Roasted Vegetables Extravaganza!

I just cannot get enough roasted vegetables this time of year!  I don't know if its the cooler temperatures (I live in Florida so that's not likely) or the orange, red and yellow hues of the trees that makes me want to eat like-colored vegetables (again, not likely.  Palm tree leaves don't do much changing).  No, I think it's probably the smorgasbord of different varieties of gourds that you don't normally see the rest of the year:  Kabocha, Calabaza, Delicata, Hubbard, and of course the Pumpkin.  And when I think of preparing squash, roasting it is the first thing that comes to mind.

I love to roast just about any vegetable (maybe not lettuce...um, ew) or fruit for that matter (roasting did wonders for my peach ice cream!)  It enhances the natural sweetness, plus you end up with squash that has a caramelized and slightly crisp exterior, but is soft inside and just melts in your mouth.

I'm STILL working on eating up all of my butternut squash that you've seen me post about here.  This time, I added some baby carrots, shallots and fresh thyme to the roasting pan along with the butternut squash.  Yum!  Tossed on top of a green salad with some roasted beets, raw cashews, goat cheese and my leftover herbed lentils - what a filling and flavorful meatless meal!

Roasted Butternut Squash with Carrots and Thyme
serves 2


1 cup butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 cup baby carrots
2 small shallots, halved (pieces should be about 1 inch in size)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400' while you prepare vegetables.  Drizzle olive oil over squash, carrots and shallots directly on the baking sheet (I cover my baking sheet with aluminum foil for easier cleanup) and toss the vegetables with the olive oil using your hands.  Sprinkle thyme, salt and pepper over the vegetables.

Roast vegetables for 25-35 minutes, flipping the pieces over after 15 minutes and again at the 25 minute mark.  Veggies are done when the pieces are caramelized and golden brown.

Roasted Beets
adapted from The Galley Gourmet
serves 4

2 large beets
1/4 cup water

olive oil, red wine vinegar or lemon juice, salt and pepper, fresh chopped herbs (optional, for serving)

*pair of disposable vinyl or latex gloves (optional, but I highly recommend using them unless you WANT your hands to look like you just committed a fairly gruesome crime....)

Preheat oven to 375'.  If beets still have stalks attached, trim the stalks leaving only about 1 inch attached.  Gently clean the beets under running water without tearing the skin.  Place the whole beets in an 8x8 baking dish along with the 1/4 cup water - just enough to cover the bottom of the baking pan.  Cover pan tightly with foil.  Bake until beets are tender and can be easily pierced with a knife - from about 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes, depending on the size of the beets.  Remove beets from oven and allow to cool about 20-30 minutes, until they are cool enough to handle.

Wearing your disposable gloves, slip off the beet skins (they should come right off) and trim the stalks and root end with a knife.  Chop or slice the beets and toss with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil, chopped herbs, vinegar or lemon juice and salt and pepper.  Serve on top of green salad.

Roasted beets can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for about a week, but be forewarned they may stain the container!