It's Sides Week!

Sometimes things just go together. Beans and rice. Mashed potatoes and peas. Kenny and Spenny.

And for my money, during the depths of winter, nothing goes better with a warming meaty main, than delicious oven-roasted vegetables. 

So, in honour of winter, our ovens, and getting more fibre and plant-based nutrients into our diets, I'm going to make winter's veggies as appealing as possible. 

We're talking rich chunks of maple butternut squash, roasted cauliflower tossed in lemony tahini dressing with za'atar, spicy roasted brussels sprouts (they're great, I swear), stuffing stuffed acorn squash, and baked brown rice -- a foolproof recipe for rounding out your meals with a tasty whole grain.

It's still January, which means there's still a few more days left to eat right this year. (Heh heh)

Check back for a new heart-warming side dish every day this week.

MAPLE BUTTERNUT SQUASH

(Tip: Buy the squash already cubed in the plastic clam shell containers in the produce section. The price is almost the same and it makes the job go 79% faster.)

Ingredients:

1 clam shell of cubed butternut squash (or about 2 cups from a whole squash, seeded and chopped)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp real maple syrup

a few shakes of cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

Toss cubed squash with olive oil, syrup, salt and pepper and cayenne. Roast in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, (flipping them around at the midway point) or until soft on the inside and browned around the edges.