So I read in a Depression Era cookbook that the most efficient and conscientious way to use the oven was to only turn it on when you could fill it – sort of like only doing full loads of laundry.
And I think I have reached a critical mass of things that need roasting – and that means I have plans for my weekend.
There’s a butternut squash that has finally lost its greenish tinge. And I have never seen the need to risk self-injury peeling those things raw. So this’ll get split in half and roasted. And maybe I’ll roast up the seeds as well.
There are green tomatoes. I am have been reading recipes for roasted tomatillo salsas, and I see no reason not to attempt them with my stubbornly green tomatoes.
I think I’ll also roast a couple jalepeno peppers for the salsa, as well.
Knowing that I was heading toward roasting, when I stopped by my produce truck last weekend I picked up some proper whole heads of garlic, instead of the pre-peeled ones I usually cheat with.
I did not pick up any bell peppers, but I might yet.
And I have some potatoes, but I’d need to think up something sexy to do with them to make them worth the attention. I’d been eying the cauliflower and thinking of aloo gobi when I bought them. Hmmm… could you make that with leftover baked potatoes?
So my question is what else I should consider as worthy of tucking into the corners of my oven while I’m doing this other stuff.
Eggplant? Roasted eggplant freezes well, is all that I’m saying.
You’ve already got squash and tomatoes, which are my other stand-by roasty things. You could roast your cauliflower, I suppose? I’ve had it done up like that and it was quite good.
I’d pick up whatever peppers I could find and do those. Also, it occurs to me that there’s no reason you couldn’t throw a loaf of bread in with all of this–I’ve certainly done it before with no ill effects. Plus, then you have delicious warm bread!
Oh, or onions in tinfoil. Like–take onion, peel and cut off the top, but not the root. Almost quarter the onion, but leave the root parts still attached. Add a bit of butter or olive oil, plus either a little chicken stock or a little chicken powder. Wrap tightly in foil, bake until onion has gone squishy and delicious. Those’ll freeze, too, and they’re great with everything.
OOoooo…. I am on such an eggplant kick. If I had taken my whole wallet to the produce truck instead of just a $5 bill, I would have come back with a lovely small-medium eggplant and a cauliflower. Maybe I’ll go back tomorrow and see if they still have pretty ones. And then I could tumble them together with some cilantro stems and a can of tomatoes and maybe some indian spices.
The Orangette’s blog, whose back catalog I am currently devouring, keeps waxing poetic about roasted cauliflower.
But roasted peppers – they are a summer thing. (in my head, since I only figured them out the last couple years, but they are firmly slotted into the land of summer for me) Feel free to convince me otherwise.
OOoooo… onions. I had that though, and it fell right out of my head. But, yeah, there have to be onions. Especially since the whole thing that really kicked me into this reading food blogs thing was this bit of porn.
You’re the bestest.
Roasted peppers are delicious all year round. I think that you are doing it wrong.
Here is the thing: there are very, very few things that are not improved by roasted peppers. Beef roast? Better with some roasted peppers in the gravy. Hummus? Better with some roasted peppers in the mix. Pasta? Fantastic with just some white beans and roasted peppers and caramelized onions and a bit of olive oil or red sauce. Scrambled eggs? Why not try an omlette of delicious roasted peppers? Sauteed eggplant is even more delicious when you throw in some roasted red peppers–indeed, sauteed eggplant with caramelized onions and roasted peppers and bit of cheese is one of my winter staple dishes. Making beans, the kind with bacon and tomatoes? Try adding some roasted peppers. It makes it more delicious.
Basically, what I am trying to tell you is that I have at least three jars of roasted peppers in my kitchen, plus at least three whole peppers waiting to be roasted in my fridge, and they make EVERYTHING BETTER and you should give it a go.
(Sandwiches of leftover chicken or turkey are greatly improved by adding some roasted red pepper and a little avocado…)