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roasting

Fat-Free Sweet Potato Fries

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If you are looking for a delicious, healthy side dish or snack, fat-free sweet potato fries are a perfect choice!  They are simple to put together, loaded with good nutrition, and they’re always a crowd pleaser!  They’re fantastic with our homemade garlic-cilantro aioli.  We love this simple aioli because it goes together in 30 seconds in your blender!  We love recipes that are quick, simple, healthy and that taste great…and both of these recipes fit the bill!  Give these sweet potatoes a try and let us know what you think!

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*If you don’t mind some oil on your fries, try tossing your uncooked sweet potato wedges with 2-3 tablespoons of avocado oil before seasoning them.

*Root vegetables can take a lot of salt.  Don’t be afraid to give them a good sprinkling.  {Don’t go overboard, but don’t skimp unless that’s how you like them}

*If you’re worried about your sweet potato wedges sticking to your foil, try crinkling the foil before you place it on the baking sheet.  This way the potatoes will be touching less of the foil’s surface, which means you will have less sticking when they come out of the oven.

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Garlic-Cilantro Aioli

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Aioli.  You’ve heard of it.  Maybe even seen it.  But what in the world is it?  Well, you’ve come to the right place for answers!  Aioli is a garlic-flavored mayonnaise typically served with fish, seafood and vegetables.  It’s a French word with Latin roots:  ai–>garlic (allium) and oli–>oil (oleum).  Garlic Oil.  Yup.  We’re making garlic oil today!  With a little cilantro thrown in for good measure.

Garlic-Cilantro Aioli main

You’ll be so happy you tried today’s recipe.  This aioli is so easy to make…it all goes in the blender, and you’re done in 30 seconds!  There’s nothing I love more than an easy, quick, delicious recipe!

So far we have enjoyed our garlic-cilantro aioli  with Roasted Artichoke, Fat-Free Sweet Potato Fries (we will share that recipe with you next week!) and we even used it as a sandwich spread.  You just can’t go wrong with this aioli!  Comment below and let us know how you like to eat your aioli!

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Roasted Artichoke

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Roasted ArtichokeIf you want to impress your dinner guests, serve them this fabulous roasted artichoke!  It may take a long time in the oven, but with only a couple of minutes of prep, it can be roasting while you prepare your meal, weed the garden or take a nap!  And the flavor it develops from roasting is well worth the wait.  As you may have noticed by now, roasting is one of our favorite ways to prepare veggies!  If you like it steamed or boiled, try it roasted and you may never go back!  We served this with a delicious garlic-cilantro-lime aioli that was made in the blender in about 30 seconds!  Click here for this yummy recipe, you will love it!

 

To eat your artichoke, pull the leaves off, dip the part of the leaf that was attached to the artichoke in your sauce, put it in your mouth, close your teeth on the leaf, and pull outward.  The soft, delicious part of the leaf will come off the more fibrous, woody part.  Discard the leaf when you have eaten the soft part.  Enjoy!

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Roasted Broccoli

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Roasted Broccoli 2 We discovered roasted broccoli last year at our house, and veggies have never been the same.  I don’t steam broccoli anymore because roasting is so easy and delicious, and holds more of the nutrition in.  Great as a simple side dish, or even to go in a casserole, you will love roasted broccoli!

We wanted carrots to go with our broccoli, so I added a big handful to the bag before I tossed it with the avocado oil.  They finished roasting at the same time, and they were a fabulous addition to our meal!  I added freshly ground Real Salt and pepper, and they tasted buttery when they came out of the oven!  Since no butter is used (but we love butter at our house!) it was a healthier choice with all the flavor! Roasted Broccoli main Avocado oil is my go-to oil for roasting because it has such a high smoke point (500 degrees!).  Other oils can be substituted for roasting, but since this is my current favorite, it’s what I list in the recipe.

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Snail Beer Trap

Snail Beer Trap

Ingredients

  • 2 disposable plastic cups
  • an old pencil
  • a can of beer OR DIY Yeast Snail Bait
  • DIY Yeast Snail Bait:
  • 1 Tbsp of flour
  • 1 tsp of sugar
  • 1 tsp of yeast
  • 2 cups of water

Instructions

  1. Dig a hole to fit one of the cups in your vegetable or flower garden, near your plants.
  2. Place one cup inside the hole, making it level with the ground, so the snails don't have to climb far.
  3. Carefully poke 4 drainage holes in the bottom of the remaining cup. Poke two more holes near the top, just under the lip, for the pencil to go through. This will ensure a gap between the cups so you can easily remove the top one to dispose of the snails the next morning.
  4. Place the cup with the holes and pencil inside the cup buried in the ground.
  5. Pour the beer or DIY Yeast Snail Bait inside the cup, leaving about an inch of headspace. The snails will climb down into the cup, and drown in the beer.
https://westerngardens.com/roasted-broccoli/
*I start checking mine at 10 minutes, but it usually takes 15.  Smaller pieces may be done more quickly than larger pieces.

