Roasted Root Vegetables

If you have been following this blog, then first of all, thank you. But if so, then you probably know  that I consider myself a "week day vegetarian" (albeit not a very good or religious one). I do this for health reasons, for the planet (you cannot do anything more significant for the environment)  and frankly, because it helps my pocketbook. Being a vegetarian does not just mean cutting out meat. It means finding the nutrition in other places that might have come from meat such as protein and B vitamins. It means paying attention to eating healthy. My partner works evenings so I am and have almost always been, left to feed myself. Since I work full time and have occasionally evening activities also, you may wonder how I can be an alleged vegetarian and find the time to cook in a healthy way (macaroni and cheese may not contain meat but...). So I am going to provide you with my top secret recipes and lay out my food program for you over a few posts over a few weeks. You will doubtless find most of it boring but maybe you can adapt things to your own life. First of all, I cook a few things in quantity on weekends and freeze. I know it may be healthier to eat fresh but what am I superman? First up is my roasted root vegetables:

Its not really a recipe, nor is it secret. Peel and chop up all these vegetables. Chop the beets smaller because they take longer to get soft. You can use whatever vegetables you want but don't be suckered into buying organic. Email me if you want to argue about that. There is no evidence that organically grown vegetables are more nutritious. As for pesticides, organic growers use natural pesticides but are you aware how many natural things will kill your ass? By the way, to me the parsnips are integral part of the final product. Don't be tempted to leave them out (I remove some of the core at the thick part of the parsnips). Mushrooms are good too. Frankly this is hard work. I always get a blister from the chopping. What a wimp!

I chuck them all in a big soup pot so that I can add olive oil and herbs and salt and pepper. In this batch I used rosemary, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. You can use what ever you like.

Oil the bottom of some roasting pans. Divide up you chopped up stuff. Cover the pans with foil. I re use the foil over and over again because I am an environmental warrior...or maybe I am just unbelievably cheap. I roast them for about an hour at 400 degrees and then take the foil off and turn it down to 325. I am not sure why. It sounds like something you might read in a cook book. To figure out when they are done, I taste them! Its not too complicated.

I like to mush them up. Many years ago, I watched an Acadian mom in Caraquet, New Brunswick, prepare the plates for each of her family by taking some boiled vegetables and mashing them up, before adding chicken and gravy. Its funny that the mashed up vegetables stuck in my mind.

\

Then all the vegetables land in freezer. These containers are good for 4 to 5 servings. I will repeat this process in about a month. I couldn't possibly prepare this every night. The beets and carrots and sweet potato especially are very good for you. There is no such thing as a super food but the more colour in a vegetable, the more it seems to offer to humans. I love these vegetables and could easily eat them every night! Stay tuned for more!