Let me tell you a little story. Nowadays I love beets because of their sweet flavor. Doug was speaking the truth when he called them nature’s candy. The first time that I tried them, I really fell in love with them and ate them as often as I could. But, you see, no one told me of their nasty side effect where everything comes out the same color it went in. And so for 2 weeks I thought I was dying, unknowing that my “grave condition” was—in fact—beet juice, until I confessed my problem and asked to be taken to the hospital.

The lesson of the story? Eat golden beets. Because no one gets worried when their pee is a little too yellow. They also taste like candy from their natural sweetness, and when mixed with a little salt and vinegar become the perfect side dish for any meal.

Roasted Golden Beets

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch golden beets
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• a splash of white vinegar

To start, trim the stems from the beets and peel off the outer skin with a sharp paring knife. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the beets into vertical slices about 1/4 inch thick. Be careful not to cut yourself. Use a non-slip board and a sharpened knife for the easiest cutting.

Next, lay the beets out on a single layer on a baking tray and drizzle the olive oil over them. Toss to coat. Roast the beets for 30-35 minutes, or until a fork goes in tender.

Lastly, drain off any excess oil and toss the cooked beats with salt and a splash of white vinegar. Serve hot.

Now we can just ignore that embarrassing story I told you and eat golden beets, right?

I’d rather not oversell anything. Sure, the cake I baked for Thanksgiving was great, but I’ve ate better. And This fudge is ridiculously tasty and easy, but it’s not going to win a state fair competition in the south. However, I have to make an exception for this recipe, because I really do think it’s the best quinoa around, or at least that I’ve ever seen and tasted. This replaced white bread stuffing at our table for a gluten-free alternative and was eaten up by everyone. It was the first of the leftovers to go. Clearly, it’s a winner. So try this and I assure you you won’t be sorry.

The Best Quinoa Dressing

Ingredients(Makes 8 servings)

• 2 cups quinoa, rinsed
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 medium carrots
• 3 stalks of celery
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• 1 tablespoon rosemary
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup cane sugar

To start, dice your vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Once diced, add them to a large pot to sauté over low-medium heat in some cooking oil until soft and translucent(about 10 minutes).

When the vegetables have been cooked, add in the quinoa, chicken broth, and all the seasonings except for the sugar. Bring the broth to a bubble, cover with a lid, and turn off the heat. After 15-20 minutes, the quinoa should have absorbed all the broth. If not, turn the heat on medium to boil off the rest of the liquid.

At the end of cooking, add in the sugar and fold it in while fluffing the quinoa. Transfer to a large dish and serve hot. It also tastes just as good reheated.

Try it; love it; eat it all up. You won’t find a better quinoa recipe around, I promise.

This recipe came along more as a fluke than anything else. I had already started to make mashed potatoes when I suddenly realize all I had for “milk” was vanilla almond milk. After giving it a shot and adding pumpkin puree, I realized the vanilla and almond flavors blended perfectly to make this a pumpkin pie-like mashed potato. The salt, nutmeg, and other spices lend the perfect flavors to make this a flavorful dish without too much fat.

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients(Makes 4 servings):

• 3 medium baking potatoes
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup vanilla almond milk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• a pinch of black pepper

Peel the potatoes and cook them until they are tender(you can use an oven or a microwave for faster cooking. Mash the potatoes to a smooth puree.

Add in the almond milk, pumpkin, and melted butter and continue to mix until it’s completely consistent. Lastly, stir in the salt, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg and pepper. Serve hot.

Warm, comforting, pumpkiny—what’s not to love? Get your fill while it’s still in season.

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The only memory I’ve ever had of mashed potatoes are from holidays where the potatoes thinned out to a pudding sat in a pool of butter. Needless to say, I didn’t have a problem passing on the mashed potatoes for most of my childhood. But I’ve been enjoying them a lot recently; in turns out if you skip the butter and use a moderate amount of milk with the right seasonings, they taste like, well, a potato! And I can never pass on that.

Dairy-Free Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients(Makes 4 servings):

• 4 starchy baking potatoes(I like Russet)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk(or non-dairy creamer)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Bake the potatoes for 60 minutes at a high temperature(alternatively, you could just microwave them). Remove the skins and mash in a bowl. Pour in the milk and seasonings and continue to blend until the liquid has been absorbed. Serve hot.

The great thing about coconut milk in this recipe is that these don’t really taste “coconut-y”; there’s enough pepper and onion to make them interesting and flavorful while still keeping a smooth, rich consistency. These give mashed potatoes a much better name in my mind, and scream “comfort food”.

Side note: Did you know professional food photographers will use mashed potatoes to look like ice cream? That’s no fun.

You could call this a light bulb moment recipe.

I really love starchy vegetables almost as much as I love chocolate, and that says a lot. They’re warm and comforting and everything you could want on a plate.

The squash has been excellent at the farmers’ market this Fall; I’ve been roasting it so much, I’ve been thinking of any which way to eat it otherwise.

And that’s when it hit me: Butternut squash home fries.

I started by roasting the squash to get it tender, and finishing it off in some fat and seasoning over a low burner. It was perfectly tender with a bit of a crust. The secret to any good home fries is time, so I left plenty for the pan-frying.

Butternut Squash Home Fries

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 butternut squash, peeled and diced
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1/4 cup butter, separated
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 sprig of rosemary

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and roast the butternut squash for 45 minutes or until tender before starting. Warm a pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter and the diced onion. Once the pan has come to temperature, add in the squash. Toss every couple of minutes for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add the salt, pepper, rosemary, and remaining butter and continue to toss for 10 more minutes or until the moisture is gone and the home fries have begun to char.

Usually you want to treat food delicately and keep it tender and fresh—not so with home fries. The best home fries I’ve had at restaurants look like they’ve been battered and beat and have often been cooking for near an hour. That’s how they develop such rich flavors that intermingle.

Going back to “just” roasted squash is going to be hard.