I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve blogged. Actually, I can believe it. So much has happened. While I absolutely loved living in the NYC area, my husband was offered his dream job, and unfortunately there wasn’t an opportunity for him to work out of the NYC office. We decided to move cross-country to the company’s headquarters in Silicon Valley, about an hour south of San Francisco. The move has been hard, particularly on me, and I honestly still don’t feel at home here and desperately miss the Northeast. Maybe not the cold winters and snow, but definitely the people – my family and friends. I still have bad days where I feel alone and wish that we never moved, and I’m not sure that will ever go away. I honestly don’t think that it ever will.

Without question, my favorite thing about living in Silicon Valley is the weather. I’ve never been a winter person, and I certainly don’t miss the snow. That being said, there is a misconception that CA is warm all year long. While it’s certainly warmer here than in NYC, we live in Northern CA. Mornings and evenings can get into the 30s during the winter here in Northern CA (very different from sunny Southern CA), so I definitely need to pull out my puffy, winter jacket and go into winter eating mode here as well.

So many of us eat salads all throughout the warmer summer months, but tend to gravitate towards warmer, heartier options when the winter rolls around. While I love salad, I admit that winter salads can be challenging. It can be hard to find the delicious farm fresh vegetables during the winter months that were plentiful at farmer’s markets and grocery stores throughout the spring and summer. I refuse to give up salads throughout the winter, but I make salads with a different strategy. I’m a big fan of cooking with the produce that is seasonal, so my winter salads are usually heartier with roasted root vegetables.

Winter Roasted Vegetable Salad 1 hr

Salad:

6-8 cups baby arugula/kale

1 butternut squash, peeled, and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 large garnet sweet potato, cut into 1 inch pieces

3-4 beets, peeled, and cut into 1 inch cubes

6 carrots, peeled, and cut into 1 inch cubes

1-2 Tablespoons oil

Salt/pepper, to taste

1 avocado, cut in half and diced into 1 inch cubes

Fresh mozzarella, I like the boccancini (small balls)

Dressing:

2 Tablespoons of lemon juice, about 1 juicy lemon

Zest of 1 lemon

1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar

3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Salt/pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel butternut squash, beets, and carrots, and cut into 1 inch cubes. You want all of the vegetables to be uniform in size so that they roast at the same time. You also want to arrange the vegetables in a size layer on the baking sheet so that the vegetables roast and don’t steam. Use 2 sheet pans, if needed. Drizzle about 1 Tablespoon of oil over each sheet tray of vegetables, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast your tray(s) of vegetables in the oven for approximately 45 minutes, tossing about halfway through. You want the vegetables to be tender, and I like when the edges start to brown and caramelize. Yum!

While the vegetables roast, make your dressing. Zest your lemon into a bowl, and then juice the lemon. Add in 1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. You should have about 3 Tablespoons of acid between the lemon and apple cider vinegar. I like my salad dressings on the acidic side, so I like to use equal parts acid to oil. Whisk in 3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and add salt and pepper to taste.