Broccoli, Asparagus and Peppers OH MY!

An "oven-grilled' side dish.

Believe it or not, the first time I ever ate a roasted veggie was about 3 years ago. I was on a boat and the chef made them by spreading them out on a pan, smothering them in Olive oil, salt and pepper, and broiling them. I thought that was very clever meal idea, but I could not bring myself to eat much of it knowing just how much oil was used in making them. I was sure that there was another way to make the vegetables softer but still stay crunchy. I’m sure there is, maybe it’s just that chef?

People, when you cook the S*%t out of vegetables, not only will you get a flaccid one, but you also loose alot of the nutrition value! I don’t know about you, but I eat Broccoli alot for the simple fact that it is a super-food containing calcium, Vitamin C and fiber. It helps to aid in the absorption of Iron into the body– which means if you pair it with red meat, or spinach (for vegetarians), you’re getting total bonus points! You will see Broccoli ALOT in your endeavors with me! I used yellow Peppers because that’s all I had, but Red peppers have loads of Vitamin C in them as well. And Asparagus, well surprisingly, those little stems are packed with tons of fun for your body–don’t be tuned off by the smell of your pee after you eat them; They contain a small amount of sulfur which your body passes through in your urine.

Hint: if you boil/steam veggies, keep the water as a broth. It stores all those lost nutrients!

Since figuring this recipe out, Roasted vegetables have become a favorite side-dish of mine because all you have to do is put them in the oven for like 10 minutes! I’ve also spiced them up a bit so they don’t taste bland. The good thing about this recipe is that I’m going to give you a list of veggies specific to this “technique”:

Kristi’s Roasted Veg- This can be done on an actual grill/ BBQ (which adds tons of flavor) Serves…well as many people as you want to chop up vegetables for.

Choose as little, or as many of the following recommended veg: Also, I will note the way I chop them.

• Broccoli- Cut the “tree” off, save the bottoms (they’re good for adding a little crunch to tuna salad, potato salad, stir-fry etc)
• Peppers (any color)- Slice these from top to bottom (taking the middle/seeds out) then in half, or cut them into little bite-size squares
• Asparagus- Cut off the white bottom (throw them out), cut to bite-able size
• Zucchini/ squash- slice into medallions
• Carrots- however you want as long as you can fit it into your mouth.
• Onion’ sliced

And the following:

• Parmesan Cheese
• S&P
• Garlic Salt

my arranged vegetable marriage

You may have noticed that I covered my pan in aluminum foil–it’s the clean-up assistant, I swear!

After you’ve washed, chopped and arranged them on the pan for equal heat distribution, or if your pan is too small like mine, put the ones that need to be cooked the least–aka. get soggier faster– on the bottom. ~If you’ve previously washed your veggies, washing them again will help to steam them in the tinfoil bag*.~

If you’re doing it on the BBQ, you may be afraid of the poor unsuspecting veggies falling through the crack. So to prevent this, *lay out an accommodating sized sheet of tin-foil, put the veggies in the middle,do steps 1-3 and fold the edges of the tin-foil together creating a little bag and place in inside side of the BBQ (not on the fire). If you’re confident and trust your spouse to not drop them, you can make an “open bag” and put them on

After the veggies are nicely settled:

1. SPRINKLE the veggies LIGHTLY with a TINY bit of olive oil.
2. Sprinkle the veggies with the S&P, Garlic Salt and Parmesan cheese
3. Put in your choice of heating method– Oven= Broil, BBQ/Grill=tin-foil bag.
4. Cook until warm and slightly bendy and possibly a little toasty, but not flaccid.

Really, is that all? I feel like this recipe isn’t good enough cuz it’s so easy!

PS, if you want to try this without the “grill” factor, make the bag for the oven and throw in a little soy-sauce (instead of salt) to steam the veggies. This is great with peas.

Enjoy and Have fun!

Xo

Kristi