Veggie Love

Well on the since it is close to Valentine's day I thought it would be ironic to do a post on another food group that I really do love, veggies.  Yes I really do like my vegetables.  Sometimes I just get so carried away at the grocery at this time of year or at the farmer's market and my garden in the summer that I have so many leftovers.  The question is what to do with them.  Recently I ordered a farmer's box from Produce with Purpose.  This was really cool.  I placed the order and picked up my local winter roots from a close by grocery store.  What I ordered included various types of potatoes, squash, turnips, parsnips, brussel sprouts and carrots. There were many other choices I could choose from.

One of my favorite ways to prepare my veggies is to roast them in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes.  I like to season them with olive oil, thyme and salt and pepper.  With these I can feed my family, serve them on top of a salad with a homemade viegrette dressing or make puréed soup. Yes both of these are really good. The roasted veggies on the salad just add a nice smokiness.

The soup idea I got from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.  It really has a lot of unique ways to incorporate vegetables into your diet, and I'm not a vegetarian.  One of my favorite ways is to make soups.  I take all my leftover veggies from the week and if possible I mix them together, honestly some flavors I make are better than others. I sautée some onion and garlic in olive oil  and add the veggies.  I simmer the mixture in chicken broth for about 10 muntes and then using my immersion blender I make a smooth and creamy soup.  Sometimes I add chia seeds or flax seeds for a bit more nutrition.  I like to top my soups with a bit of lemon juice and or with some olive oil as I did in this photo.

What ever you do get into the kitchen and play with your food.  Cooking should be fun.

Bon Appétit and as always,

with love from the Midwest,

Beth