America, Roast Your Vegetables

Vegetables are good for you.  Everyone says so: Oprah, your grandmother, the FDA, Dr. Oz.

The trouble is, to paraphrase the great Paul of Tarsus in his Letter to the Romans: "the vegetables that I would eat, I eat not; [but] the brownies I would not eat, I do" (7:19).

For, alas, the brownies are soft, sweet and beckoning, while the vegetables are hard, bitter and require preparation.  However, I am here to tell you, there is a way to have your vegetables be both soft and sweet, and yet still nutritious.  The way, my friends, is to roast them. 

And to roast a lot of them at once.  I like to do about 3 pounds of vegetables at once; this provides about 6-8 servings.  Between me and my roommate, this can last us about 3-4 days.  Once roasted, they're incredibly versatile-- I toss them with pasta, eat them as a side dish, stuff them in quesadillas or pile them on toast.  They reheat well and usually taste better the next day.  The cleaning, chopping and baking can take a while. If you're feeding yourself and kids doing a weekly batch that's big enough to last a few days can seem daunting.  However, word on the street is that frozen vegetables roast just as well as fresh.  So load up on prechopped frozen broccoli, cauliflower, etc to save some time.  The frozen stuff should take 5-10 minutes longer than the fresh; you can do separate pans of each and mix them all together when they're done.

Roasted Squash & Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
1 acorn squash, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks
1 lb. brussels sprouts, halved
1-2 large onions, in large chunks

1/2 lb. baby bella mushrooms, halved
1/2 medium zuchini, chopped in large chunks
2-3 Tbsp olive oil

2-3 tsp balsamic vinegar
garlic powder
1 Tbsp dried tarragon
1 tsp dried oregano
salt & pepper to taste

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Clean, peel and chop the various vegetables.  For the squash, I've found it's easiest to it into chunks and then remove the peel with a knife.  For the onion, chop it into quarters, then take each quarter apart layer by layer with your fingers, tearing the larger layers into chunks.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the chopped vegetables, olive oil and spices.
4. Line two large roasting pans with aluminum foil.
5. Spread the coated vegetables evenly in the foil-covered pans.
6. Bake at 400 F for 20-25 minutes.


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