A Vegan Meal- Roasted Root Vegetables

This is the first summer I have ever gotten into beets or turnips. It all began when I saw "baby beet greens" advertised at one of the stands at the farmers' market. I hadn't known then that one could eat beet greens, and I had never eaten beets except for a few times. The baby beets were tiny, and the farmer told me the greens at this stage were very tender and could be eaten raw or cooked. So I bought the greens and the beets came along for the ride. Since then I have been a beet eating machine.

There is a similar story for my discovery of turnips. I bought some for the greens, and found I actually like turnips when they are small. They taste good sliced raw onto salad, same with the beets.

This dish came about when I needed to make dinner, FAST. I started chopping various vegetables, and tossing them in olive oil in a large oven safe dish. When I had chopped everything I came across, I looked at the pan and marveled at the rainbow of colors, and realized everything was a root! I didn't measure anything, so this is a rough recipe.


carrots
potatoes
red onion
garlic
Several beets (depending on their size)- I used yellow beets here
Several turnips (again, depending on size)
parsnips
salt
pepper
fresh herbs- parsley and rosemary both work very well.
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop everything but the garlic to roughly the same size. Mince the garlic well. Roughly chop the herbs. Toss the vegetables in a good amount of olive oil with salt, pepper, garlic and herbs and lay in a large roasting pan. Roast in the oven for about 1/2 hour, maybe more, or until everything is fork tender. Cook a bit longer if you like some crispy bits!

Considering how this was a random mix of food, I was pleasantly surprised. It was slightly sweet from the beets and carrots, while the garlic, onion and potatoes gave it a very savory comfort food feel. Plus it was nutritious and filling. Win!

I don't think it would hurt to stray from the root theme and throw other veggies in- maybe some peppers, mushrooms, squash, whatever.

I really need to get better at having my good camera charged and at the ready when it comes to meal times....

What do you cook on the fly when finding a recipe isn't an option?