I love the colorful variety of veggies you use Sharon! I'm trying to eat more vegs. Last night I made meatloaf and a panful of roasted brussels sprouts, mushrooms and sweet potatoes. I cut the sprouts in half lengthwise. Sprinkled lots of olive oil and S&P. Stuck them in on convection mode and I didn't time it - just watched until the sprouts were browning.

Sharon, I too love the variety of vegetables you use. I've got a question about your wonderful steamed veggies. What do you add to them after they're steamed? They always look so inviting. Do you top them with olive oil, butter, dried herbs, etc.? Do you add anything special to the steaming liquid?

Beautiful pictures Sharon. I love roasted and steamed vegetables. We prefer crisp and not mushy thus it works for us. I make mine very similar to yours. My favorite is to put on the grill after I take my meat or fish off from cooking. Put in my handy cage and they cook up in no time flat and have such great charcoal flavor.

I love roasted vegetables. My basic recipe is just to toss with good olive oil and kosher salt, then roast at 375 for about 1/2 hour, stirring every 10 minutes. I may add pepper, cayenne, cumin, rosemary, or whatever I'm in the mood for. If I am cooking something else in the oven at the same time, I just use whatever temperature it's at and adjust the time.

Our favorite vegetables to roast:
Brussels sprouts (HEAVENLY)
parsnips
yams
carrots
onions
potatoes
beets (do separately; also do the greens, which get crunchy)
garlic
asparagus
fennel

MMMMMmmmmm, gelchom, roasted Brussels sprouts?! I roast veggies all the time and never thought to roast those, I can't imagine why! Guess I'll be picking some up at the store tomorrow. :D

Here in the CA Central Valley, the Summers are so hot that I just about use my bbq grill for everything. I just can't bear to turn the oven/stove on when it's 105 outside.

A favorite Summer evening meal is char-grilled meat of some kind, served with char-grilled veggies and char-grilled potato wedges (or halves, depending on their size). We don't seem to get tired of it, and it's so easy.

Favorite veggies to grill would be zucchini & yellow crook neck squash, bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, eggplant, yam, asparagus, fennel, green beans, Belgian endive, carrots, scallions...oh gosh, I could go on and on.

Generally, I coat the veggies with a bit of olive oil, and then use different spice mixes and "brushes" to add different flavors. Balsamic vinegar "brush" with a fennel seasoning mix, a light teriyaki glaze with a toasted sesame sprinkle, coconut milk with curry powder, citrus juice with chili pepper, a light brushing of tomato sauce with Italian herbs, the possibilities are endless and I'm always trying something new.

Potato wedges or halves can either be flavored with the same things, or, as my husband and I tend to prefer, just served with ketchup or my home made yogurt & horseradish sauce for dipping. We feel like we're having French fries, but with more flavor and less oil!

It's always with great regret that I put up the bbq for the winter. Oven roasted veggies are good, but not AS good.

Shambo...
I use only water for the steaming liquid but after the veggies are cooked I always drizzle on a bit of olive oil and sometimes a pat of butter as well, a bit of salt (we try to go with the minimum or no salt in our food), a good grind of fresh black pepper, sometimes chopped parsley from the garden and lately a shake of Spike herb seasoning that I bought last summer in Canada. I also like to mix a combo of fresh garden herbs: thyme, a little rosemary, sage, basil & parsley, chopped very finely and tossed over the vegetables.

I think I might try dropping a small branch of rosemary in the steam water to see how that affects the flavour.

I usually put the potatoes in the steamer first and while they're starting to cook, I peel and chop the carrots or yams then add them and finally the softest vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, squash) go in last as soon as they're washed or peeled. I found that's just the right timing, as when the last veggies go in the pot, the potatoes are nearly done.

SharonCb

A meal we like is to marinate vegetables and tofu then roast at 400 for about 20 minutes. The marinade is a mix of soy sauce, garlic, and oil. With rice, of course.

Thank you Sharon!!! What a nice surprise when I got on the forum tonight. Great pics, makes my mouth water. Love to hear how everybody does their vegies, roasting, bbq, and steaming. I can't wait to get my little garden planted.

rachelellen, brussels sprouts were actually the first vegetable I roasted. What a contrast -- they are often slimy and boring any other way, but sweet and wonderful roasted.

I learned it from my good friend and law partner, who died recently. He was a famous cook, wine expert, and restaurant critic. He would buy the whole stalk of sprouts -- if you've never seen it, try; it's really beautiful and roast it like that. You have to cut the sprouts off with a strong scissors. Once the stalk he bought was so long, he had to cut it with a power saw to get it in the oven. When we gave our annual firm anniversary party, we had to have a really good caterer, because of his reputation for fine food. But the sprouts were always the biggest hit. Can you imagine a line snaking out into the hall -- for BRUSSELS SPROUTS?

It worked at home, too -- I don't know too many children who would name sprouts as their favorite veggie, but mine did. I don't use the whole stalk at home, though -- too much trouble, and it tastes the same.

It was a while before I realized I could make all my vegetables that way, believe it or not. One night I was at a friend's, and I couldn't stop eating the crispy, salty roasted beet greens. When I asked for the recipe, she looked at me with surprise, because she told me it was my friend's recipe that she had learned from me, via the sprouts.

Sorry to go on so long -- thanks for letting me have a nice memory of one of the best cooks I ever knew.

I loathed Brussels sprouts as a kid, but discovered as an adult that it wasn't the vegetable that was so disgusting, but the way my mother overcooked them. I've always boiled/steamed them, but only until they were almost tender. The residual heat would finish the job while leaving them bright green rather than olive, and sweet. I've put them on many a vegetable tray for parties and watched them disappear once I convinced (at first reluctant) people to give them a try.

I have halved them to add to salads, and quartered them to toss in with vegetable couscous...even pickled them!

But I never thought to roast them, and will try it soon....naturally, the other day there were none available in the market.