Inspired by: many, many winter-share veggies in the fridge and pantry!

This recipe is intentionally loosely written so you can adjust it to suit your tastes and serving needs; it's pretty flexible!

It also sounds like a lot of work and, well, it is, but you can do any or all of it ahead of time. Roast some roots to eat for dinner, but roast way too many. Then maybe the next night you make some bok choy or kale, but make way too much. Roast some squash to stuff, but roast two instead of one. You get the idea.

Ingredients:

Roots: any or all of: potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips, carrots, onions (red are pretty), celery root, fennel: scrubbed, peeled (as necessary), cut into bite-sized cubes.

Beets: yes, they are also roots, but you don't want them to bleed over everything: scrubbed and kept whole.

Gourds (optional): any kind of winter squash.

Greens: whatever you'd like, but bok choy, kale, and tatsoi are especially nice.

Olive oil

Garlic and/or herbs to season the olive oil (I'm fond of rosemary)

Maple syrup

Balsamic vinegar

Salt/pepper

Dried cranberries (optional)

Pecans or walnuts, toasted or not (optional)

Goat cheese (optional)

Instructions

If you use the beets, roast them (or boil them, or pressure-cook them) until they're done (they take a while - depending on size, roasting takes at least an hour at around 350).

If you use gourds, roast them halved or cubed, with or without oil and seasoning - whatever your favorite way of cooking them is (I can never invest the energy in cubing a raw butternut...).

Stir or brush the root cubes (insert mathematics joke here) with your seasoned oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper (if desired), and roast them until they're tender and browned. In my house, with the oven at 350, that takes 30-60 minutes, depending on how patient I am.

If you're using bok choy or kale for your greens, wilt them in some oil, salt, and pepper. You could also probably wilt the tatsoi, but I've used it raw. Wilted escarole could be nice, too, but you'd need lots of it. Raw greens (lettuce, spinach, etc) would work, but make sure your roots are cool enough when you put the salad together.

Wait to assemble the salad until shortly before you'll eat it (or until you need to leave for work, or the night before...). Make a layer of greens for a base, then strew those yummy roots and gourds (and beets) over the top. Mix maple syrup and balsamic vinegar until it tastes right to you and until you think you have enough to nicely moisten your salad. Pour the mixture over the veggies.

Sprinkle with the rest of the ingredients that you choose to use.

You can have the salad warm or cool. I think it's probably best either a little warm or at room temperature.