As promised- easy roasted vegetables ( and potatoes)

Last week when we decided to try our trusty cooking skills on some yummy chicken Marsala, I also tossed a few of our home grown garden vegetables into the oven. The cool fall weather hit that day and the warm oven was just the thing to warm the house slightly.
Here is a simple easy way to warm up that abundance of vegetables we are all seeing this time of year.

Start out by chopping the vegetables into bite sized pieces. We only used potatoes, mushrooms and peppers this time. However, many will work.







Here is a list I have tried:
Potatoes- sweet, russett, red, yukon gold, fingerlings, new potatoes or even Blue.
Butternut, zucchini, crookneck or other squash
Red, yellow, orange, or green sweet peppers
Mushrooms- use different varieties for varying flavors
Tomatoes
Carrots, Parsnips, artichokes
Vidalia, white or red (purple) onions, leeks or celery
Asparagus
Garlic cloves

 Roasting any combination of vegetables from this list is one of the easiest ways to add a lot of color and flavor to any dish.

 After chopping chosen vegetables into bite sized pieces, Simply place into a gallon sized reclosable bag. Season with your choice of herbs and some seasonings. I used Italian seasonings (as they were also used in my accompanying chicken dish), some paprika and some garlic. Most any seeaonings will work when roasting vegetables.
Pour 4-5 Tbls of olive oil over all.
Close bag tightly.
Turn over to coat vegetables, and shake.
Shake and roll the closed bag until all are well coated with oil and seasonings.
Pour onto a cookie sheet or into a shallow roasting pan.
Place into a 425 degree oven for approximately 35 minutes.
(Cooking time may vary slightly depending on the vegetables used)
Note: I like to turn up the broiler just a few minutes before they are done to add a little more color. But watch them closely under the intense heat.

Serve.

A summertime variety: prepare similarly in bag, pour onto a large square of 3-4 layers of tinfoil, wrap foil around vegetables, fold foil to seal tightly place on a hot grill aprrox 25-30 minutes or until tender.

September 2009- Autumn's dawn

What a month this has been....
I am ready to move on and leave this month behind me.
I have rather been anticipating unlike most friends my age, the anniversary of my fourth decade on this earth.

This past Sunday Sept 26th, I turned the wonderful age of 40. I think forty is a good point in life. My children are all but grown. I have finally finished up my night school after eight years tiring and long nights. My health is good. Let's not count the common cold which always hits this time of year not the few extra pounds I tend to gain over the winter months each year.

I was not prepared for the events leading up to that day however... I have had better days.

The month began when my transmission in my only car began to act up. The car, which is a 2001 model looks great, and is still on loan. However it has just turned over 166,000 miles and well, we take a lot of road trips. After having it looked at by a friend of a friend who made some adjustments in order to buy me some time. The car ran well again.

Until the 9th of this month a day I will never forget. That was the day my car began to really act up, that was the day which caused me to spend weeks getting my affairs back in order, and that was the day I lost my sense of security.
Following the burglary,many days were spent cleaning up the mess, getting my money back, and getting back to a point I could attempt to come up with a game plan to fix not only the car but some other much needed house repairs.
The car was making the same noises but still driving well. At the advice of friends, driving on borrowed time. My son being in Iraq in its own way is a lucky break in such that we had on extra car available. I let my daughter drive the 'limping' car to work and I drove my sons. Until I received a call that it had stalled on her.

We are now, sharing a car and I wake an hour or two early in order to get her to work and for now, she gets a ride home. Closer to my birthday I figured nothing else could go wrong and began to get excited again. My best friend and I were planning a great party with many people I have not seen in a long time.
Two days before the party - the actual date of my birthday- I came down with a horrible head cold. Everyone it seemed at work was sick, my daughter was sick... I really needed this party, I really needed this time with friends in order to keep my spirits up.
I managed to sway the cold away just hours before the party. Things were looking up again. Many guests RSVP'd that they would not be able to make the party for varying reasons. Sickness, other plans, out of town, among other reasons. But with a list 77 people long, I couldnt wait.

My best friend (the host) and I arrived right on time. We had a great celebration although... as MY luck would have it, only a handful, 7 people were in attendance.
Of course I dont need a big crowd to have a great time, and I know that the lack of attendance had no bearing on how close the friendships of those guests are. But the way that my month had been so far, made it a bit of a bummer.
But I love my friends, and I love my life, and although over the past 14 or so years, life has been much harder than it has been easy. I would not trade my life.
I am just hoping.... that the broken down car in my yard gets fixed soon without putting me in the poor house. that the rotting roof of my house gets replaced before it begins to leak and turns into a bigger problem. I hope that this month. This September 2009. This autumn of the median of my life, begins to change, that the colors turn that things begin to come my way.
Just this once.
(As I sit here to type this, I am home sick from work- it is back)