Roasted Summer Vegetables

This is one of those recipes that I love – it provides the mix and max concept that I’m still trying to master. Someday I want to be able to look into my cupboard/frig/freezer and whip up something that tastes great with whatever ingredients happen to be on hand. In the meantime, I can cheat by using recipes like this. It provides parameters while giving the illusion of being naughty, of breaking the rules.

I bought a copy of Intuitive Cooking thinking that I would be able to learn the mix and match concept that’s germinating in the back of my head. Unfortunately it was a bit too ethereal for me. I couldn’t get into the language and elements long enough to make it to the recipe sketches.

But enough about that. This recipe is very versatile. It’s a pizza topping–wait, it’s a side dish–no wait, it’s a main dish served on wild rice;  er, make that couscous. Or maybe it’s a chilled vegetable salad. Or even kabobs!

Whatever you do with it, you can use pretty much any vegetables that you have leftover in your refrigerator. Cut up 8-10 cups of them. ?For this particular iteration, I used leek, eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, green pepper, purple pepper, broccoli, and a few tomatoes.

Then, pick one of four seasonings. Hint: One was Italian or vinaigrette dressing. The other two you’ll have to buy the book to get. The fourth is the one I used, which is 4 cloves of garlic (minced), 1/3 C olive oil, a generous sprinkling of Penzeys Pasta Sprinkle (OK, the recipe really calls for 2 T each of fresh thyme, oregano, basil. But I didn’t have any of those and looking through my cupboard I noticed that the Pasta Sprinkle includes all 3 plus a bonus of a little garlic. I swear I don’t work for Penzeys. I just love their stuff and I received a lot of it as a wedding gift). 2 T balsamic vinegar, 1 T Dijon mustard, and a dash of salt and pepper.

Cook at 425 degrees for 20 minutes on a thin layer on a cookie sheet.

I served this over couscous with fresh grated parmesan cheese. I LOVED it. DH thought it was a bit dry and of course added canned chicken 😉 Cause you know, it’s not dinner if there’s no meat ::rolleyes::

Roasted Early Autumn Vegetables

Updated 10/12/2009

Tonight I decided to make this again, only this time using carrots, potatoes, fennel, eggplant, and green pepper. I decided to try it with a tablespoon of oil and a generous sprinkling of Herbes de Provence. Totally delish! A great side dish for the venison roast I made. However, I think I cut the carrots and potatoes too thick as they could have been cooked a bit longer.

This post linked to $5 Dinners and Kitchen Tip Tuesdays