A Day of Fall Treats

Someone asked me recently what my vegetable staples are for the fall:

My staples:
sweet potatoes
onion
shallots
butternut squash
carrots
spaghetti squash



Dave commented on the 'bruised' apples we had in our veggie bin this morning so I decided to make apple sauce with ALL 11 of them...

My recipe: 1/2 cup of water, 11 apples half skinned and diced, 1 tbsp of honey, and 1 tbsp of cinnamon. Cooked on low for 30 minutes. I then took a immersion blender and blended half.
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For lunch today I made tuna on toast. I mixed red peppers, carrots, and Hain's light safflower mayo into the tuna, and melted cheese(Cabot cheddar) on the toast. It tasted so good!


For dinner we had roasted chicken and baked butternut squash risotto. I'm in love with butternut squash this season!

My ingredients:


Baked Risotto with Butternut Squash(adapted from Everyday Food)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of Bell's 'thanksgiving' spice
1 1/2 cups arborio or risotto rice
1/2 cup dry white wine(I used 1/4 of apple brandy & 1/4 cup of chicken stock)
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into medium diced pieces, about 4 cups(I used 5 cups)
4 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 1/2 cups of frozen spinach
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of grated Parmesan

Methods
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large dutch oven, heat the oil over medium until shimmering. Add shallots and cook until soft, about 3 minutes, the add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add the rice and stir well to coat in the oil. Toast until opaque, about 3 minutes, then add the wine and allow it to absorb into the rice.

Then, add the squash, broth, and spinach, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, and transfer to the oven. Bake until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Mix in cheese right out of the oven, stir. Serve & Enjoy!

On the stove coming to a boil...


Just out of the oven...



My plate ;)


One thing I wish I could use was barley, since arborio rice has only .5 grams of fiber and almost no protein. If you are not gluten free you could pearled barley for this recipe. I might try small grain brown rice the next time and see how it goes!

Tomorrow morning, I head to the Boston Conference Center to volunteer at FNCE.