Salad days aren't over yet!

This time of year is confusing for us here in California: the evenings and mornings are chilly, but it can still reach into the 70s during the afternoon; you can get pretty sweaty running around outside or walking the dog in shirt sleeves, but the stores are full of winter sweaters or even ski gear. As for the supermarkets, they are full of root vegetables and squash and other such fall delights, and, alarmingly, some of them are already stocking eggnog and candy canes. Confusing indeed.

So, in order to embrace this season of mixed messages, here are two salad recipes - both of which are salady and cool enough to satisfy anyone still reeling from a warm afternoon and not up to sitting in front of a steaming bowl of wintery stew, but which also use classic fall ingredients, and therefore hark of the season to come.

Chicken, Pomegranate and Roasted Squash Salad
Serves  4

1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
4oz crumbled soft goat cheese
5 cups baby spinach leaves
5 cups arugula (rocket) leaves
1 butternut squash, peeled, and cubed
oil spray
1 whole roasted chicken, stripped and shredded (you won't need the whole thing)
4 baby turnips, peeled and cut into thin strips (julienned)
1/2 cup pomegranate arils

Dressing:
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 TBSP pomegranate vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Put the butternut squash in a large rimmed baking tray sprayed with oil spray, spray the squash well with more oil spray, and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes until soft and turning brown on the edges. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
2. Make the dressing by combining the ingredients in a leak-proof jar and shaking to combine.
3. Toss the leaves, cooled squash, chicken and turnip to combine. Pour over dressing and toss to coat.
4. Sprinkle goat cheese, pomegranate arils and pumpkin seeds over the top.

Kale, Hazelnut and Squash Salad
from Martha Stewart
Serves 6 as a side

1lb (about 4 cups) of cubed butternut squash
6 TBSP olive oil
salt and pepper
4 large shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 bunches of lacinato kale (the curly leaved kale)
4 oz crumbled soft goat cheese
1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Toss the butternut squash with 1 1/2 TBSP olive oil and salt and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet and then bake in the oven until soft and starting to brown (about 40 minutes). Set aside to cool.
2. Toss the sliced shallots on a separate baking sheet with another 1 1/2 TBSP olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast in the oven for 30 minutes (you may need to toss them in the middle of the cooking time). By this point, they will be golden brown and soft. Set aside to cool.
3. An hour before you want to eat, prepare the kale. Cut the long central spine out of each of the leaves, and then cut the remaining leaves into thin strips and put into a large bowl. Combine the lemon juice and remaining 3 TBSP olive oil with a whisk and pour over the kale. Use your hands to rub the dressing into the kale so that all the leaves are coated. You will feel the leaves start to tenderize. Cover the bowl and leave for at least 30 minutes, and up to one hour.
4. Toss the cheese, nuts, roasted squash and shallots with the kale and serve.