A weird thing happened recently. I’ve headed hit a major salad rut. They just don’t sound appealing. This has left me completely confused, as I’m typically a salad lover.

However, I figured out the problem. It was due to the mundane combination I’ve made time + time again. It has been our go-to with dinners for the past 2 years and it’s finally time to be retired. At least for a few months…

hemp oil + apple cider vinegar + balsamic + lettuce + carrots + cucumber + pepitas

Once in awhile something different is thrown in the mix but that is the standard. It’s been far too long since I’ve made a more jazzed up dressing and included a wider range of ingredients.

The idea started with this local kabocha squash. I couldn’t get over the vibrant orange color.

I wanted to keep this salad seasonal, so pears were added to the mix.

Fall foods are so richly colored. I just love it.

It seems like pistachios are an often ignored nut in recipes. I decided to use them in the dressing recipe along with adding them to the salad for crunch and flavor.

Roasted + tender.

Finally, a new go-to dressing.

It’s slightly sweet, with a kick of garlic, and a bright orange flavor.

Roasted Kabocha Squash Spinach Salad with an Orange Honey Pistachio Vinaigrette

gluten-free, grain-free // serves 4-6

1 kabocha squash
1.5 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
salt + pepper
washed + dried spinach
2 pears
pistachios
feta or goat cheese

Orange Honey Pistachio Vinaigrette

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
3 tablespoons unsalted pistachios
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1.5 tablespoons honey
1.5 teaspoons orange zest
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a large pan with parchment paper.
Quarter the kabocha squash then cut 1/4-1/2” slices.
Place on the pan and pour the melted coconut oil overtop along with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Rub the slices to coat and place in a single layer.
Roast for about 35 minutes flipping over once halfway through.
Let cool and carefully cut the skins off of each slice.
While roasting, combine all dressing ingredients in your blender.
Blend, starting at a medium speed and working to high until smooth.
Taste and add more salt, pepper, or honey if desired and blend again until smooth.
The dressing will thicken as it sits or once refrigerated. Store in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Assemble salad with spinach, thinly sliced pears, cooled squash, pistachios, dressing, and cheese if desired.

notes: For a vegan version sub maple syrup instead of honey and leave off the cheese.

The salad love is back.

Ashley

The other day, I scored an amazing deal on organic pears! I got 10 of these beauties for $2, because they were on their last leg. I figured it’s also time I create a recipe that doesn’t include pumpkin.

I am a HUGE pear lover.

And I’m pretty sure they are the cutest fruit ever and one of the most delicious. If you made me pick a favorite fruit, I’m not sure that would be possible! Do you have an all time favorite??

I’ve been seeing bloggers making a lot of fruit-butters lately, but I haven’t seen a full-on pear butter. Mama Pea made an apple/pear butter that I’m sure was fabulous, however, I had to use these pears up fast. No room for apples in this batch!

I think I could have slurped up this pear juice and been completely content, but instead I took a few spoonfuls and continued on.

I checked out about 10 different fruit-butter recipes, pulling different ideas and looking at ratios of ingredients. Here is the final result!

Pear Butter

10 medium pears [very ripe – let sit on the counter until soft enough you could but your thumb through it]
1/4c maple syrup
1/2c orange juice
zest of 1 small orange [about 2t]
2t lemon juice
2t vanilla
1t cinnamon
1/4t ginger
1/4t nutmeg
1/4t salt

Puree pears, skins on.
In a large sauce pan, over medium heat, combine all ingredients and whisk to combine.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for about 1.5-2hrs, until thick. Stir every 10-15min.
Store in a glass jar, but let sit on the counter for at least an hour or two, before closing and storing in the fridge.

This recipe is very easy, but takes a little patience waiting for it to thicken. The end result was amazing. This is full of rich spicy flavor with the perfect amount of sweetness. It ended up being the consistency of applesauce.

I forgot to take photos of the final product, so here is the next best thing!

Monday’s morning oats, with coconut, pumpkin spiced almond butter, pear butter + granola.

Loving my new oat combo: 3T rolled oats + 3T oat bran + 2T ground flax meal + 1 1/4c liquid + 1/2 banana

They cook up much more quickly than Scottish Oats, although Scottish are my absolute favorite. This mix seems to fill me up more. Maybe it’s the healthy fats in the flax? I also had some whipped sweet taters mixed in + cinnamon.

Can I make this for dessert??? mmmm

The other day I roasted 2 large sugar pumpkins to make Angela’s pumpkin butter, but just got around to making the butter today. The only time I’ve had pumpkin butter is from Trader Joe’s. While I enjoyed it, it was definitely too sweet for my taste buds. Not to mention there is no TJ’s here!

After cooking your pumpkin, puree it! If it seems really watery, you’ll want to strain it with some cheesecloth + a wire mesh strainer.

Mine looked really creamy + thick, so no straining was necessary. BTW – fresh pumpkin puree is GROSS. I could never mix this in with yogurt or eat it with a spoon, like I do with the canned. It’s very strange because the canned is not sweetened, but maybe it sweetens over time? I used 2 sugar/pie pumpkins, but maybe even smaller ones work better? All I know is that this almost got spit out everywhere.

Yes…I allllmost spit out pumpkin. The horror!

I caught the dogs sniffing the fall air. :)

And then rolling in the fall dirt.

I followed Angela’s recipe [adapted from Smitten Kitchen] almost exactly.

The only changes I made were as follows:

using 1/2c brown rice syrup + 1/2c sucanat [instead of 1c sucanat]
did not include lemon [none on hand]
no cloves [somehow I’m out!]
few shakes of allspice
pinch of salt

The recipe called for apple juice, which I forgot about. This was all I had on hand. It was really hard to give up 3/4c of this amazing find!!!

Honey Crisp Apple Juice!!!!!!!!

I used brown rice syrup to help not put my body into sugar-shock when consuming this. :) The sucanat is important though, because it gives adds flavor [tastes similar to brown sugar]. Maple syrup would also work extremely well in this recipe and maybe even a few drizzles of molasses!

While bringing this to a boil and then simmering it started spattering like CRAZY!! Before I even knew what happened, it was everywhere…had to pop a lid on it!

on the counter…

on the cabinets…top + bottom!

and yes…on the ceiling! :) For some reason I love that there is pumpkin spatter on my ceiling. hehehe

This thickened much more quickly than the pear butter. I guess it depends how juicy your pears are! I had a really hard time pouring the pumpkin butter into a jar, while taking photos. See the big drip in the back? That is OUTSIDE of the jar. Whooooops.

hehehe

This tastes completely amazing. You know it will be on my oats tomorrow. I might just take a bath in it. It would be an amazing ice cream topper or mixed in with some banana soft serve.

I’m really excited about this!! The sweetness is perfect and so is the flavor. I’m glad Angela toned down the ginger a bit. Sometimes it can be overwhelming. Follow her recipe for success!!