Celebrate the flavors of fall with this delicious seasonal salad that’s filling enough to be a full meal.

Without sounding super pretentious (because I’m honestly not that cool) I buy as many seasonal veggies as possible. This used to be really easy when I had a CSA last year up in Ithaca. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Each person pays a “share” and get’s fresh seasonal veggies from that farm for a period of time. I shared a share with my sister and had a huge box of veggies to pick out every week at the farmer’s market during the Fall semester. It was wonderful.

I loved being able to learn about new veggies and varieties of vegetables that I had never seen or tried before. I learned that there are a LOT of types of kale. Some better than others (in my humble opinion). One of my favorite vegetables that I tried was the delicata squash. I had never seen one before and didn’t really know what to do with it. So I took it home consulted any millenial’s BFF: Google and discovered that they are easy to roast like acorn squash.

Delicatas range in size but are a little smaller than acorn squash and they are yellow and green striped and have a more cylindrical shape. They make delicious little rings of squashy goodness. They have delicate, sweet taste and firm texture. While acorn squash comes in close second, I’ve gotta say delicatas are my favorite.

Now I’m here in Jersey and to be honest I’ve been lazy about exploring. I’m not sure if I don’t want to like Jersey because I’m stubborn or if I actually just don’t like it. I think I’m just more suited to city or bustling college town life. I find myself in cars far too often and the town I’m in is way too small. It doesn’t even have a coffee shop. Guys, I know. I have dreams of moving to New York or Boston to be closer to my friends and sister. It’s just finding the right kind of timing and opportunities. Le sigh.

On a tastier note, this salad rocks and it still uses seasonal fall goodies. It also features this baller pear, called the Nashi Pear also known as an Asain pear. It’s like a crisper hybrid between and apple and a pear. I love the texture of this pear because it’s closer to an apple, but it still has the mild pear taste. YUM.

Feel free to customize this salad with your favorite seasonal ingredients like cranberries or apples instead of pears. Almonds pair well with pear (pun not intended) but if you add apples, pecans are an excellent nutty compliment!

I hope you enjoy this salad after an apple picking excursion or a particularly creative session of pumpkin carving. And if you do make it let me know how it goes!

Your Turn:

• Are you a city dweller or do you like living with plenty of open space?