Warm Up a Winter Dinner with Roasted Vegetables

Squash and zucchini make great partners!

One of my new year's resolutions was to eat more vegetables and, last week, I finally put that plan into motion.  The greengrocer had beautiful produce and I treated myself to an assortment.

Aside from potatoes, I've never been much of a vegetable eater.  Most of the vegetables I've tried in the past have been boiled to the point of sliminess.   A few years ago, we discovered just how wonderful slimy asparagus was when it was when roasted.  Since then, we've roasted potatoes and mushrooms.  The selection of fresh produce prompted us to try roasting more vegetables.

Roasted brussel sprouts and asparagus
disappear quickly!

Jim was the entremetier.  His recipe for squash is below, and he prepared halved brussel sprouts and asparagus similarly.  The same general technique can be use for potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and many other "winter" and "summer" vegetables.

Roasted Summer Squash

2 medium to large summer squash, sliced
2 medium to large zucchini, sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
2 T. olive oil
1 T. white balsamic vinegar
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

Arrange squash, zucchini and onion into a prepared 9x13 baking dish.  Drizzle them with olive oil and white balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper.  Roast on an upper rack in a 400 degree oven until lightly browned, about 30 minutes.

All were wonderful, savory, and very satisfying on a cold, winter evening.  Enjoy!

What's cooking in your Savory kitchen?

Nancy

Blooming Fresh Asparagus

Thrifty Freshness

To keep your asparagus fresh, just treat it like the flower it is!  Trim about 1" off the cut end (leave the rubber bands in place), then stand in a jar or large glass of water.  Store in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.

If you're only keeping for a day or two, a glass or a jar is far less expensive than Crate & Barrel's version!

And don't forget to compost the trimmings!

Bonus recipe:

Roasted Asparagus

Fresh asparagus, pencil-thin, dry stem trimmed
Olive oil
Sea salt

Preheat over to 425 degrees.  Line a jelly-roll pan with foil, then spray with cooking spray. Alternate in pan so that bloom ends are at the edges.  Drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with sea salt.  Roast until blossoms are crispy.