Roasted Squash and Carrots -- A Side Dish for the Full Table, the Full Tradition

New Year's Day 2023, black-eyed peas and greens and cornbread and Shanice's cabbage — the full table, the full tradition, the full new year arriving with all its hope and uncertainty and the particular quality of January light that makes everything look like it is being promised rather than delivered.

The Carters know about the baby — CJ and Shanice called them on December twenty-eighth and I can only imagine Paulette Carter's response, which CJ described as something between a scream and a prayer, which I find completely correct. Two grandmothers. Paulette and me. I have been thinking about this more than I expected to — not competition, nothing like that, but a kind of warm responsibility. This baby is going to have two grandmothers who cook, which means this child is going to grow up knowing that love comes in from both sides of the table, from the Simms kitchen and the Carter kitchen, and the child will be the synthesis of all of it. What a beautiful problem to have.

I started a new notebook this week, which I do every January — a fresh one, different from the recipe notebook, just for thoughts. The first thing I wrote in it was the word Caleb, which is not a name they have chosen yet, it is just a name I like, a name that has weight to it. Then I crossed it out. Then I wrote it again. Names are not mine to choose. But the prayer is mine, and the prayer is: let this child come safely and be loved and know where they came from, and let me be here for a long time to tell them.

That New Year’s table was already full — black-eyed peas, greens, cornbread, Shanice’s cabbage — but in my mind I keep coming back to what I would add if I could do it all over again, something sweet and earthy and golden that speaks the same language as January light and new beginnings. Roasted squash and carrots is that dish for me: humble enough to sit beside everything else without demanding attention, but warm enough that you notice it, the way you notice a prayer quietly said at the corner of a loud and joyful table. I think about Paulette Carter’s kitchen and my own, and I think this is the kind of recipe that both grandmothers could claim, that this child growing between two families could someday carry forward as simply theirs.

Roasted Squash and Carrots

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 small butternut squash (about 1 1/2 lbs), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch coins
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional, for garnish)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease it with cooking spray.
2. Prep the vegetables. Peel and cube the butternut squash into roughly 1-inch pieces. Peel and slice the carrots into 1/2-inch rounds. Try to keep the pieces similar in size so they roast evenly.
3. Season. In a large bowl, toss the squash and carrots with olive oil, maple syrup, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cinnamon until every piece is well coated.
4. Arrange on the pan. Spread the vegetables in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, making sure they are not crowded — crowding causes steaming rather than roasting.
5. Roast. Roast in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until the edges are caramelized and the squash is fork-tender.
6. Garnish and serve. Transfer to a serving platter and scatter chopped parsley over the top if using. Serve warm alongside your holiday spread.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 145 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 22g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 210mg