Meatless Mondays: Brown butter cumin vegetables

I don't think I've ever felt the pressures of graduate school until this past week. I've been MIA and I will explain. Having guests visiting two weeks in a row required a ton of planning, especially during the midterm (breaking) point of the semester. It has also resulted in frayed nerves and a resurgence of my caffeine dependency. That being said, I surprisingly did not stop eating. I wish I could say I'm one of those people who loses her appetite during stressful situations, but alas, I'm the opposite. I reach out and ingest anything placed within arm's/mouth's distance. Like brown butter cumin veggies and garlic spinach.

I'm gonna be honest, my plates make this look ten times better than reality. This was good, and it was just all veggies (yup, I was cleaning out my refrigerator again), but come on: everything looks nicer on pretty serving dishes. As I made this I wondered for the first time in a long time why my plate was meatless. This would be ten times better with some seafood or chicken. But I used my seafood/chicken money to buy some flats. Sorry I'm not sorry.

Had I not needed to study for 3 straight hours post-consumption I may have loved it a little more. This should be repeated, and this time as a bed on which a giant piece of fish will rest. Then I will feast. 

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Brown Butter Cumin Veggies with Garlic Spinach

Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 medium carrot, sliced into 1/4-inch circles

1/4 butternut squash, cubed

2-3 tbsp butter

1 1/2 tsp cumin 

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 cups baby spinach, rinsed

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp safflower oil + 1 tbsp

salt and pepper
fresh mint, chopped, for garnishing

Directions:

In a small pan melt the butter on low heat for about 2-3 minutes, whisking or stirring frequently until it starts to brown. The butter will foam a bit and once it starts to turn brown, remove from heat and set aside. In a separate pan, heat 1 tbsp safflower oil. Season the carrot and squash with salt and pepper and the spices. Saute in the pan, covered, for about 4-5 minutes until the squash has softened. Transfer to the pan with the brown butter and toss to coat the vegetables evenly. Garnish with fresh mint. Once transferred, heat the remaining 1 tbsp safflower oil in a pan and saute the garlic. Season the baby spinach with salt and pepper and wilt for 2-3 minutes. Serve with the vegetables immediately.

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xo,

k.