Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Roasting Vegetables and Some Savory Lentils

Last week as I was having that panic stricken moment of "OMG there are too many vegetables in my fridge what do I do, let's just go out to eat instead." I talked myself off of that ledge with the foolproof idea of just throwing them all in a pan with olive oil and salt, roasting them at 400F for about an hour or so, and reaping the deliciousness afterward.

This incarnation of OMGVeggies includes:
Cauliflower*
Yellow Onion*
Sungold Cherry Tomatoes*
Golden Beets*
Carrots*
Mushrooms*
Chives*
Garlic*
Cubed Herb Tofu**
Olive Oil
Smoked Paprika
Salt and Pepper

I also made some roasted yukon gold potatoes*** with rosemary* and garlic* and some Garlicky Kale (Farmers Market) with Tahini Dressing (from VWaV). Yum! The cherry tomatoes burst during the roasting and mixed with the olive oil for this sweet tomato-y fantasticness. All of the veggies turn into golden love nibbles. Seriously, I'm not really a huge fan of beets or cauliflower, but roasted like this, everything just tastes luscious and juicy. Mmmm.

This week I'm participating in a "Giving Our Cookbooks Some Use" challenge over at The PPK Forums - this week the cookbook in question is Eat, Drink and Be Vegan by Dreena Burton. I have this cookbook, and I've made several recipes, but I love a challenge and I don't use this book as much as I should. So I'm challenging myself to make:
  • Lemon-broiled green beans
  • Blackened Tofu
  • Savory French Lentils
  • Roasted Winter Squash Rings
  • Pan-Fried Temp-teh
  • Teriyaki Quinoa
  • Pumpkin Cheese Pie
Seems kind of psychotic, but I have all this stuff in the house already, so it's just a matter of making the time.


I started off the week right by making the Savory French (Puy) Lentils and Lemon Broiled Green Beans last night. YUM! Both were super easy and very tasty, and I would recommend them to all. I will definitley be making both again. I freaking love lentils, don't you? They're just so dang good.

To round out the meal I made a (huge) batch of this rice mix I bought at Trader Joe's - I think it has red, wild and brown rices mixed together, and I cooked it with some garlic powder, oregano, evoo and salt, so it had some flava on it's own. It went great with the lentils. I also made some quick pickles with our gabillion cucumbers and some radishes, red wine vinegar, sugar and salt. The rest are actually pickling in the fridge in jars, woo-hoo! Oh and we had an arugula salad topped with sungold cherry tomatoes and some of the tahini dressing leftover from the kale the other night. It was like a feast, I tell ya! I love fall, so many good things to eat.

* = CSA, Organic!
** = NW/Local Product
*** = Picked it ourselves! Organic.

We went apple and potato picking this past weekend, and also picked up some winter squash. I'm feeling a combo soup coming on...stay tuned.

7 comments:

Susan said...

They look wonderful. Especially that massive plate of roasted vegetables. Just looking at it is making me feel vitamin deficient and I must go and have vegetables right now!

carrie said...

Those roasted veggies do look delicious....sometimes simple thigs are the most perfect!!

You are going to love the blackened tofu from ED&BV, it's divine. My husband isn't always a fan of tofu as a main dish, but he LOVED this one and couldn't get enough. Even the toddler liked it. The savory lentils are another winter time favorite of ours, aren't the great!!??

allularpunk said...

all your food looks so wonderful!

Anonymous said...

What a great cookbook to cook from this week!

I love the goldenness of all of those roasted veggies.

I really need to try that Garlicky Kale - it looks really good!

Anonymous said...

Oh yes, I know the OMG, too many veggies moment! Great what you came up with, I love the colours!

VeganCowGirl said...

Aren't Puy lentils amazing? I had them for the first time in London last month. Super yummy.

I adore your fridge horror moment - thanks for the share - and the recipe looks/sounds great!

Chessa said...

Susan - I hope you had some tasty veggies as a result of this post! I'm always glad to inspire some veggie love. :)

Carrie - yeah, the roasted veggies are the bomb. But seriously, how can you go wrong with olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper? I'm pretty sure it turns everything into deliciousness. We did love that tofu! More about it in my next post. ;)

allularpunk - thanks!!

Jenny - it was a great cookbook week! I definitely enjoyed using it more. Try the kale! It won't disappoint you.

Seitanismymotor - Thanks! Yes, I think that feeling can be a common one among us vegans, but it is no less anxiety-inspiring!

VeganCowGirl - OMG french lentils are definitely my new fave! Delicious. This harvest-y time of year is particularly good at inspiring fear/horror due to the over-abundance of vegetables! But we can overcome! With olive oil and garlic by our sides, we too can transform them into edible delights! ;)