion, and another pinch of salt. Saute, stirring constantly, until the onion starts to brown, 5 - 7 minutes. Add the potatoes, cover, and cook for another 3 minutes or so. Slide everything out of the skillet onto a plate and set aside.
Turn down the heat a bit. Using the same skillet, add the eggs and cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes or until the eggs are almost just set and there isn't too much liquid running around the pan. Drizzle the eggs with a few tablespoons of the sauce and sprinkle the potato onion mixture over the top.
Place the skillet in the oven and bake for about 9 minutes, or until well set and puffy. Add crumbled goat cheese anover the top of the frittata in the final 2 minutes of baking. Remove from oven cut into wedges and serve!

Potatoes

Arley looks very down home in this pic. Banjo case, overalls, woolly booties. This recipe is very warm and 'woolly' too! The sauce is almost like hummus, but you can thin it out by adding more oil if you please. (I like less oil though.) Really comforting food. : )

Ingredients
5 chilies, stemmed and seeded
4 tablespoons beans (I used canned black beans, any kind will work)
1 1/2 lbs potatoes
1/4 cups olive oil
5 whole garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
6 sprigs thyme, plus
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 slice bread (1-inch thick)
1/3 cup canned tomato
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
1-2 tablespoon lemon juice, as needed

Directions

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees.
Place potatoes in a roasting pan and toss with a bit of olive oil, 5 whole cloves garlic, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, and 1 heaping teaspoon salt. Cover tightly with foil and roast until potatoes are tender when pierced, about 50 minutes.
Meanwhile, place a large sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Add a bit of olive oil and heat 1 minute. Add bread and fry until browned on both sides. Cut into 1-inch cubes, and set aside. Return pan to high heat, and add a bit more olive oil and the chilies. Sauté 1 minute and add tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring until juices have evaporated. Remove from heat.
In a food processor, combine the beans, chopped garlic, and bread cubes. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Add Chile-tomato mixture and pulse to combine. With machine running, slowly pour in 1/4 cup olive oil to make a smooth puree, you might add more, up to a cup.. Add 1 tablespoon of the parsley and season to taste with lemon juice. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
When the potatoes are tender, remove from heat and let potatoes and garlic cool. Place a large sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Add more olive oil and heat for 1 minute. Add the potatoes and season with thyme leaves, salt, and pepper. Fry the potatoes until crispy on one side, 6-8 minutes, then turn to brown on all sides. Add the reserved sauce and garlic cloves. To serve toss with remaining 2 tablespoons parsley.

Rosemary potatoes

I never really thought too much about potatoes, but last year I planted some anyways, dug them this past fall, and realized that they are very nice to have around. They keep forever. This is one of my favorite things to do with them, and it's super easy.

Rosemary potatoes

1 pound unpeeled small potatoes (1- to 1 1/2-inch-diameter)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse kosher
4 large rosemary sprigs

Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Toss baby red potatoes with olive oil and kosher salt on large rimmed baking sheet. Place rosemary sprigs alongside the potatoes. Roast until the potatoes are tender and beginning to brown in spots, about 45 minutes.