Plus we’re always being told (mostly by Dr.(/not-a-doctor-at-all) Oz) that spicy food speeds up our metabolism (harissa!), and my container of miso informs me every time I open it that eating it decreases my risk of breast cancer.

So I kind of feel like I’m adding a month onto my life for every bowl of this that I inhale. (So far, um, five. And counting.)

You will too.

Speaking of 2014 goals, what’s the dealio? Do we have any? Do we not? Are we clutching our bowls of brown butter close to our hearts lest they be torn away from us by health fanatic goody two shoes??

I have a few goals for the new year, some health-related, some blog-related, some life-related.

Health: Everything in moderation, including moderation. Eat dessert once or twice a week, but stop with this every night business. Make a soup or salad (or both!) at least once a week. Really get to the gym/go for a run 5 days a week instead of the two and a half I’ve been averaging this holiday season.

Blog: Be more organized! I think I give off the impression sometimes of having it all together, but I’m often scrambling to meet deadlines, going to bed too late, or cooking in the morning before heading off to work (late). I need to be more vigilant about making a schedule and sticking to it. To this end, I’ve bought this super cute planner that I will hopefully write things in. For more than just the first two weeks in January.

Life: Make a grocery budget! And stick to it. Play the piano at least twice a month. Read more books (one a month, at least).

So what are you doing to make yourself happy this year?

(Hint: Put making this salad on your list. It’s super. Plus then you can cross it off and feel super accomplished.)

Week 9 of the 12 weeks of winter squash!! See what other people are cooking up and leave a link if you’ve cooked with winter squash this week!

Sweet caramelized roasted root vegetables team up with a spicy salty miso-harissa dressing to make a salad that's totally craveable.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 lb carrots, peeled

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled

1 lb fingerling potatoes, scrubbed

1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes

2 tbsp harissa, divided

½ cup olive oil, divided

a few pinches of salt

¼ cup white miso

¼ cup meyer lemon juice

1 small bunch of lacinato kale

½ cup sliced almonds, toasted

Instructions

Heat oven to 400.

Cut the carrots into thin coins. Cut the sweet potatoes into 1-inch dice and the fingerlings into thin coins. Toss the carrots, sweet potatoes, fingerlings, and butternut squash in a large bowl with 1 tbsp of harissa, ¼ cup olive oil, and salt. Spread out onto two parchment-lined baking sheets. Roast until golden and tender, about 45 minutes, tossing once halfway through and rotating the pans. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining harissa, miso, lemon juice, and ¼ cup of olive oil. Season to taste with salt.

Tear the kale leaves away from their stem, and slice into thin slivers.

Toss the roasted veggies with the kale and half the dressing. Add more dressing to taste. Serve with the almond slices sprinkled on top.

Love the combo of the sweet veggies – potato, squash and carrots with the not so sweet kale and spicy harissa and miso!
You are a brave soul for only have dessert 2 nights a week, I opt for healthier versions – but still something sweet like no-flour nutbutter cookies- after a meal make me happy 🙂

Technically he is, but he hasn’t actually practiced medicine in years and a lot of what he says is scientifically untrue…he’s definitely more interested in getting famous and making money than he is helping people!

I love salads like these, even when there is no new year’s resolution at stake! The dressing is totally original and I can’t wait to try these flavors together. They’re a perfect match. Definitely going to give this a shot for dinner tonight!

Lol. Every time “Dr.” Oz would make an appearance on Oprah (in his scrubs, because, you know, that makes him seem legit), I would think to myself “I’m not really a doctor, but I play one on TV.” This salad is you in a bowl, Joanne. And I love it!

I love roasted vegetables on salad, not to mention some crunch from nuts and just a general warm/hot combo. This looks delicious! Good luck with your goals. I set small ones too…not resolutions or anything dramatic. It’s more an awareness to be better – period. Happy 2014!

I didn’t know that miso was so good for you, must buy asap! This looks delicious. I haven’t made official resolutions but am starting to think about a few I should put on my list… I like your moderation goal!

That is a great looking salad and I love how it has harissa. And I didn’t know spicy food sped up your metabolism – maybe that’s why the Thai’s are so thin! You’ve planned some great goals and yes, I was of the firm believe that you are totally organised when it comes to your blog – you certainly do give that impression. It’s all super-frantic down here too! xx

No one will take the brown butter away from me. NEVER!
But I’m joining the delicious salads bandwagon, of course. And yours look terrific, what an original combo… caramelized anything is a favorite of mine! I’m, obviously, adding this salad to my list 😉

I have a few goals for myself this year. In fact, I feel like your list could be mine. One of my goals is to get into work early every day. I tend to work on my blog in the morning before work and I ALWAYS make it to work 10-15 minutes late. And I need to work on my grocery budget. I used to budget really well for groceries, but lately, not so much.

Besides playing the piano, we have really similar goals! Of course, I did take piano lessons for 6 years, so maybe I should add that one to the list and re-teach myself to play. The grocery budget is so hard!

What a beautiful winter salad and way to start 2014. Speaking of kale I just scored a nice big bunch of organic for .99! So I’ll be making my Danish Kale/Caldo Verde Soup this weekend. I think your blog is very “together” btw, so you fooled me! 🙂

We all beat ourselves up for over-indulging during the holidays but, for those if us who really care about our health, it’s not hard to get back to healthy eating when our jeans start feeling a little tight. And then we have you to inspire us :).

This looks really good! I love almost everything about this salad especially the roasted veggies. Kale is my favorite leafy green but I’m really not abig fan of eating it raw. So what I would do is douse it with olive oil, salt, pepper and just roast it as well.

Love your new year’s list! I also got myself a cute planner and already messed it up by filling out schedules on the wrong date. I always do that every freaking year! I also would like to read more books. I think I have more time on my hands than you do… So perhaps 2-3 a month for me. 🙂

This is a super salad and a great way to start the year. Love your goals. especially getting more organized on the blog front. I need to stop staying up late (cough 12.10am right now) and stop going to lab at 10am everyday. Oh and read a book that is not a food magazine, journal article or vogue at least once a month!

I want to incorporate more vegetables into my life! I’ve kind of been bad about that and I’m craving them like crazy. This salad is screaming my name! Loving all those roasted vegetables. I just ordered a planner last night too! It’s the one by Whitney English that everyone’s been talking about.

With all the cooties in my house the last few weeks, I’ve fallen off of the 12 Weeks of Winter Squash bandwagon, but fear not! I bought lots-o-squash at Mrs. Green’s yesterday 🙂 This salad looks like an awesome way to pack in lots and lots of veggies. Beautiful!