By Adrienne Smith

Time for a snow day! This winter’s first snow fall (though not quite a blizzard) is upon us in New York City. With any snow day, warming and hearty dishes are just asking for a spot on your table. In fact, these recipes would be perfect for any cold winter day.

If you’re a Nextdoorganics member, your fridge should be stocked with vegetables from your weekly packages. Here are snow day-worthy recipes using up your Nextdoorganics produce.

Related: 10 Things To Love About Nextdoorganics

Beets

Cooking beets can be intimidating. But don’t let the tough outer layer and dark purple juice intimidate you. Beets have a wonderfully sweet, earthy flavor when cooked. Just wear gloves when peeling them…

• Start simple with Ina Garten’s straightforward roasted beets recipe.
• Roasted beets and squash are the star in the New York Time’s winter salad. Add cooked grains to bump this recipe up to one-dish meal status.
• Beets, fennel and apples - plus a hit of blue cheese - give this salad a flavorful punch.

Butternut Squash

Cooking butternut squash couldn’t be simpler. Simply cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and pop in the oven until soft. Need a recipe? Start with this one from Elana’s Pantry.

• Nextdoorganics member Nikki wrote about this warming curried butternut squash and coconut soup just in time for this week’s snow storm.
• PaleOMG’s dill butternut squash fries just ask for four ingredients. Added bonus: it’s paleo!
• Love & Lemons’ butternut squash, walnut and sage pasta hits your comfort food buttons in all the right ways

Leafy Greens

Dark, leafy greens are a wintertime staple (which we’ve covered here). You’ll find that spinach, swiss chard, kale and more are easy to add to any meal. Wilt into soup, sauté with vegetables or animal protein, even toss a bunch into your morning smoothie.

• Nutty tahini and cocoa powder give this Green Blender smoothie recipe a hearty wintertime kick. Don’t worry, it’s chock full of apples and kale too.
• Nextdoorganics member Michaelan’s kale and white bean soup has a little of everything - leafy greens, filling beans and a shower of parmesan to top it off.
• Smitten Kitchen’s lentil soup with sausage, chard and garlic would benefit from any green you have lying around.

Leeks

Leeks can be the foundation for almost any recipe, but are also fantastic in a dish’s starring role. Their gentle, onion-y flavor only mellows the longer leeks cook.

• Start with the ultimate leek recipe: potato and leek soup. This version, from Julia Child, takes just about an hour from start to finish.
• Leeks get a hearty boost from mustard, bacon and eggs in David Lebovitz’s recipe from his cookbook ‘My Paris Kitchen.’
• This winter squash, leek and farro gratin offers harmonious winter flavors within a rather simple recipe.

Parsnips

Parsnips, a cream-colored root vegetable, taste like a cross between a carrot and potato. The sturdy vegetable benefits from hearty flavors and long cooking times.

• Parsnips give heft to an otherwise traditional creamed spinach recipe from Food & Wine Magazine.
• One-pan roasted pork chops with parsnips and apples ensures dinner will have minimal clean up. Plus, apples help bring out parsnips’ sweetness.
• Keep it simple with Jamie Oliver’s roast potatoes, carrots and parsnips. Throw some sausages onto your roasting pan to round out your meal.

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