salmon bake w/ maple roasted squash & brussels sprouts

maple roasted buttercup squash

serves 4 as a small side dish

1 (2 pound) buttercup squash, halved and seeded, sliced into 2 inch chunks

(the rind should become tender enough to eat, but if you use a different winter squash the rind might be tough, like this carnival squash...it is really easy to just scoop the flesh off with your fork while eating & it looks much prettier with the rind in tact)

2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 tablespoon olive oil or unsalted butter

1/2 tsp coarse sea salt, to taste

preheat oven to 450*

in large bowl, toss squash with syrup, oil & salt. transfer to a large baking dish and roast, uncovered, for 35 - 45 minutes until fork tender. stir every ten minutes to ensure even browning.

meanwhile, prep your salmon and brussels sprouts. I used a large roasting pan and when the squash was pretty much done i made room for the salmon in the same pan and just baked it in there for 10 - 15 minutes ~ only needing to clean up one pan!

Salmon Bake

serves two

2 tbls melted butter

1 1/5 tbls dijon mustard

1 tbls honey

2 tbls bread crumbs

2 tbls finely chopped pecans

2 tbls minced flat leaf parsley

1 salmon fillet about 1/2 a pound (we eat 4 oz servings of fish)

salt & fresh ground pepper

keep oven at 450*

stir together the butter, mustard & honey in a small pan & set aside.

in another bowl, combine bread crumbs, parsley & pecans.

lightly season salmon with salt & pepper and set the fish skin side down on a lightly greased baking pan (or alongside your squash that has been baking for 35 minutes already) Spread the honey mixture on the top and sprinkle on the bread crumb topping. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes.

while baking the salmon, prepare your brussels sprouts:

Brussels Sprouts with Fennel Seed

serves 2 as a side dish

1 tbls evoo

1/2 tsp fennel seeds (also help in digestion)

1/2 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved and thinly sliced

2 tbls water

1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

cider vinegar

fresh ground pepper

in a wide saute pan over medium heat, warm the oil. add the fennel seeds and toast for one minute. add the sprouts, water & salt. raise the heat for a minute or so, then cover and remove from heat. let sit for 5 minutes, covered. Then toss with a little cider vin. & pepper. serve