Ranch Roasted Potatoes

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Ranch Roasted Potatoes 3Ranch Roasted Potatoes are one of our favorite summer side dishes. They are quick and easy to prepare, and can roast in the oven while you worry about everything else on your menu. Without fail, someone always comments about how delicious these potatoes are! And they couldn’t be any easier. This side dish is almost easy to overlook when it’s placed in a lineup with fresh fruit and grilling meats, but once you taste them, you’ll be eyeing the buffet for more! This recipe is perfect for trying out some of those new potatoes in your garden!…

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Roasted Vegetable Salad

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If you are in a salad rut, including roasted vegetables is a great way to add color, texture, flavor and dimension…with minimal effort!  Roasting vegetables is not just easy to do, but it also brings out a wonderful flavor that is surprisingly delicious when paired with fresh lettuce and a cooked egg.

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Avocado & Slow-Roasted Tomato Toast

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Roasting is one of my favorite ways to cook veggies, as I mentioned in my post about roasted asparagus.  Tomatoes are another reason why.  Slow roasting concentrates their flavors, making even so-so tomatoes wonderfully delicious and tender…similar to how a slow-cooker can turn a tough cut of meat into a tender and juicy dish. If garden-fresh tomatoes aren’t in season but you need a fix, this is a perfect way to prepare them to get maximum flavor from a less-than-flavorful store bought tomato!

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The flavors of roasted vegetables are deep and rich.  The tomatoes come out juicy and soft and the garlic will spread right into the toast.  slow roasted tomato avocado toast collage

Slow-Roasted Tomato & Avocado Toast

Ingredients:

  • 4 medium tomatoes, halved
  • 8 cloves garlic, unpeeled
  • 2-3 Tbsp olive or avocado oil
  • dried Italian seasoning (or 2 sprigs fresh herbs)
  • freshly ground sea salt & black pepper
  • 2 avocados
  • 1-2 tsp lime juice
  • 8 toasted french bread slices
  • balsamic reduction*

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Place the garlic cloves and tomatoes, cut-side up, in a baking dish.  Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt & pepper.
  2. Roast for about 1 hour & 45 minutes (up to two hours). Tomatoes should be slightly reduced in size and skins should be puckered.
  3. Check the garlic after about 1 hour 15 minutes.  They might be done before the tomatoes.  Remove if done, continue roasting if not.
  4. Tomatoes can be served right away, or refrigerated for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
  5. To assemble the toast, begin by toasting 8 slices of french bread.
  6. Peel and pit the avocado and mash with lime juice.
  7. Remove the peel from a clove of roasted garlic and spread it over a slice of toast.  Spread avocado mixture over the garlic.  Top the avocado with a roasted tomato, and drizzle with balsamic reduction.

slow roasted tomato toast 6 square*To reduce balsamic vinegar, add 1 cup to a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir frequently for about 10 minutes, or until balsamic is reduced to desired consistency.  It will thicken as it cools, so remove it from the heat before it looks completely done.

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Roasted Asparagus

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Roasting vegetables is one of the best things you can do in your kitchen.  It preserves more of the nutrients than boiling or steaming, and it caramelizes the natural sugars to bring out a lovely hint of sweetness.  The first time I roasted asparagus, I was a convert for life!

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Use asparagus that has thick stalks.  They are better for roasting than the thin stalks.  Cut off the bottom inch and a half of the stalks.  You can snap off the tough bottom portion by hand (as seen below in the top left picture), but all of mine tend to break off at about an inch and a half, so I save time by just cutting them.
Asparagus Collage
Toss your asparagus and oil in a zip top bag, or drizzle it over the asparagus right on the pan, then toss to coat.  Sprinkle with freshly ground sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, and it’s ready to roast!
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Pop it in a 425 degree oven for about ten minutes. Don’t overcook it, or it will be bendy and floppy.  You want it to still have some substance to it…mushy veggies=blah veggies.
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Asparagus square

Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch asparagus
  • 3-4 Tbsp avocado oil
  • kosher salt or freshly ground sea salt, to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Wash and dry asparagus.
  3. Coat in avocado oil, arrange in a single layer on baking sheet, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  4. Roast for 10 minutes

*Avocado oil has a smoke point of 500 degrees, so I like to use it for high heat roasting, grilling & sauteing.

Asparagus 9

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~Becky

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