Roasted or Grilled Vegetables

Mix and match the following:

· red, yellow, green, purple bell pepper – cut in 1-inch pieces or half-inch strips

· yellow or red onions, but Vidalia (sweet) onions are the best – cut in ¼-inch rounds or quarter/eighth the onion – depends on the size

· cherry tomatos – leave whole

· yellow, zuccini, or patty-pan squash – cut yellow and zuccini in ½ inch strips if the diameter is up to 1 ¼ inches, otherwise split the half-inch slice (the smaller the squash the younger it is and the more flavor it has.) Cut Patty Pans in quarters or if they’re small enough, keep them whole.

· winter squash – cut squash in half, scrape out seeds and cut into 1-inch squares

· fennel – remove fronds and tough outer layer of bulb. Slice or quarter. Save fronds as a licorice-flavored seasoning for other dishes.

· white, blue or sweet potatos – cut into ½-inch squares

· white, green, purple or orange cauliflower – I just use the flower heads broken apart into single stems.

· green or yellow (wax) beans – leave whole

· white or green asparagus – trim the ends and leave whole

· brussel sprouts – cut into halves or quarters lengthwise

· eggplant – cut 1/2–inch slices, then make about 1-inch pieces from those slices.


Oven Roasting:
I cut and put directly onto my clay baking dish. As you add your vegetables, sprinkle them around and add enough of each one to make a nice color balance. Put only enough vegetable in the pan to make one solid layer of veggies.

Drizzle enough oil to nicely coat most of the veggies. I use olive oil.

Be generous in your salt. I use fresh ground sea salt and make sure there’s a reasonable coating. Salt to your taste. Same with pepper. I use fresh ground.

Add thinly sliced garlic. For my pan, which is a little larger than a jelly-roll pan, I’ll add 1½-2 large garlic cloves.

If you want, add the juice of a half lemon.

Bake in 400-degree oven for 30-45 minutes. Stir the vegetables about 2-3 times during cooking. Veggies are done according to whether you like them all soft or al-dente.


Grilling:
I prefer to marinate my grilled veggies.

In a large glass baking dish or two (like Pyrex), add your chopped veggies and 1-2 large garlic cloves, sliced. (Remember to balance your colors!)

Drizzle enough olive oil to nicely coat the vegetables and squeeze the juice of a half lemon per large Pyrex dish. Be generous with your freshly ground salt and pepper.

Stir to mix. Cover and let marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Rub vegetable grill grate with oil. When grill is hot, put grate on upper rack*, add veggies, reduce heat to medium, close top and let cook. I frequently check the veggies and stir them so they will cook evenly. It takes about 30 minutes or so.


Some of my favorite combinations are:
[1] bell peppers, onions, cherry tomatos, yellow, zucchini or patty-pan squash
[2] fennel, white or blue potatos, colored cauliflower
[3] brussel sprouts with lots of thinly sliced garlic squeeze lemon on them after they’re done
[4] asparagus, squeeze lemon on after they’re done
[5] potatos and rosemary – preferably fresh if I’ve got it
[6] winter squash is best done with other varieties of winter squash. Drizzle with oil, salt and sweetener of choice…I like Maple Syrup. If you like fall spices, mix them with a little granulated or beet sugar and sprinkle on top.

Many times I’ll just raid my vegetable bin and throw together whatever’s in there...sometimes it’s great...sometimes not so great!


*I use a gas grill with an upper and lower grilling surface and I use the upper one to grill veggies. If you have a gas grill and only a lower surface, then just reduce the heat a little more and stir more frequently. You may have to keep the top open the whole time. It’s been a while since I’ve used a charcoal grill, so…you’ll appreciate it if I don’t advise you here!