Roasted vegetables from the garden

Last weekend, my friend James and I decided to go check out a u-pick. I have been in Edmonton a long, long time and I have never actually been to a u-pick here! Anyways, we found a pretty nice one west of the city. Unfortunately the berries were kind of picked over, but there were lots and lots of vegetables there! We got corn, potatoes, beets, lettuce, cabbage, beans and there was much more there. I hope to go back sometime soon with more of a plan (I had no plan, so I was hesitant to pick lots of vegetables).

Later in the week, I realized I still had some veggies kicking around that needed to be eaten, so I decided to whip up some corn on the cob and BBQ tofu and with only two burners (my other two have not worked in years), I had no room to get vegetables done for my dinner. So I got ready to do a little roasting.

Roasting vegetables is one the easiest ways to cook vegetables. It is not the quickest, but comparing to steaming, roasting brings out more flavour and leaves my stove top free for other things. It is definitely one of my favourite ways to cook vegetables. All I usually do is toss the veggies of choice with some oil (usually olive oil, but you could use grape seed, sesame, or pretty much what ever is on hand) and some salt and pepper. Sometimes I will go so far as to toss some dried herbs in with it too if I have some around.

Some roasting tips:
* Heat your oven to 350 - 400 F (lower for veggies that cook fast and higher for those that take longer)
* use some tin foil on your baking sheet so things don't stick and things are quick to clean up after too.
* if you have some dried herbs on hand, use them. You don't need much and it will change up the flavour a bit
* Add a little vinegar or citrus before roasting.
* Toss them at least once or twice while they are cooking so they come out even

for my dinner, I made roasted zucchini, tomato and basil with fresh corn on the cob and BBQ Tofu:

The vegetables
Pre-heat the over to about 375 F. While you are waiting, chop up your vegetables into bite size pieces (about 1 1/2" thick). Put the veggies in a bowl and toss with about 1 Tbsp of olive oil (just enough to coat them). add in some salt and pepper, dried herbs and a splash of lemon juice. Next, get a cookie sheet and cover it with tin foil. Spread the veggies on the sheet and put it in the over for about 20 minutes. Once or twice through cooking, toss the veggies around so they cook evenly.

Corn on the Cobb
This is so easy, you don't need a recipe. Bowl a big pot of water and if you like, salt the water. While you are waiting, shuck the corn removing the husk and silks and if you are like me, feed some to your guinea pigs :)

Add the corn to the water and cook for 8-10 minutes. 10 will make the corn quite soft, so adjust accordingly if you want it more firm.

And that is about it. I added some BBQ tofu to my dinner. Something I make a lot because I don't have to prep and it's fast.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

As a kid, I did not like most vegetables. In fact, you could probably count the foods I would eat with one hand and I did not tolerate foods and flavours combined. However, my mother tricked me with chocolate zucchini bread. Except for the name, you would never know as a kid that there were vegetables in there at all. Who ever came up with this combo was genius.

That's right, I took a bit before i could snap a pic... I couldn't resist!

I stole my mom's recipe when I moved out and I still have the scrap piece of paper I wrote it down on. It's faded and covered in chocolate, but I am pretty sure I have it down. The original recipe called for eggs so I replaced them with chia seeds. I think they are my favourite egg replacer for baking. Plus they are insanely healthy. Combine that with the dark chocolate and zucchini and basically this is a healthy snack.... well in moderation!

Why so healthy? Chia seeds are load in potassium, really high in omega-3, high in amino acids and are a complete protein. I use dark chocolate it this recipe and that is on the list of super foods. Full of antioxidants, dark chocolate is known to be good for your heart and lower cholesterol.. Then there is zucchini, another great source of antioxidants and has beta carotene, vitamins C and A. It is also low calorie and high in fiber.

Even though there is white flour (easily substituted for whole wheat, I didn't have any at the time), I stand by this is a decent snack... better than processed junk food anyways.

The recipe....

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Makes 1 loaf

• 1 1/2 chia eggs (click here for recipe)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 square melted unsweetened chocolate
• 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini, leave the skin on and buy organic if you can (about one large one)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Easy batter, once your prep is done, it takes 5 minute to combine

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. Make your chia eggs and then add to a bowl and beat until fluffy. Add the oil and sugar and beat again for a couple minutes. Stir in the melted chocolate, vanilla and grated zucchini. In a second bowl mix the dry ingredients and pour the wet into the dry and stir until combined.

The hardest part... Waiting for it to cool!

Bake for 50-60 minutes (test with a tooth pick, it should come out dry). Cool 15 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Photo credit: www.epicurean.com

Just like mom used to make. And for all you non-vegans... this recipe was tested with five non-vegan colleagues.. It's not just me, this is a truly addictive recipe.