Vegetables waiting to be roasted: eggplant, zucchini, portobello mushrooms
"Man who stands on hill with mouth open will wait long time for roast duck to drop in." - Confuscius
- It's healthier - We know what all the ingredients are, and they are all fresh (only high-quality foods and limited oil & butter, bien sur)
- It's cheaper - pound for nutritional pound, preparing fresh food is always cheaper than buying prepared or processed food
- It provides a connection - handling our own food makes us more mindful of it. We're more aware of it than when a plate of flesh and vegetables are placed in front of us for consumption.
What to do - Roast Food (And a Recipe for Roasted Vegetables)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Chop vegetables into bite size pieces. If you are roasting meat, you can roast it at the same time as the veggies. If you are following the special recipe, chop up an eggplant, 2 squash (zucchini or yellow), and 3 portobello mushrooms.
- Put food in a roasting pan. I use any type of available baking pan, like a 9x12 brownie pan, or a square glass pan. If the food doesn't fit into one pan, divide it into two.
- Add whatever spices you would like. You can use rosemary, pepper, thyme, mint, basil, basically whatever you would like. For the recipe, add a few shakes of crushed red pepper, basil and oregano over the top of the vegetables.
- Coat with olive oil. Drizzle 1/3 cup over food, and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula to coat.
- Pop into the oven. If you are roasting vegetables alone, they should be done in 40-45 minutes. If you are cooking meat, refer to a cookbook for cooking times.
- If you would like to add a grain, cook up some barley, brown rice, quinoa or whole wheat pasta. If you need instructions on how to do that, leave a comment.
- Pull roast out of oven after correct time, and add it to grains if you would like.
You're done! You've made a tasty and healthy meal.
Finished roasted vegetables with barley
What I ate: 14 oz. green juice, 1 banana, 1 clementine, 2 oz. almonds, 2 oz. pumpkin seeds, 2 oz. macadamia nuts, 2 oz. dried apricots, 1 c. brown rice, 1 c. steamed tofu + broccoli + mushrooms (resavored), 1 apple, 1 nectarine, 2 c. whole wheat spaghetti + Rao's eggplant sauce, 3 stalks sauteed broccoli rabe + shitake mushrooms + garlic, 1 hot chocolate, 54 oz. water
Exercise: None