Winter Panzanella

Wow! It's 2010. And I have to go back to work next week. I have thoroughly enjoyed my break, but one of the dangers of having 5 weeks off is that you get too used to it. But I know that work brings needed routine into my schedule.

One of the items that got checked off my to-do list during the break was organizing my recipe notebook. Some new favorites that are already in rotation needed to be printed and added. Too many ripped out magazine pages had accumulated, so I narrowed them down to about 20, and declared a goal of trying one new recipe a week.

I am such a huge fan of panzanella in the warm months because it doesn't require any heat to prepare, yet is more filling than just a salad. I had seen the idea of winter panzanella in Real Simple, but theirs seemed lacking in ingredients, so this is my version. It passed the test and is being added to the regular rotation.

Winter Panazanella
1 butternut squash, cut in 1 inch cubes and roasted with oil, salt and pepper, for ~30 min at 425, turning once.
chopped fresh spinach
white beans (about a can's worth, although I've been making big batches in the slow cooker for a while now)
crumbled goat cheese
sliced red onion
bread chunks, toasted lightly in the oven
dressing: 1 part apple cider vinegar, 1 part lemon juice, 2 parts olive oil

It's a new favorite, and perfect for the whole family because Cora can munch on some mashed squash. At this meal, though, I had made her some pureed brown rice (in the background), but I decided the boxed rice cereal is so much easier--another of those 'I said I would never' cases in which I proved myself wrong, again!

I'm excited about trying some more new meals this year. And I have lots of hope for 2010. I will never forget 2009, a year of great joy and terrible loss, but I'm ready and thankful for a new start.