Autumn Colors

I do wish that the colors of these shallots and butternut wedges would survive the roasting! What a glorious fall palette they make before the oven turns them both to a nutty golden brown. Not that I don't like golden brown, you understand, but just look at this riot of purple and orange! Fantastic!

The dish I made with these was delicious but not nearly as pretty as the originals. I added to the stuff in this picture a light glaze of olive oil, a sprinkling of dried thyme, a generous grind of fresh pepper, a glug of apple cider and a handful or two of mixed nuts.

Mixed nuts?

Yes, each time My Beloved goes down to Fres-yes on business, he stops at Pistachio Heaven and picks us up some locally grown nuts. We started this tradition in our early days together when we drove down to Fresno in the heat of the summer to see an exhibit of Russian art treasures in the local museum and were amused by the Burma-Shave style billboards that lured us in. The show was terrific and so were the nuts, despite the 100+ degree heat. We love these valley towns.

In addition to the pistachios, he also brings bags of mixed nuts and, somehow, they seemed just right for the dish. In retrospect, I'd have used salted nuts or added more salt to the pan, but all in all I was pleased with the result. I didn't even peel the butternut - a trick I learned from Jamie Oliver - and there was no need to, roasting turns the skin soft and barely chewy. Roasted in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes, everything came together in a sweet-savory side dish for our pork chops.

It was all shades of golden and dark brown; luckily, brown tastes better than orange-and-purple. Pretty is as pretty does when it comes to autumn colors.