And so it begins...

Yes, this is yet another food blog by yet another foodie. If you don't already know how much I enjoy cooking, you will now! I'm rather addicted to cooking and recipes. Ryan says that I can't Not cook. One morning he tried to make breakfast for the family, but I had to step in and "help" him. Anyway, this blog will enable me to share my passion for healthy and delicious food with anyone that happens to be interested. People are often asking me where I get my recipes and/or ideas, so I thought I would share.

Tonight I made a yummy roasted butternut squash salad to accompany our grilled chicken. I've been wanting to try this salad since I received the recipe in my CSA newsletter a few weeks ago. Normally they indicate where the recipes came from, but this one did not. It was so tasty that we will definitely be eating this one again and again and again (especially now that fall has arrived with an abundance of squash). Interesting, in copying over the recipe I realized that I forgot one of the ingredients when I made the salad. I might have to try it with the raisins tomorrow.

Raisin Winter Squash Salad
3 cups butternut squash, cut in small pieces
1 tablespoon butter melted
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup walnut oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
5 oz. arugula or spinach
1 cup Natural Raisins
4 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese

PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil; set aside.
COMBINE melted butter, brown sugar and cayenne pepper in a medium bowl.
TOSS butternut (if using frozen butternut, follow package instructions for proper thawing) with butter mixture.
TRANSFER to prepared baking sheet.
BAKE in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until just tender.
REMOVE and let cool.
SLOWLY whisk walnut oil into lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Toss arugula or spinach with dressing.
DIVIDE dressed greens among serving plates. Top each with 1/2 cup roasted butternut squash, raisins and crumbled blue cheese.
SERVE immediately.

So, here are my changes. I added a dash of salt to the roasting squash, used gorgonzola instead of blue cheese, forgot the raisins, and added toasted pecans, but I'm sure any toasted nut of your choice would be delicious. In thinking about making this in the future I would like to try replacing the butter and brown sugar with maple syrup when roasting the squash.  This works well with delicata and acorn squash as well.

Now for the health benefits of this delicious salad, check out the links below for nutrition and related info.
Butternut squash: http://www.wholeliving.com/article/power-foods-butternut-squash
Walnut oil:http://whatscookingamerica.net/LindaPosch/WalnutOil_HealthBenefits.htm
Spinach: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=43
Pecans: http://www.suite101.com/content/pecan-nutrition--health-benefits-of-the-pecan-a196327
Raisins: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=33