If there’s ever one recipe that will help create even more recipes, it’s those for roasted vegetables. I absolutely love to fire up the oven and get my produce seasoned and roasted to eat them as-is, puree them into soups or throw them into stews. You can be as creative as you want to be or simply enjoy them straight out of the oven.
Vegetables with similar roasting times to pumpkin are acorn squash and butternut squash, depending on their sizes, of course. (more…)
Tomatoes may not be summer-ready here in the Midwest, but there’s no shortage of beautiful ones in the grocery store, perhaps coming in from California. I picked up some beautiful Roma variety, ripening them on the counter for several days before roasting.
After roasting, I really wasn’t sure what exactly I waould even use them for, but I knew they would be beautiful and delicious.
After oven-roasting (they can also be grilled, too, using the recipe below), they’re wonderful when pureed to make a simple pasta or pizza sauce, or just threw them on top of other vegetable mixes, in cooked rice or pasta, on top of meat or fish. You can really do whatever you like with them.
Here’s how to get them beautifully roasted in the oven:
Oven Roasted Tomatoes
Ingredients
7 Roma tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1-2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
good quality olive oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Cut each tomatoe in half and place them face up on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Add salt, dried parsley and dried basil (as well as any other herbs you enjoy) to each tomato half.
Drizzle the tomaotes generously with olive oil.
Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and process according to the recipe you will use it in.
Spinach is that quintessential health food. We know it’s good for us, but how often do we really eat it fresh and lightly cooked?
With numerous health scares related to tainted spinach, it’s a food many people are often weary of eating at restaurants or even fresh or frozen from the grocery store. In that case, it’s easy to grow during the cool spring or fall seasons where you can monitor the health of your own plants and call the shots on what to feed them.
In my opinion, spinach is tricky yet simple to cook. Cook it too long and it can lose its beautiful, vibrant green color. Add too much water and it can be soggy and taste water-logged. With this simple recipe, I’ve found a quick and easy way to get greens into your diet quickly and often.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt, to taste
1 pound fresh spinach, cleaned and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic or 1 clove roasted garlic
½ fresh lemon
Directions
Heat oil in large sautè pan.
Add salt to the pan to avoid any sticking. Add spinach.
Move spinach around with tongs and turn to avoid any burning. Add the garlic.
Cover with lid, reduce heat and cook for 10-12 minutes. The steam inside will help to cook it thoroughly.
Remove lid and turn spinach a few more times.
Remove from heat and serve with fresh lemon juice squeezed on top.