Mmmmmm..... The Roasted Veggies

Down to four people in the house, now that my youngest went back to college.  My youngest son who is vegan commutes to college, so he is usually at the dinner table, and my other son is only home 2 nights a week.  Cooking dinner becomes tricky this time of year for me trying to please everyones taste buds, when there are so few of us eating.  Fresh vegetables are always on the table, no matter what or who likes them.

I made grilled chicken yesterday for dinner, and roasted veggies on the grill.  The vegan had the roasted veggies mixed with Farfalle, which were side dishes for us.  It's not really hard cooking, I just have to have more of a thought process behind it, "what will he eat" when there is meat on the table.

These are my roasted veggies and how I made them - I use one small green zucchini and one small yellow squash, 1/2 red onion, 1/2 red pepper, and a handful of grape tomatoes, salt, pepper, herbs de provence, garlic and olive oil.  Toss this all together in a bowl and then put into a grill basket on the grill.  Grill until lightly browned, tossing as they are cooking.  The flavor of them is amazing!  Eat them plain, mixed with hot pasta, mixed into a pasta salad, as a veggie sandwich maybe add regular cheese or vegan cheese, these are a few ideas, but many different ways to use them.

NOTE:  These can also be made in the oven, roast at 400 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes. Toss once during cooking.  Cooking time may vary as all ovens are different.

Green Pasta

Just me and my son the vegan in the house last night for dinner.  We were both hungry, he just came in from school, and I hadn't eaten all day.  I had a lot of fresh veggies to use up in the refrigerator, but with no meat on the menu for him, I had to come up with something good for both of us to eat.  I had broccoletti, asparagus, all kinds of colored peppers, fresh parsley and garlic waiting for me in the refrigerator.  I also had watercress, a favorite of mine in there too, so I made a simple salad out of that.  We both enjoyed it, got our bellies full and satisfied.  I topped mine with grated Parmesan cheese.  This is how I made it.

On high heat, put on a pot of salted water for the pasta. Wash and trim the broccoletti and the asparagus, pat dry.  

  In a saute pan, on medium heat, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 3 minced cloves of garlic.  I used a red pepper for color in this dish, cut it into bite size pieces and add it to the garlic.  Chop the broccolini and slice the asparagus on the diagonal and add to the pan.  Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.  Cook the vegetables just until they are tender, not mushy, they should have bite to them.  

 When the water starts to boil, add your pasta.  I used Farfalle, we love that shape of pasta.   Right before serving, hit the veggies with juice from 1/2 of a lemon, and 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley.

 Top with grated cheese if you like, and a side salad of watercress, red onion and grape tomatoes with garlic dressing rounds out the meal.