I serve this simple but very tasty dish as a snack or a side dish. It got rave reviews from everybody at Thanksgiving dinner last year. You can use prewashed and chopped kale or spinach. I use a Misto-style refillable spray-pump bottle filled with olive oil, but you may be able to find canned olive oil spray without propellants in some supermarkets.

CRISPY KALE

Serves 10-12

Preheat toaster oven (or regular oven) to 350º F

Bag of precut kale or a bunch of kale, rinsed and chopped
Olive oil spray

1. Spin off or blot up most of the excess moisture from rinsing the kale.

2. Use a large enough pan so that kale is not spilling over the edges of the pan. You can bake the kale in a few batches, if necessary. Spray the pan lightly with olive oil, then add the kale and spray it with a light coating of oil as well.

2. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until crispy, checking to make sure that the edges don't burn.

Roast acorn or butternut squash makes a delicious holiday side dish, and it's so much more nutritious than mashed potatoes or sweet potato casseroles. You can also experiment with other kinds of squash. Roasting at high heat brings out its sweetness. You can often find packaged cubed squash at Trader Joe's and other stores.

ROASTED SQUASH

Preheat oven to 425º F

Serves 8

8 C prepackaged cubed butternut squash or 4 acorn squashes, halved or cubed Olive oil spray (butter or Earth Balance spread optional) Cinnamon
Salt and pepper optional

1. Halve the squash if it isn't precubed. (You can cook it cubed or halved. Cubing shortens the cooking time.)

2. Place the squash in a single layer in a baking pan. Spray the squash with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. If you're not worried about sodium, you can grind a little sea salt and pepper over the squash as well.

3. Roast for about 40 minutes, checking the squash so it doesn't burn or stick to the pan and turning it every 10 minutes or so. (Cooking times may vary.)

4. When the squash is done, you can let a small dab of butter or Earth Balance spread melt over it for a little (optional) flavor boost.

I don't miss fruit pie at all when I serve this dessert. You can also have this for a special breakfast. You can use either apples or pears, or combine them. In summer I substitute peaches or nectarines or even berries. Yum!

APPLE CRISP

Serves 4

Preheat oven to 350º

4 apples and/or pears
coconut flour (optional)
cinnamon
xylitol or agave nectar
thinly sliced almonds or chopped walnuts
butter or Earth Balance spread

1. Finely chop the apples (one per serving). I like to use a cranked apple peeler that slices the apples as it peels them. You can also use a knife or an apple divider and leave the skin on. You can use the apples plain or dredge the pieces in coconut flour. You could also mix the cinnamon and xylitol into the coconut flour before dredging the apples.

2. Spread each chopped apple in its own glass dish or use a glass pie dish and combine all the ingredients in it. For single servings, I use shallow soup bowls so the apple sits in one thin layer.

3. If you haven't already added the cinnamon and xylitol, sprinkle the apples liberally with cinnamon and lightly with xylitol. Or you can drizzle agave nectar lightly over the top.

4. Sprinkle the sliced or chopped nuts. You can add or substitute crumbled rice cakes or puffed millet or brown rice for crunch as well.

5. Dot sparingly with butter or Earth Balance spread.

6. Cook at 350º for 30 minutes or so, or till the apples are soft.