If you’ve read my novel, Starting from Scratch, you may recall that Olivia’s mother, Vivian, wrote a popular cooking newsletter, “Cooking with Vivian.” And if you and I are friends, you may know that long before I wrote that novel, I had a little cooking newsletter myself: “Cooking with the Insecure Chef.” It was quite different from Vivian’s: more satirical, less regularly published, fewer subscribers. Frankly, I’m not as fantastic a cook as Vivian (though I get points for trying). But “Cooking with the Insecure Chef” did inspire the newsletter in the novel.

Recently, several people have asked me if I’ve done any issues lately. The answer is no, because, you know: children. Eleven years ago, our first baby boy arrived, and suddenly I barely had time to go to the bathroom, let alone knock off another issue of a cooking newsletter just for fun. (I don’t know how Vivian did it.) I’ve often thought about it, though, and occasionally I’ve stuck recipes or ideas away in a file.

Now our first baby boy is in middle school, and our second baby boy is in kindergarten, and I actually get to go to the bathroom pretty often. (Livin’ the dream.) I can’t make up for an eleven year absence from my newsletter, but I can share with you some of my very favorite recipes from the past eleven years. So here it is, recipe #1:

Roasted Veggies

I know: I’m a little late to the party. Roasted veggies have surely been around forever. But somehow I didn’t grow up with the notion of chopping up a bunch of veggies, tossing them with oil and seasonings, and popping them into a 425°F oven. Sure, my mom threw some carrots and potatoes in with the pot roast or the chicken–yum–but I don’t recall her ever roasting a pan of veggies by themselves.

Then I got my hands on Simply in Season, a wonderful cookbook focused on seasonal veggies and fruits, and tried their “Roasted Summer Vegetables.” I was hooked. It’s an incredibly versatile basic recipe; you can change up the veggies, you can use it for a side dish or a main dish. Here’s one of my favorite variations, which I used recently as a stuffing for make-your-own-burrito night.

  1. Ch0p into bite-sized pieces:
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 zuccini
  • 1 yellow squash
  • 1 onion

Note: Chop squash/zucchini into larger pieces in proportion to the rest because they cook up faster.

Also note: tomatoes would be terrific with this combination. Add cherry tomatoes to the roasting pan five or ten minutes into the cooking time.

Now the veggies look about like this:

2. Toss the chopped veggies with at least a tablespoon or two of olive oil and your seasonings of choice, to taste. (Be generous with the olive oil.) In this case, since I was using the veggies for burritos, I used oregano, cumin seed that I ground myself, and salt and pepper.

3. Spread the veggies in a single layer on a baking sheet (I had to use two baking sheets for this recipe) and roast at 425°F for about 20 minutes. Stir the veggies several times throughout roasting; this is essential to keeping the veggies from sticking to the pan. (I start stirring at about 7 minutes.)

 

 

When they’re tender to the fork and have lovely carmelized brown bits, the veggies are done. Use as a side dish, stuff them into burritos, or toss with a bit of parmesan or feta cheese and serve over pasta or rice for a main dish.

 

 

 

 

Here are a few more variations we love:

  • Toss sliced baby red potatoes with olive oil and rosemary. Add baby carrots if you like. This is a great side for roast chicken.
  • Toss the chopped veggies in the above recipe with 1/2 cup of your favorite Italian dressing (we like Garlic Expressions) instead of oil and seasonings. It’s super easy and so delicious.
  • Toss chopped onion, eggplant, summer squash or zucchini, red or green peppers, and tomatoes with several cloves minced garlic; 1/3 cup olive oil; about 1 tsp. of any or all of the following: dried oregano, basil, rosemary, parsley, thyme; 2 Tbls. balsamic vinegar; 1 Tbls. Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. This makes a great main dish over pasta.

As a rule of thumb, roasting any pan of veggies at 425°F for about 15 – 20 minutes won’t be far wrong. If you chop or slice things more thickly, roast a little longer. Potatoes, turnips, and parsnips can take more like 30 minutes if they’re in bigger pieces; summer squash can be done in 12 – 15.