I love butternut squash, so it’s hard for me to go wrong with a dish like this. Paired with a with a salad garnished with pears, blue cheese, and walnuts, and this was a solid weekday meal. Even with the added step of cubing and roasting the squash, this was really simple and quick to make. Great flavors and the blue cheese on top was a nice punch with the other flavors. I could see adding some bacon to this dish too.
Recipes:
Gift giving in my family gets crazy. Maybe not crazy, but definitely strange. If it’s not a strange gift like a homemade Christmas themed zombie movie where my mom is credited as “zombie #2”, we’ll wrap the gifts weird. From packages being locked in chains and having to figure out story problems to get the combination numbers, to being riveted shut in duct work, duct taped, dry-walled, zip tied, or being frozen in a block of ice, we’ve done it all someway or another. You never know what is going to show up under the tree at my parent’s house.
I love being in a relationship with such variety. I love being exposed to Aya’s Japanese culture, and she loves being exposed to my American culture with my family’s Polish heritage. We try to raise Ellie, and now Chloe, with a nice mix of both. Blending holiday traditions between two different families is difficult enough, but it can be even more challenging when you’re blending traditions from two different countries with very different cultures.
I’ve never felt the desire to get that classic shot of Ellie sitting on Santa’s lap every year. You know the photo. The one where Ellie would be in her fancy holiday dress, bows in hair, and I’d be hoping for that adorable perfect moment when she’s smiling in wonderment but most likely be shrieking in terror. Yes, that photo. I’m not against it, it’s just never been my thing. Aya never had this tradition as a child, and I really don’t remember liking it too much either. I know I went a few times, but the experience wasn’t lasting enough to remember it too clearly. So it wasn’t something important for me to do it with Ellie.
