eclaire (what’s in a) name?

in my last post, i inundated all of you with lots and lots of cookie recipes. so i thought that in this week, post-holiday festivities and indulgences, i would give you a hearty, low cal, and extremely satisfying recipe.

the vegetarian times this month was full of quick roasted veggie meals, and, inspired by the photos and descriptions, mike and i decided we had to choose at least one to try out for ourselves. the one we picked had fennel, beets, and parsnips, plus oranges, olives, and balsamic added post-roasting.

the secret to make the roasting quick is to turn up the heat on the oven almost the highest temperature possible, and to slice the veggies into what i like to call “two-bite” size pieces. although the chopping is a little labor intensive, and the beets bleed all over your hands (as you can see in the picture above), it’s priceless to have a 30 minute roasting-to-table recipe.

the first time we made this recipe, we followed most of the directions, including oranges and olives, and serving it over a bed of lettuce and polenta. the only change i made the first time around was substituting sweet potatoes for the parsnips. on the second round, however, we made lots of changes: we eliminated the oranges, olives, and lettuce, and simply served the roasted veggies alongside polenta. i think that the simpler version is tastier, and less fuss. you could also serve these veggies with good hearty bread or brown rice, and possibly include tofu or tempeh to add some protein.

no matter how you slice it (ha, ha), these roasted veggies will get you on the road to feeling a lot healthier after the holiday season’s sugar and fat laced deliciousness. and speaking of recovering from the holiday season, have any of you made new year’s resolutions? i normally avoid resolutions, as i tend to break them before january is over. but this year, i have set several goals for myself that i’d like to share with you to help keep me accountable: 1) eat more whole foods instead of processed/packaged foods; 2) eat slowly to enjoy every bite of deliciousness; 3) floss regularly (why is it that flossing and heart disease have an inverse correlation?); 4) get more sleep; 5) take vitamins (vitamins can be a hotly contested subject, because we really should be getting all of our nutrients from the food that we eat…but as a vegetarian, i think that taking a good multi is really important, and i swear i feel more satiated on the days i take one). ok, so those are my plans for this year to improve my overall health and well-being (notice how i avoided the word “resolution”? :) ). do you have goals for this year?

roasted veggies

adapted from vegetarian times, january 2009
yields 6 servings

• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into steak-fry sized chunks (or 4 parsnips)
• 4 beets, peeled and cut into the same size pieces as the sweet potatoes
• 1 bulb of fennel, tops removed and chopped into roughly the same size as the other veggies (or 2 onions)
• 2T olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2T balsamic vinegar (optional)
• 1/2c sliced kalamata olives (optional)
• 2 tangerines or 1 orange, peeled and sliced into chunks (optional)
• 4c lettuce or arugula (optional)
• polenta or other starch or protein to take this from a side dish to an entree
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1. preheat oven to 450° and chop sweet potatoes, beets, & fennel as instructed above, mostly making sure that everything is the roughly the same size as the rest so they cook in the same amount of time
2. place sweet potatoes, beets, and fennel on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt, & pepper, tossing with hands to coat
3. roast for 20 mins, turning the veggies with a spatula once or twice
4. turn heat up to 500° and roast 10 mins more, or until veggies are at your desired tenderness, then remove from oven
5. drizzle balsamic vinegar over veggies and turn with spatula to coat
6. if using kalamata olives, orange, and/or lettuce, place these items plus the hot veggies into a very large bowl and toss several times to coat thoroughly
7. serve either from the baking pan or the bowl with polenta, hearty bread, brown rice, tofu, and/or tempeh, and enjoy!