Roasted Deliciousness

On any given night I have no idea what I'm going to cook for dinner until I get in the kitchen.  Today my husband sent a text with the word "Dinner".  He's a man of few words, at times, so I responded, "Yes, we will have dinner".  I knew he wanted to know what was for dinner and all I knew at that moment was that we would eat something for dinner.  He gave me a suggestion for protein and I figured out the rest.  Luckily, we have a variety of vegetables on hand most nights so it isn't too difficult for me to create something healthy for us.

Last weekend I picked up a bag of root vegetables from the local farmer's market and they became the side dish for dinner tonight.  

Tonight we had roasted root vegetables and they were DE-LISH.  Here's the scoop on what I made, but you can adapt based on your tastes and what you have on hand or what is in season.

1 large sweet  potato

1 bulb of fennel*, including the stems but not the leaves

several carrots (I used 7 small carrots)

3 parsnips

2 golden beets (peeled)

3-4 red beets (peeled)

2 small onions (or 1 medium onion)

Garlic to your liking (I used 4-5 bulbs

olive oil 

salt

pepper

fresh herbs (to your liking) - tonight I used fresh thyme

1. Wash the vegetables and preheat your oven to 425
2. Peel the beets with a vegetable peeler (you may peel the carrots, parsnips, and sweet potato as well but we don't)
3. Chop the vegetables so that they are about the same size and thickness (about .5 to 1 inch)
4. Put the vegetables on a cookie sheet and add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil (more or less depending on how many vegetables you use - make sure they are evenly coated)
5. Season with salt, pepper, and fresh herbs to taste
6. Mix everything together on the pan with your hands, coating all ingredients with oil
7. Roast in the oven for 30-45 minutes depending on how you like them; using a spoon to stir and spread them every 15 minutes

*I typically do not like the flavor of fennel, but if you have not tried it roasted, you are missing out!  

• Other options for veggies: kohlrabi (peel first), rutabaga, turnips, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, butternut squash, acorn squash, pumpkin, potatoes 
• Other options for fresh herbs: rosemary, sage, bay leaves, parsley
• Other options for oil:  Coconut oil is another good oil you may use in this dish.  I don't use coconut oil when roasting vegetables because I like mine to have a little crunch (a.k.a. a little burned) and I have found that coconut oil makes the vegetables softer than I like.
• Sometimes I mix my oil in with a little dijon mustard for a different flavor.

We like spice at our house so from time to time my husband and I add a little crushed red pepper to our own serving of roasted vegetables.  I add goat cheese to my son's vegetables for an additional level of flavor.  

What vegetables are your favorite for roasting?  Herbs?