Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Cranberries, Walnuts, and Goat Cheese

You know that feeling the week after the holiday season, or a vacation, when you just want a bowl full of veggies, because you haven’t had enough recently? Because I do! And salads like this are the answer. A bowl full of greens, but also sustenance — sweet potatoes, walnuts and goat cheese!

This salad is one even veg-haters will like (said it already, but: potatoes, cheese, nuts… I mean is it even a salad? You don’t have to tell them there’s — ehem - kale under all those potatoes). The whole thing is drizzled with an apple cider vinaigrette which has shallots and dijon mustard and even a little bit of honey, for just the right balance of sweet and acid. It’s a pretty classic vinaigrette and one that you can use on just about any kind of salad or with any veggie (not just this salad!).

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Cranberries, Walnuts, and Goat Cheese

Published January 8, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 6   |    Active Time: 50 minutes

---

Ingredients:

2 medium sized sweet potatoes, roughly diced

1 tablespoon oil, such as avocado

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

6 cups kale, stems removed and torn into bite-sized pieces

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup walnut pieces, toasted

1/4 cup goat cheese crumbles

For the vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 teaspoon honey

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1/16 teaspoon salt

1/16 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Roast sweet potatoes: Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss potatoes in 1 tablespoon oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a sheet pan. Roast in oven for 40-45 minutes, until sweet potatoes are soften all the way through and crisping on the edges. Set aside to cool.
2. Prep the kale: place torn kale pieces in a salad bowl. Drizzle with lemon juice. Using your hands, massage the kale with the lemon juice until the kale is bright green (Why do this? It makes is softer, easier to digest, and nicer to eat).
3. Top kale with sweet potatoes, cranberries, walnut pieces, and goat cheese crumbles.
4. Make vinaigrette: combine all ingredients for vinaigrette in a jar and shake to combine. Drizzle vinaigrette over salad, and serve.

Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal

When I first discovered baked oatmeal, I was in college and was immediately excited about the dish. An oatmeal that I actually liked! I went home to my mom’s house and told her about my discovery. As I was explaining it to her, she said, “Sounds a bit like cake. “

I furrowed my brow. Cake? I mean sure, it has some similar ingredients. But it is “better for me.” Right? In truth, that version of baked oatmeal was a lot like cake. I think it called for both sugar and flour. But, it also taught me that I can like oatmeal. Baked, it became something that I enjoyed.

I still make baked oatmeal every now and again, adding in seasonal fruits and nuts (like this cinnamon berry pecan baked oatmeal). These days, the main difference is that I sweeten it with maple syrup, honey, or fruit, and use whole ingredients. And while it is a pretty carb-heavy dish, I find that rolled oats do keep me full through the morning until lunch. The other main advantage? One batch lasts us the better half of a week, so breakfast is squared away in the morning for a few days.

With this recipe, I’ve taken the idea of a cake and folded it in: carrot cake baked oatmeal. (Carrot cake — definitely a cake. But it calls for vegetables!) Along with rolled oats, you fold in carrots, raisins, coconut, fresh ginger and even walnuts (I love the crunch these add. If you do not like walnuts, try pecans). All of those together combined to make a pretty hearty oatmeal — one that’s not really cake, but you can imagine it is, while knowing you’re eating something much more nourishing!

Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal

Published January 3, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 8   |    Active Time: 50 minutes

---

Ingredients:

2 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup shredded desiccated coconut + 2 tablespoons for topping

1 egg

1/4 cup honey

3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 cup milk

1 cup whole milk yogurt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup shredded carrot

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts + 2 tablespoons for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F and grease a 9x9 inch baking dish.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine rolled oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and 1/2 cup coconut.
3. Add egg, honey/maple syrup, melted butter, freshly grated ginger, milk, yogurt, and vanilla. Stir until everything is incorporated.
4. Fold in shredded carrot, raisins, and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.
5. Spread mixture in an even layer in the baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons coconut and chopped walnuts.
6. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until edges of oatmeal begin to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Warm Gruyère, Roasted Garlic & Thyme Dip

It is about 21°F this morning. The cold always me makes me crave crave warm, cozy dishes. This gruyère, roasted garlic and thyme dip  is just the thing to take to a New Years Eve cocktail party, or simply enjoy on the sofa after a long day, with your feet kicked up (build a fire in that fireplace, while you’re at it!).

I went to a cocktail party this fall (potluck style), and there were at least three different spinach and artichoke dips! Tasting and comparing them all was fun, but really? Three versions? Seems everyone was on the same page that night. I LOVE spinach artichoke dip, and this dip hits the same craving but mixes it up a bit.

The first step in this recipe is to roast a whole head of garlic. Have you roasted garlic before? YUM. It becomes golden and soft and spreadable. I roasted an extra head of garlic while I was making the one for this dip just so we could have it. It makes the best garlic garlic bread or compound butter. You may as well make the most of having the oven on!

Surprisingly, even with a whole head of garlic in this dip, it’s a subtle flavor — not a “I’m going to be breathing garlic for the rest of the night,” flavor. The gruyère and cream cheese soften it. Thyme adds an herbaceous note. The leftovers (if you have leftovers — in the realm of cheese that’s a rare story) do well as a sandwich spread or tucked inside of an omelette with sautéd mushrooms.

The new year is almost here! Wishing everyone a joyful 2019!

Warm Gruyère, Roasted Garlic & Thyme Dip

Published December 7, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 6   |    Active Time: 75 minutes

---

Ingredients:

1 head of garlic

1 teaspoon olive oil or avocado oil

8 ounces sour cream, at room temperature

2 ounces cream cheese

2 ounces gruyère, finely grated, plus 2 tablespoons for topping

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoon minced parsley for garnish

For serving: crudités, crackers, crusty bread, etc.

Directions:

1. First, roast the garlic: preheat oven to 350° F. Chop the very top off of the head of garlic. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive/avocado oil. Place in oven and roast 45 minutes, until cloves are golden and soft.
2. Allow garlic to cool until you can easily touch it without burning your hands, about 15 minutes. Squeeze garlic cloves into a medium-sized mixing bowl, discarding of the garlic papers. Mash garlic.
3. Add sour cream, cream cheese, 2 ounces gruyère, salt, black pepper, and thyme to bowl. Use a fork to mix until well combined.
4. Spread cheese mixture in a ramekin or cocotte dish. Do not over fill—make sure there is at least 1/4-inch of extra room in the dish to avoid bubbling over. Top with remaining 2 tablespoons gruyère, and place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is bubbling and just starting to brown in spots on the top.
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool 10 minutes before sprinkling with minced parsley and serving with crudités, crackers, or crusty bread.
6. Leftovers? Eat them cold as a spread on toast, sandwiches, etc, or re-warm the dip in the microwave for 30-second intervals or in an oven until warmed through.