Sunday, October 16, 2011

Fall Salad Duet

Yes, a DUET of FOODS.

Warm Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad + Cabbage Apple Walnut Salad


Both recipes are adaptations from Smitten Kitchen. I was just about to complain about how infrequently she's been updating her blog lately... but then I realized that WE haven't had a new post in three months. So I shan't. Smitten Kitchen is one of my go-to cooking blogs. When I have ingredients I feel like cooking with, there's almost always a recipe on her site that fits the bill, and every single thing I've ever made (and it's a lot) has come out like gangbusters. And she does Jewish recipes to boot! My only complaint is that her directions can be a little finicky. That can be useful for a true baking potchke, but on a regular old weeknight, I can't be tamed.

The recipes:

How I kept it real:
- I didn't measure anything. In both of these recipes, you can eyeball basically everything.
- I substituted hummus for the tahini in the squash salad's dressing
- I used regular old green cabbage plus chopped kale in the cabbage salad
- Yogurt instead of sour cream/creme fraiche in the cabbage salad
- Feta instead of goat cheese, ditto
- Didn't peel the apple, ditto

Basically, you can adapt either recipe to your heart's desire and you can't really go wrong. I felt super healthy after eating this for dinner.

BONUS TIP: (Stolen from 101cookbooks.com)
For easy butternut squash prep, first cut off the long neck from the bulbous bottom. Then cut off the top of the neck. Stand the cylinder up straight on your cutting board to slice off the skin, then chop it easily into the called-for chunks. Take the remaining bulb, halve it, and scoop out the seeds, then roast the intact halves with olive oil and salt alongside the chunks. When they have cooled, peel off the skin and save the squash to make soup tomorrow! Pioneer style!