Roasted Root Vegetable and Wilted Romaine Salad

Perhaps before you're going to overindulge in two days, remember that this salad will be super to have afterwards.  With roasted root vegetables like carrots, beets, parsnips, and turnips, this is one super healthy, rich in vitamins and surprisingly, very fulfilling salad.  I think roasting vegetables is one of my favorite ways to cook them because it brings out the sweetness with a bit of smokiness.

Now that school's off for a week, I thought I'd have more time to relax at home but unfortunately, such a inspiration is harder to achieve.  My son has been bugging me to play Wii games with him whenever I have a spare time.  Last night, I played some games with him, and frankly, I actually enjoyed it after haven't played for ages.  We had a good laugh over some pixelated characters, and my husband was even amused--since he didn't play with us.

Well, I know that Thanksgiving is two days away (well, who doesn't?) but I'm in a bit of a pickle.  My lower oven of my double ovens has finally gone kaput.  It stopped working about a month ago, but it went back working again.  But after setting it in high temperature a couple of weeks ago, it decided that enough was enough.  No more baking.  Unless I change its igniter.  Which I ordered just tonight.  Sigh.

So I'm without an oven but I still can bake!  How come?  My parents live next door which means I can still bake.  But I don't want to bake too many things because it's still a hassle to transport things back and forth.  I'll bake a pie for sure but no more.  The rest of the dinner story will be told after Thanksgiving :)

Roasted Root Vegetable and Wilted Romaine Salad

Makes 12 servings

2 medium fresh beets (about 12 ounces)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and ground black pepper

1 ¾ pounds fresh carrots, turnips, and/or parsnips

4 medium shallots, peeled and quartered

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon snipped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard

1 teaspoon honey

1 clove garlic, minced

8 cups torn romaine

½ cup chopped pecans, toasted

¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Wash and peel the beets, cut into 1-inch pieces.  Place in a 2-quart baking dish.  Toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the salt and pepper to taste.  Cover dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  

Meanwhile, peel the carrots, turnips, and/or parsnips.  Cut carrots and turnips into irregular-shape 1-inch pieces.  Cut parsnips into irregular ¾-inch pieces.  Place in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan.  Add shallots.  Toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.  Sprinkle with additional salt and pepper.

Remove foil from dish with beets, stir beets gently.  Increase oven temperature to 425F.  Return beets to oven and place pan with carrot mixture alongside beets.  Roast both pans, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, for dressing, in a screw-top jar combine the 6 tablespoons olive oil, the white wine vinegar, thyme, Dijon-style mustard, honey, garlic, and additional salt and pepper to taste; cover and shake well.

To serve, in a large bowl toss the romaine with the dressing to coat.  Place on a platter.  Top with the hot vegetables.  Sprinkle pecans and parsley over all.  Serve immediately.

Source:  Better Homes and Garden, Holiday Recipes 2013

Roasted Carrot, Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

This soup is super easy and tasty, not to mention that it also contains super vegetables, packed with vitamin As.  The kind of soup that you want to make for a chilly evening.  You can even substitute butternut squash with a different kind; I've tried it with kabocha squash and it still came out delicious.

Roasted Carrot, Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

Serves 4



1 butternut squash (about 2 lbs.)--peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch rounds

1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

2 onions, peeled and cut into 8 wedges each

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

3 tablespoons chopped dried cranberries

3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage



Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Divide the squash, carrots, sweet potatoes and onions between 2 rimmed baking sheets.  Drizzle 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil over each baking sheet; toss the vegetables to coat.  Roast until lightly browned, rotating the pans halfway through cooking, about 25 minutes.

In a large saucepan, combine the roasted vegetables and 8 cups water; bring to a boil over high heat.  Lower the heat, cover and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes.  Using a blender and working in batches, puree the soup, transferring pureed portions to a clean pot; season with salt and pepper.  (The soup can be covered and refrigerated for up to 4 days.)

In a heavy, medium skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the pepitas and stir until toasted, about 2 minutes.  Add the cranberries and sage and stir until fragrant, about 1 minutes.  Remove from the heat; season with salt and pepper.

Stir the soup over medium heat until it simmers.  Ladle the soup into bowls; top with pepita-cranberry mixture and a sprinkling of pepper.



Source:  Everyday with Rachael Ray, January/February 2013