Roasted Squash Medley

Eleven months. Hana is eleven months old and she took her first steps on Saturday. Not confident steps — not walking, not yet — but three lurching, gravity-defying steps from the coffee table to James's outstretched arms. Three steps. Six feet. The distance between holding on and letting go. She let go of the coffee table. She stood alone. She took one step. Two steps. Three steps. She reached James. She grabbed his shirt. She sat down, heavily, on his lap, and looked up at him with an expression that said: I did that. I walked. I am a walker now.

James and I screamed. We actually screamed. Hana looked alarmed by the screaming and then laughed, because she has learned that her parents' screaming is usually followed by clapping and praise and sweet potato. She laughed and we laughed and the apartment was full of screaming and laughing and a baby who had just changed her relationship with the ground, permanently, irreversibly, forever.

I called everyone. I called Karen first. She cried. I called David — he said, "Three steps? That's a good start. Give her a week and she'll be running." I called Kevin. He said, "Did she walk to the kimchi?" I said, "She walked to James." He said, "Disappointing. But acceptable." I FaceTimed Jisoo. I replayed the video I had taken. Jisoo watched it four times. She said, "She walks like you. You walked early too." I said, "You remember when I walked?" She said, "The nuns at the adoption agency told me. They wrote to me when you were eleven months old. They said: your daughter is walking. They sent a photo. I kept the photo." She paused. "I still have the photo." She still has the photo. A photo of baby Stephanie taking her first steps at the adoption society, sent to a seventeen-year-old girl who had given her up, kept for thirty-one years. The photo exists. The first steps were documented. Jisoo knows when I walked. She has always known.

The recipe this week is tteokguk — not for New Year's but for first steps, because tteokguk is the soup of aging, the soup that makes you one year older, and Hana is about to be one. The soup is premature. The birthday is in January. But the first steps happened now, and the steps deserve a soup, and the soup is tteokguk because tteokguk is what you eat when a child grows. Rice cakes in beef broth. Egg strands. Seaweed. The simplest celebration. The deepest celebration. Three steps. Three spoonfuls of soup. Three weeks until Hana turns one. The countdown begins.

The soup I wanted to make was tteokguk — rice cakes, broth, all of it — but the truth is I was shaking and laughing and replaying that video for the fourth time when dinnertime arrived, and what I actually did was roast squash. I had a butternut and a delicata sitting on the counter since Tuesday, and I slid them into the oven while Jisoo and I were still on FaceTime, and by the time I hung up the apartment smelled like caramel and warmth and something golden, which felt exactly right for a day when everything went golden. Hana sat in her high chair with sweet potato on her chin and watched me plate it, unbothered, already planning her next three steps.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 small butternut squash (about 1 1/2 lbs), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 delicata squash, halved, seeded, and sliced into 1/2-inch half-moons
1 small acorn squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch wedges
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (for garnish)
2 tablespoons toasted pepitas (optional, for garnish)

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 425°F. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Season the squash. In a large bowl, combine all the squash pieces. Drizzle with olive oil and maple syrup, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and cinnamon. Toss well until every piece is evenly coated.
Spread and roast. Spread the squash in a single layer across both prepared baking sheets, making sure the pieces are not crowded — this is what gives you caramelized edges rather than steam. Roast for 20 minutes.
Flip and finish. Remove the pans from the oven and flip the squash pieces with a spatula. Return to the oven and roast for another 12–15 minutes, until the edges are deep golden-brown and the centers are tender when pierced with a fork.
Garnish and serve. Transfer to a serving platter. Scatter fresh parsley and toasted pepitas over the top if using. Serve warm as a side dish alongside any main course.

Nutrition (per serving)

Roasted Squash Medley — A Warm Table for First Steps