i have some recipes to share

Work and a nasty case of bronchitis-or-sinus-infection-or-something-similar has had me completely off the grid of late.

And cooking. Whoah, it's taken a back burner. Literally.

But I have some recipes to share now. And this first one might make you turn your nose up at first. But oh, it's so tasty. Be open-minded.

For some reason I've recently been intrigued by Brussels sprouts. I ordered them in a restaurant, roasted, and decided I could make them and like them. Here's how it happened:

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash
Serves 6-8

1 package of fresh Brussels sprouts*
3 small packages of fresh cubed butternut squash*
EVOO
salt and pepper
2-3 handfuls of dried cranberries
Balsamic vinaigrette of choice

* Let's talk first about these vague quantities. In my grocery store, the Brussels sprouts come wrapped in a styrofoam tray, and are stocked over near the asparagus. My "1 package" looked something like this:

And the butternut squash. You can totally cube one up yourself, but I splurged on convenience and bought three of these:

So anyway, judge quantities as you need.

And then do this:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Screaming hot.


2. Slice Brussels sprouts lengthwise into quarters (or halves, if they're small), and trim off the stems. They're pretty cute, like baby cabbages. Place in a large mixing bowl, and add the cubes of butternut squash.


3. Toss with a few tablespoons of EVOO, and salt and pepper to taste.


4. Spread onto a large baking sheet, into a single layer.


5. Roast for 25 minutes, tossing and rearranging once during cooking.


6. Remove the pan from the oven, and add a couple of generous handfuls of dried cranberries. Roast for 5 more minutes. The sprouts caramelize, the squash softens up, and the cranberries kinda explode with sweet goodness.


7. Before serving, drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette, just to barely glaze it all.

That's it. A healthy side dish that, according to the recipe, would have been a "perfect addition to your Thanksgiving meal," but well, it's February now, so there's that. I enjoyed it in the winter. You can too.

More recipes coming this week!