Sometimes It Just Comes Together

Like most weekend's, Woody and I went to the Union Square farmer's market on Saturday. We didn't have anything in particular in mind but wanted to pick up a few things that looked particularly good.

We ended up with carrots (yellow, orange and purple), potatoes (purple and red), an onion, kale, apples and pears. We still had two squash at home since we picked up three last week.

That night I had no idea what to make for dinner and to tell you the truth, I was kind of tired and didn't even really want to cook, but we have a bunch of great food in the fridge to eat so I had to come up with something. Often I just throw things together and hope they turn out okay. Well, thankfully, that's what happened Saturday night.

This recipe is not exact at all since it was very ad hoc, but hopefully it will give you an idea of how to put it together for yourself if you think it sounds good (and I hope you do, cause it was!). This made two servings, but we hadn't had lunch and this was our entire meal. The dish is naturally low in fat and I can only imagine, pretty moderate in calories as well.

Winter Veggie Bake with Kale
ingredients
3 med sized carrots (I used one each: yellow, orange, purple) chopped in discs
5 small potatoes (I used 3 purple and 2 red), cubed
1/2 acorn squash, peeled and cubed
1/2 medium sized yellow onion, large chop
2 cloves garlic, large chop
1 medium bunch kale
1/4c water
pepper to taste
hummus for garnish

1. Pre-heat oven to 350' and spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
2. Prepare all ingredients other than the kale and place in pan spreading out evenly. Add fresh pepper.
3. Bake veggies in oven, covered with tin foil for 20 minutes, stirring after 10.
4. Wash and tear kale into small to medium pieces and place in large skillet, sprayed with cooking spray, add water and cook covered on low heat.
5. After baking veggies for 20 minutes, remove tin foil and cook for approximately 20 more minutes, stirring again after 10 minutes. The veggies should be browned but not burned, and tender to the fork.

6. As you're getting near the end of baking the veggies, turn the heat up a tad on the kale, take the lid off and stir it a bit to make sure it's all cooking. It will be done when it's all bright green but still quite full in size, don't let it wilt down. Turn off the heat and if there's water remaining in the skillet, tilt it and soak up the water with a paper towel so the kale doesn't get too wet.

(sorry about the bad flash)



7. To serve, use kale as the base for the dish in a large bowl then add veggies on top. Add a dollop of hummus.

Woody and I were both a little shocked by how good this dish was. It was hearty but not too heavy, and very healthy and all but the garlic, hummus and pepper were from the farmers market! Sometimes things just come together really well!

You might wonder what I did with the other half of the acorn squash. Well, I baked it in the skin then scooped it out. This was the first time I had used acorn squash and while it worked well in this dish, it is really hard to peel and I should have thought of that before I started the dish. I have, what I think is, the best veggie peeler ever made, but it was still hard because of the shape of the squash. I'm sure this would work well with butternut squash as well.

Do you cook at home more often on the weekend or during the week?
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Sunday's Workout -
yoga

Today's Workout -
45 min/5mile elliptical
crunches
stretching