Oven Roasted Vegetables

Possibly, roasting might be the easiest method to cook tasty food. Certainly, some people will whine about roasting meats- how difficult it is. If we are being honest, how difficult is it to put a salt-and-peppered chicken on a roasting pan and letting it cook until golden? It isn’t! Right? Easier, still, is roasting vegetables. This particular combo took all of 10 minutes.

Clues: Clean and pat dry whichever vegetables you want to eat. In a roasting tray, drizzle vegetables with oil, salt and pepper. You may add various other herbs, such as oregano, or even include a few whole garlic cloves. Mix together and roast in a preheated hot oven for a few minutes until done to your liking. I had my oven at its maximum, 250 degrees Celcius.

Bon appetit.

Baby Spinach & Grilled Zucchini Salad

This salad was the beeswax. It is simple and packed to the bone with flavor: just my type. The baby spinach was my own that I grew on a pot and if I do say so myself, it was and is the best baby spinach I ever set upon my palate. Yes. The difference between truly fresh food and pretend fresh food (supermarket fresh) is mind blowing. Maybe maddening.

I had zucchini overload. My friend Ruthy and I, tired of sad supermarket groceries, went out seeking a market and we discovered a vibrant one. I almost tripped when I saw a woman selling plump zucchini at 10 shillings. I stocked up. So inevitably, stand by for another zucchini bake.

Since it was zucchini which is a heartier vegetable, I changed up the dressing from the usual lemon and olive oil to a mustard based one. The recipe follows.

Oven Roasted Carrots w/ Feta and Spring Onions

If you have never roasted carrots in the oven or on a grill, I am here to blow your mind. Here’s one interesting thing about vegetables: cooking them certain ways such as by roasting brings out their sweetness incredibly. Every time I caramelize onions on the stove top I am massively surprised by the abundance of natural sweetness present. A first timer would never believe there was no sugar added. Peas too, would blow your mind.

These carrots were almost too sweet for my non sweet tooth. Therefore I found the addition of feta to be a wonderful one for balance and contrast in flavor. To serve, I had it as a side with a meaty main, though you could easily build on it to come up with a decent, light, hopefully vegetarian meal.

The recipe follows.