Plei,

many happy birthdays!

Zenkitty re: vegetables.

The barefoot contessa has a fantastic recipe for roasted broccoli that I have used and adapted. I think she also roasts potatoes and winter veggies this way as well. They taste delicious and hold their flavor more than boiling.

Happy Birthday Plei!

My favorite is asparagus and mushrooms roasted in a little olive oil, garlic, and sea salt. Deb Grabien made them during the SF2F, and I loved it.

One of my favorite new vegetable recipes is baked zucchini fries. It's a little bit of prep, and a lot of panko, but they're delicious.

Any time I have a veg I'm not sure about, I roast it with EVOO and salt. Works every time.*

Oh man, I had the best CSA salad this week. Roast beets, fresh peas and butter lettuce, tossed with a dill vinaigrette and some gorgonzola crumbles. SO FUCKING GOOD.

*Ok that's probably not true. Leafy greens don't roast all that well. Those you should grill.

I was really sad when I roasted brussels sprouts and they turned out bitter anyway. I've HAD really good roasted brussels sprouts, so I have no idea why mine turned out bitter. I'm wary of trying again, though.

Cut them up into more or less bite-sized pieces.

Oh, hey. Problematic. How do I hold the vegetable? Which knife do I use? Do I cut toward my hand, or put it on a cutting board? And then how do I do either of those things without cutting myself? Do I slice it open, or slice it lengthwise, or what? Seriously, I might as well just hack at everything with a machete for all I know.

I asked how to cut open an avocado once, and was told, just cut it open and take out the pit. Cutting around the pit is the main problem! I stared at it for a minute, and gave it to my sister. Forget it. Too likely to take off the end of my finger.

Cutting board. In general: cut away from your hand.

Also: don't worry about mangling a few fruit and veg. How else are you going to learn?

How do I hold the vegetable? Which knife do I use? Do I cut toward my hand, or put it on a cutting board? And then how do I do either of those things without cutting myself? Do I slice it open, or slice it lengthwise, or what?

Are you really asking, or is this supposed to be rhetorical?

How do I hold the vegetable? Which knife do I use? Do I cut toward my hand, or put it on a cutting board? And then how do I do either of those things without cutting myself? Do I slice it open, or slice it lengthwise, or what?

Put the vegetable on a cutting board. I generally use a big sharp knife. Hold the vegetable with one hand at one end/side of the vegetable, and cut down the center (you may have to move/rotate your non-cutting hand as you do this, so as not to slice your fingers off). Now you have two halves, each with a flat surface. Place each half on its flat side. That way you only need minimal pressure from your non-cutting hand to hold it in place. Proceed to cut up vegetable into whatever size/shape pieces you want.

This won't work so well for absolutely everything, but in general I think it's a good place to start.

Ok that's probably not true. Leafy greens don't roast all that well. Those you should grill.

Not bad with leafy greens, either! Roasting for all.