Please Tell Me You're A Regular Roaster...

If you don't often roast vegetables, then you are surely missing out in my opinion. Roasting seems to bring out the natural sweetness in carrots, a great nutty flavor in broccoli, and tones down that "raw" taste that some don't like. Though eating raw veggies has great health benefits that any type of cooking can take away, it may not be reasonable for you to serve vegetables in a raw form every day. We all enjoy variety, and roasting is a very easy cooking method that requires few ingredients or work. If you live in a colder climate, it may be very welcome to turn on your oven often, but if not, you can also use the bbq. I decided to roast some veggies last night, for instance, because I was using the oven already. Living in sunny Southern CA with summer on its way, I will probably need to switch to the bbq soon.


Roasting vegetables is very easy and practically fool proof. Throw them on a pan, then into the oven, and call them done when you're finished making the rest of dinner- OR be more deliberate~ Caress the veggies in olive oil, sprinkling delicately with salt, and perhaps some herbs, and place them into the pre-heated oven at exactly some degrees for exactly some time. Either way, I think you'll have success. Really, I've roasted on various temperatures, and usually don't set the timer. My family and I like when they get a little brown, but you may like them slightly less done. Whatever your liking, I'd certainly recommend you try roasting your favorite veggies for a really easy, healthy side to any meal.

Good veggies for roasting:

Root vegetables work best~
Carrots
Broccoli -(I cut in pieces beforehand)
Potato chunks
Sweet Potato chunks
Onions
Asparagus
Zucchini
Cauliflower
Squash
and more!

Ok so some real tips if you really are new to roasting, use a pan with a rim, don't over crowd- do one layer. Toss them around at least half-way through cooking, and I've heard that using oil will cut down the cooking time some. Be careful to have similar sized pieces as your veggies may require different cooking times. And your roasting will probably take at least 30 minutes and expect to use a high temperature (like 400) for best (quicker) results. If your chicken dinner requires 350, then by all means don't burn your chicken for sake of roasting, just plan to roast for longer.