Yesterday I indulged in nursing my sore throat (before it turns into more), and found the combination of fresh ginger, lemon slices and cayenne pepper steeped in hot water to be oddly soothing yet energizing. I may like it more than coffee.

I spent 20 minutes off the sofa putting together a healthy, clean meal. This is my own spin on (though very close to) a recipe from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson. Some ingredients altered or added based on what I had on hand.

MISO-CURRY SQUASH with TOFU and KALE

2 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed

4 small butter potatoes, cubed

1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed and cubed

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup white miso paste

1 Tbsp red thai curry paste

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 cups raw kale, de-stemmed and torn into small pieces

1 1/2 cups (one can) chickpeas, drained

pepitas (pumpkin seeds) to garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray.

Get a large bowl, add cubed squash and potatoes. In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, miso and curry paste to make a thick paste. Put 1/3 cup of the new paste in a bowl with squash and potatoes, gently mixing by hand to coat veggies. Add cubed tofu to bowl and gently mix that by hand, careful not to break apart the tofu. Add to the rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes, tossing once or twice throughout.

Using the same large mixing bowl (cut down on amount of dishes to clean!), add the raw kale. Add the lemon juice to the remaining miso-curry paste, whisk, and add to the bowl with raw kale. Massage the dressing into the raw kale. Add chickpeas to bowl of kale and mix.

When the veggies are done cooking and have cooled slightly, add them to the large bowl with kale and chickpeas and mix everything together. Serve with pepitas as a garnish (optional).

This recipe makes enough for about 4 servings (as a main dish), 6-8 servings as a side dish. I’d highly recommend this if you find yourself going to a Holiday dinner and want to take something vegan but not too “weird” (ugh) that will please all palates.