By Week 341. Fall 2022. I am 39 years old and standing in my kitchen — the Bench house kitchen, the one that held cancer and divorce and cinnamon rolls — and the stove is on and something is cooking and the house smells like cinnamon and falling leaves and this is my life. This is the life I built.
The clinic was busy this week — spring puppies and summer emergencies and the constant, comforting cycle of animals who need care and humans who love them enough to bring them in.
Mason is 11 and reading everything he can find and examining the world under a microscope with the intensity of a tenured researcher.
Lily is 9 and riding horses with the fearlessness of someone who has never considered the possibility of falling.
I made roasted root vegetables this week. The food continues. The food always continues. It is the thread that connects every week to every other week, every year to every other year, every version of me to every other version — the woman on the kitchen floor, the woman at the chemo recliner, the woman at the grill, the woman at the outdoor table under the string lights. All of them, connected by the food they made with their hands. All of them, me.
Roasted root vegetables have been my anchor through every season of this life — the hard ones and the ordinary ones and the quietly beautiful ones like this. There’s something about the smell of pumpkin and Brussels sprouts caramelizing in a hot oven that feels like a promise kept: that the kitchen will always be warm, that dinner will always happen, that the thread continues. This week, with Mason deep in his microscope and Lily fearless on horseback and the clinic humming along, roasting vegetables felt less like cooking and more like gratitude made edible.
Roasted Pumpkin and Brussels Sprouts
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 3 cups pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 3 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (pepitas), for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat. Heat your oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Toss the vegetables. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin cubes and halved Brussels sprouts. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat evenly. Add the garlic, thyme, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper and toss again until everything is well seasoned.
- Arrange and roast. Spread the vegetables in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, making sure they are not crowded. Roast for 20 minutes, then use a spatula to flip and stir. Return to the oven and roast for another 12–15 minutes, until the pumpkin is tender and the Brussels sprouts are deeply golden and caramelized at the edges.
- Finish with balsamic. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the hot vegetables. Toss gently to coat.
- Serve. Transfer to a serving dish and scatter pumpkin seeds over the top. Serve warm as a side dish or over grains for a light main.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 185 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 19g | Fiber: 5g | Sodium: 210mg