An Exploration of Vegetables

In MARCH, we met at Marie Spencer's home to explore vegetables.

Marie showed simple and delicious Roasted Vegetables

Roasted Vegetables
Preheat the oven to 450. Combine the following vegetables (or any combination of vegetables that you like) in a 9 x 13 baking dish:
fresh beans, snapped----diced or cherry tomatoes----sliced zucchini
sliced red/yellow onion----sliced yellow/red/green pepper----asparagus

Stir in some minced garlic. Drizzle 3-4 tabelspoons of olive oil and cracked pepper over vegetables. Stir.
Bake for about 30 minutes (depending on how well-done you like your veggies), stirring every 10 minutes.

Marie also made Miriam's Sweet Potatoes

Miriam's Sweet Potatoes

Preheat oven to 450. Toss together in a large bowl:
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes.
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves of garlic pressed, or garlic salt
cracked pepper

Line a cookie sheet with foil. Pour sweet potatoes onto the foil-lined cookies sheet.
Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until browned.
Squeeze lime juice over potatoes just before serving.

Marie and Jackie preparing the lime addition

Jackie introduced us to a WIDE variety of vegetables
that we had never tasted (or even heard of)
What an awesome necklace Jackie!

Okay, obviously we've all had oranges before-
Jackie added them to a vegetable blend salad

Variety Vegetable Salad
I'd love to tell you the veggie names- but I can't remember any!

Jackie also made a delicious Eggplant Lasagna

Eggplant Lasagna Stacks
2 medium to large eggplants, sliced lengthwise into 6 steaks each
salt and black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil

Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can diced or crushed fire-roasted tomatoes (28 oz)
a handful of fresh basil, torn

Filling Options:
1.5 cups ricotta, 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano, 1 egg yolk, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste
or
1 pound ground browned turkey or chicken crumbles, 1 egg yolk, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, salt and pepper and a sprinkle of poultry seasoning
Optional topper:
8 thin slices of smoked mozzarella

Preparation:
Pre-heat a grill pan to medium-high heat. Pre-heat the oven to 400.
Pour 1/3 cup olive oil in a small dish. Brush the eggplant lightly on both sides and season the eggplant steaks with salt and pepper. Grill steaks for 4 minutes on each side and remove from heat. You will need to prepare the steaks in batches. Once removed from the grill or grill pan, do NOT pile the eggplant up- stacking hot eggplant will cause overcooking.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Add the onions and garlic; saute until translucent, 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices and the basil; stir and simmer for 3-4 minutes.

Once eggplant steaks are grilled marked, make the lasagna stacks.
For cheese stacks, build four using: eggplant steak, 1/4 cup cheese filling, sauce, eggplant steak, 1/4 cup cheese filling, eggplant steak, sauce, and two slices mozzarella on top (if desired).

For meat-filled stacks, build four using: eggplant steak, 1/8 of the meat filling (about 1/4 cup), sauce, eggplant steak, 1/8 of the meat filling, eggplant steak, sauce, and two slices mozzarella on top (if desired).

Each individually portioned stack will include three steaks and about 1/2 cup of filling.
Roast the stacks on a baking sheet for 15 minutes or so in the oven.

This is a Rachel Ray recipe. She has a lot of good eggplant recipes on her website; just type 'eggplant' in the recipe search (upper right corner) if you feel like trying something new.

And Marie prepared two extra vegetable recipes for us to taste:
Spiced Sweet Potato Chips
1 sweet potato
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375. Thinly slice sweet potatoes. Spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Arrange potato slices on the baking sheets in a single layer. Coat the slices lightly with cooking spray.
Bake for 7 minutes, or until barely starting to brown. Turn the potato slices over and return to the oven. Back until lightly browned, about 7 to 10 minutes.
Combine all the spices in a small bowl. Pour over the chips and toss well before serving.

Cumin-Toasted Chickpeas
1 can (15.5 oz) chickpeas, rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 450. Blot the chickpeas dry with a paper towel. On a large baking sheet, toss the chickpeas with the oil; then sprinkle with the cumin and salt. Stir to coat.
Bake for 10 to 30 minutes, shaking the baking sheet occasionally, or until golden brown and crunchy. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.