Readers, I must confess, I have been swept up in a romance lately... a roasted vegetable romance, a whirlwind of tender slices of Japanese eggplant, baby zucchini, and sweet spring onions. I can't get enough. I mean, just look at these:
How you doin'?
My favorite roasted veggie treat is a throwback to childhood. I remember when the first local farmer's market opened in Redwood City. My parents would take my sister and I to buy the most beautiful vegetables there, varieties of which I never saw at the grocery store, like striped purple and white Japanese eggplant, summer squashes, and pale green Anaheim chilies. My dad would throw all of these on the barbecue and we'd eat everything on thick crusty sourdough with soft cheeses.
We Americans are such a meat loving culture that I don't think it's reasonable to ask the general populace to give up meat entirely. However, eating less meat is not only reasonable, it's easily managed and better for us. Similarly, anyone trying to watch their calories could substitute a roasted veggie side with their steak instead of pasta or other starch. We all know it couldn't hurt to eat more vegetables. The trick seems to be how to sneak them in with things we already like eating until it just becomes habit. For those adults that claim they don't like vegetables, my question is, are you eating the carrots out of a frozen microwaved potpie, because a). that doesn't count and b). yes, you're right, that is disgusting.
The thing I am discovering about roasting vegetable dishes in particular is that I don't miss the meat. I savor every bite, lick my fingers, swig my beer, and then kick back utterly satisfied. Sure, I do reach for that occasional burger or my weekly sushi, but I am getting a real kick out of veggies right now. Delicious, easy to cook, and don't spoil in two seconds like fruit (this is good news for the cook that shops on Sunday but is too busy to cook till Wednesday).
We Americans are such a meat loving culture that I don't think it's reasonable to ask the general populace to give up meat entirely. However, eating less meat is not only reasonable, it's easily managed and better for us. Similarly, anyone trying to watch their calories could substitute a roasted veggie side with their steak instead of pasta or other starch. We all know it couldn't hurt to eat more vegetables. The trick seems to be how to sneak them in with things we already like eating until it just becomes habit. For those adults that claim they don't like vegetables, my question is, are you eating the carrots out of a frozen microwaved potpie, because a). that doesn't count and b). yes, you're right, that is disgusting.
The thing I am discovering about roasting vegetable dishes in particular is that I don't miss the meat. I savor every bite, lick my fingers, swig my beer, and then kick back utterly satisfied. Sure, I do reach for that occasional burger or my weekly sushi, but I am getting a real kick out of veggies right now. Delicious, easy to cook, and don't spoil in two seconds like fruit (this is good news for the cook that shops on Sunday but is too busy to cook till Wednesday).
I don't have a barbecue, but an oven gets the job done! I did this tray of yellow onions, round zucchinis and eggplants in a 450 oven for 20-25 min. Slice up, drizzle olive oil, sprinkle of kosher salt & pepper
Stir a bit after about 15 min. I almost like them a dark golden brown, kind of caramelized. The eggplant will shrink considerably in size. Poke onions with a knife tip to see if they're done.
Before...
...and after...think of the possibilities! Roasted veggies go with everything.
You could set out roasted veggie slices with olives, salami and crusty Italian bread.
Gluten free friends (or any of us really) could toss some in scrambled egg with white cheddar and extra black pepper for an amazing omelet. Add green salad and you're good to go!
You could make my folks' famous --and lately my favorite dinner-- sandwich layered with fresh tomato and a shmear of goat cheese.
Or this super romantic dinner:
tossed here with linguine, spicy olive oil, and 1/3 cup chevre.
Creamy delicious. Garden parsley and arugula on top.
Open a little vino, play some dinner jazz, and enjoy.
Mmmmmm, veggies never looked better. I personally feel much better after eating roasted veggies that when I eat a big burger. Now I just need to wait for my veggies to be ready in the garden.
ReplyDelete