I'm tagged

Okay, so blog games have made it to my blog. Ordinarily I think I would graciously ask to be excused, but seeing as how this game is all about food...I'll do it. :) My job is to post 4 of my favorite recipes. Unfortunately for anyone who wants to try my recipes, I am TERRIBLE about measuring and following recipes. So bear with me on this one. There will be lots of pinches and handfuls and estimations.

Here is one recipe that is wonderful, especially in the winter months. Very simple too, which is always nice!

Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients:
* any amount of assorted vegetables
(Here are some combinations we enjoy:
-potatoes, onions, carrots, beets
-squash, zucchini, tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms
-sweet potatoes, potatoes, beets, fennel
Basically, put together a colorful combination.)

All you do is chop your vegetables up into similar sized chunks. We prefer them on the larger size, but if I'm stuck for time, I cut them small. (Of course, peel them first if you want.) Spray a large pyrex dish lightly with cooking spray. Toss the vegetables in the dressing (see below). Place them in the dish. Bake at 375 for 30-60 min, depending on the size of your chunks. Take them out of the oven when they are getting browned on the edges.

The dressing:
There are 2 basic dressings that I often do:

ONE
olive oil
balsamic vinegar (1 tbsp)
herbs (basil, thyme & rosemary--fresh is always better, but dry works fine)
garlic powder
salt & pepper, if desired

TWO
olive oil
honey (maybe 1/8 cup)
thyme
salt & pepper

Whisk all the ingredients together for the dressing until blended well. Basically, you can use however much olive oil you desire. The more you use, the more "fried" it will be. I often use about 1/4 cup for a large 15in. pyrex dish full of vegetables.

I know this was a lengthy recipe, but it really is such a simple, healthy and hearty dish to make. It's great for company because it's easy to make a lot of it. Here is a picture of some roasted vegetables I made recently. I roasted these in my Schlemmertopf (clay pot) instead of a pyrex dish.


And while I'm on the idea of roasting vegetables, here's another fabulous recipe: roasted cauliflower. I found this recipe somewhere on the internet, and it is unbelievably good! I do not like cauliflower, but it's always on sale at the store. I was determined to find a way to cook cauliflower so that it tasted mild and pleasant. I finally found it!

Roasted Cauliflower
1 head of cauliflower
1 lemon
5 or more cloves of garlic
olive oil
salt
pepper
parmesan cheese (shredded is better, but grated works just fine)

Preheat oven to 375. Chop the cauliflower into bite size chunks. Spray a large pyrex dish with cooking spray. Place cauliflower chunks in dish. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice all over the cauliflower. Drizzle olive oil over the cauliflower. Mince the garlic and sprinkle over the cauliflower (the more the better! Remember roasted garlic is much more mild and pleasant tasting than fresh or sauteed). Sprinkle salt and pepper on the cauliflower. Lastly, sprinkle a generous amount of parmesan cheese over the cauliflower. Place in oven and bake for 30-60 minutes, depending on the size of your chunks. Just pull it out when the cauliflower is getting nicely golden brown on the edges.

That's all I have time for now, but I will continue over the next couple of days with an orzo salad (this one is for you, Tali!), a cookie recipe, and a great kiddie recipe.