Roasted Cauliflower

I know, I know, I roast a lot of vegetables. How is this different? Well, truthfully it's not very different. However, the seasonings are slightly different for this one so I figured it was blog worthy. I love buying whatever fresh vegetables are on sale and finding yummy ways to prepare them. I think it's easy to get stuck in a rut of eating the same vegetables from a can, raw, or steamed. Add something a little different once in awhile and you are less likely to get bored and more likely to eat more vegetables!

Roasted Cauliflower
1 head cauliflower
olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1-2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Chop the cauliflower by first pulling off the leaves. Then cut out the core from the bottom. Then you can use the stems as guides to cut into bite-sized florets. Toss the cauliflower in about 2 Tbs. olive oil. mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, curry, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Then toss cauliflower in the bread crumb mixture. Dump onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 375 until tender and slightly golden brown (about 20-25 minutes).

Roasted Beets

I love beets! If you think you don't like beets, I would recommend trying this method of preparing them. If you still don't like them, then so be it! I love the sweet flavor, the intense color, and the wealth of nutrients beets provide. Until recently, I had a difficult time finding a way to prepare them that I really loved. But, thanks to the Taste of Home cook book I got for Christmas, I found the perfect way to enjoy them!

Roasted Beets
beets
olive oil
salt
pepper

Preheat your oven to 400. Cut off the stems of your beets and the very end of the roots if they are long and stringy. Wash them. Wrap each beet individually in foil. Place in the hot oven for 45-60 minutes, until you can skewer them easily all the way through with a fork or toothpick. Open the foil and let them cool for 5-10 minutes until they you are able to handle them but they are still warm. Using a paper towel, scrub the peels off. The texture of the paper towel should easily take the peel off and expose that rich red color that beets are known for. Slice or chop the beets into large chunks. Toss lightly in olive oil (about 2 Tbs. for 1 lb. of beets) and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
A variation that I would recommend is to toss them in your favorite vinaigrette, instead of the olive oil. The contrast of the sweet beets and the tangy vinaigrette is fantastic!

Wrap them up

Cook them up

Peel, chop, and toss them up

Eat them up!

Vegetables

Whenever I hear someone say "I don't like (fill in your favorite vegetable)" I can't help but think, "Maybe you just haven't had that vegetable prepared in a way that you like it." Now I admit, there are some things that some people just don't like to eat. However, don't rule out an entire category of vegetable simply because you had it once and you didn't like it. That said, here is my favorite way to cook many different vegetables. I have done this with carrots, potatoes, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and I'm sure many others that I can't think of right now. This isn't the best picture, but I like it because it shows the carmelization and color and color means flavor!

Roasted Vegetables
prepare vegetables (clean, peel, chop, etc.)
toss in olive oil
season with salt and pepper...when I'm in a really crazy mood I use garlic salt and lemon pepper
Roast on a cookie sheet at 375 for about 20 minutes or until tender