recipes
Roasted Roots
3 large potatoes or 10 baby potatoes, any variety
2 large beets
2 medium carrots
1 large sweet potato (orange or purple)
1/2 large onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
condiments: olive oil, salt, pepper, cayenne, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, curry powder
Cut all veggies into 1-inch cubes. Put potatoes in a pan with a few dashes of salt, pepper, and cayenne, and one minced clove of garlic. Add a little rosemary if you’re in the mood. Drizzle olive oil over them and mix well. Next mix beets and carrots in another pan, add a touch of salt, pepper, and cinnamon, and drizzle with olive oil and vinegar. Finally, mix sweet potato and onion in another pan, and give it a shake of salt, pepper, and curry powder. Drizzle with oil and mix well.
Put all pans in the oven at 400-450 for about 45 minutes to an hour, stirring once or twice if you want to. Save energy and don’t preheat - this isn’t French pastry. A little oil goes a long way, and the more oil you add, the less likely the veggies are to burn, but the crispier and greasier they will be.If using non-stick pans, you really don’t need much oil at all, if any, but you’re probably exposing yourself to toxic chemicals like trifluoroacetic acid, PFOA, and CFCs. Yum! I use glass pans - there’s a tad bit of scraping involved once the food comes out of the oven, but it’s worth the peace of mind and health of body.
I first got the basics of this recipe from my aunt Jozie after the family met at my sister’s for Thanksgiving 2006 in Seattle. I’ve used variations of it ever since, and have evolved my own concoctions. The basic idea is you can roast pretty much anything, so experiment! Mix and match whatever veggies and spices you think sound good, but just try to keep harder veggies together and softer veggies together (cook those for less time).
Other veggies you can roast are celery, eggplant, fennel, green pepper, stems from red or green Swiss chard, cauliflower florets, winter squash, parsnips, zucchini, carrots, onions, red, yellow & orange bell peppers, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, green beans, and asparagus.
My favorite way to eat these is to put them on a big bed of spinach while still warm, tossed with avocado, a touch of olive oil and vinegar (you should have plenty already), and seeds or nuts. They’re also great as sides, and Thanksgiving bring-alongs.
Breakfast Miso
3-4 cups filtered water
3-4 tbsp miso paste (”redder” is better)
several drops of shoyu
5 radishes, sliced
1 1/2 cups broccoli, sliced or chopped into thin pieces
2 cups green cabbage, chopped
While the water is coming to a boil, add the miso paste and shoyu, making sure to dissolve all the miso before adding the vegetables -it’s much harder to break up the paste with other stuff in the pot. Add the radishes and simmer for about 2 minutes, while you chop up the other stuff. Add the broccoli and boil for another minute, then add the cabbage. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until the broccoli is bright green and the cabbage is soft but still firm. Pour and enjoy!
There are several tasty substitutions for the ingredients listed above. If you can’t find shoyu, use tamari, soy sauce, or Bragg’s. Slice carrots instead of radishes. But broccoli is amazing and you should eat it. Other leafy greens you can use are Swiss chard, kale, or spinach, but add them more towards the end so they don’t turn brown, especially the spinach. A great condiment with miso is gomasio, a mix of flaked dulse (seaweed), sesame seeds, and sea salt. If the thought of boiled radishes and cabbage in the morning just doesn’t do it for you, this is great for lunch or dinner, too.