Butternut squash, roasted chickpea, carrot kale salad

This is the ultimate salad. The salads of salads. It is also the only type of salad I like. I don't usually like salads because I find most of them to be very watery (esp when made with lettuce) and laden with salad dressing. I like my salads light on the dressing, with lots of texture and tastes. I was inspired this past summer by a salad I ate from Portland's  Garden Bar, their "Northwest Bowl." I was floored by it and knew I had to recreate it. While this salad here is not exactly like it, it has many of the same elements: green goddess dressing, shredded carrots, kale, goat cheese (or chevre, for those who have a more sophisticated culinary vocabulary), and dried cranberries. Kale is an interesting green. I personally have no problem with it but I know not everyone likes it, especially because it can be quite tough (mechanically) to eat. Tips to make it less tough include massaging it with your hands and/or adding something hot/has heat to it to help soften it up. The latter is how my salad is softened. Also, if you don't know, green goddess dressing is a made of greek yogurt mixed with various herbs. I buy mine pre-made from Trader Joe's but I'm sure it is not too hard to make at home. Anyways, like I was saying, this is the best salad ever. I tweak it from time to time, subbing the butternut squash out for avocado, using hazelnuts instead of sunflower seeds, adding quinoa, or roasting the butternut squash and chickpeas with turmeric and cumin, but for the most part, this is what it is. It's hearty enough to stand alone as a meal, will keep you full for some time, and make you feel good after eating it. 

Ingredients:

• roasted butternut squash
• roasted chickpeas
• cleaned, dried, and cut curly kale
• shredded carrots
• sunflower seeds
• dried cranberries
• washed and cut up cilantro
• goat cheese
• green goddess dressing

Directions:

Peel and cube butternut squash into bite-sized pieces. Rinse chickpeas. Toss both squash and chickpeas with oil of your choice, salt and pepper. Feel free to add any other spices to them. Place in pan and put it in the oven at 350 deg for approximately 30 minutes, or until the squash is tender enough for you. Don't overcook the squash or else it will get really squishy and lose its cubed form.  When the squash and chickpeas are done, immediately add them to the kale. The heat will help soften the kale, which is what we want. Then add the rest of the ingredients, in whatever amount and proportion you want. Top with green goddess dressing and you are ready to eat!