Roasted Vegetables and Garbage Soup.

In an effort to finally eradicate myself of the chipmunk cheek "baby fat" (will never happen) that I've been carrying around for thirty years, or just because I turned thirty-one last month and am undergoing some kind of third-life transformative crisis, or perhaps because I have been all but laid off from my university teaching post and am seeking ways to keep myself busy/motivated/not-dead-on-the-inside, I have recently gotten on the bandwagon of healthy (...healthier...) eating and self-improvement. I imagine it's a little bit like the kind of introspective examination/affirmation that Julia Roberts' ridiculous character goes through in Eat, Pray, Love (Fart, Squeal, Poop, Barf...) in response to her moment of life crisis. Or something. Except that I don't necessarily have, you know, the dreadful lifestyle that allows me to reside in a beautiful home in Manhattan with the sort of expendable income that is able to finance running off to far exotic corners of the world for an entire year. Doesn't sound so bad to me, Julia. Anyway. Where was I?

So what I've learned is that roasting vegetables in the oven and eating them is really easy, really nutritious and - most importantly - really freaking tasty. Also: really inexpensive. What is there not to love? For those of you who are completely dependent on the presence of meat for a fully satisfying dinner, there's a really easy solution: Watch Food, Inc. on Netflix. There, done. Just kidding (not really). Sometime soon I'll talk about the equally joyful revelation of baked salmon. But you can totally pair these veggies with a nice steak or chicken breast as well. Just make sure they came from animals who came from a farm that raised them non-crually and ethically. I'm serious. Just watch Food, Inc. Otherwise your steak will taste like sadness and tears.

So, step one of making some delicious roasted vegetables is to go to your local grocer or farmer's market and pick up whatever floats your boat. I have not come across a vegetable yet that was not made infinitely more delicious by roasting in the oven (But leafy greens you'll want to do separately. We'll talk about that some other time as well.). To be honest, my least favorite so far were parsnips, but you might like them. Last night, I chose the following: brussels sprouts, carrots, green pepper, eggplant, yams, potatoes, and onion. I was going to do some green beans as well, but as you will see below, I completely ran out of room. I'll deal with those tonight or tomorrow. Just FYI, my all-star roasting vegetables that I will never tire of and that always turn out scrumptious are brussels sprouts, yams/sweet potatoes and onions.

Chop them all up into medium-sized pieces - about an inch or two? Any smaller than that and they might char too early, any bigger and they'll got soft but not caramelized. Then, just toss them in a large bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper. Seriously, that's it. So easy. You don't want it slathered in oil, but enough so that each piece has a thin coating.

Arrange them in a baking pan (or two if you tend to go overboard on quantity like I do...). The more single-layered the veggies are, the better for caramelization's sake. But - again - I always end up with too much quantity for my allotted space. Also, it's totally okay to mix up all the vegetables, but last night I decided to get a little artsy-fartsy and kind of do them separately.

Roast them in your oven at anywhere between 385 and 425 degrees for probably an hour to an hour and a half. I know that seems like a pretty significant discrepancy, but it really depends on your oven, the amount of char you like, etc. If you're doing this for the first time, just start on the lower end of the temperature scale and check in on it after an hour. Adjust from there. You'll end up with something like this. Notice how I like my brussels sprouts pretty damn well toasted. They are SO GOOD that way I promise.

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Now, when Schmoobs is out of town and I am only cooking for myself, a big bowl full of these vegetable is more than enough to satiate my hungry belly in the evening. But he is a big hunk of manly man, so he requires something else in addition. Last night I decided to experiment with the "Garbage Soup" idea. Sounds disgusting, but generally it's just cooking up a bunch of mixed or leftover vegetables/meat/etc. from your refrigerator and simmering it in some stock to make a delicious soup. Sounds easy enough, no?

I started, as I have learned is the best way to start any savory dish, by sauteeing some onions and garlic in a pot with olive oil. Also added some chopped carrots in there, since I had just a bit leftover that I didn't use in the roasted dish. Salt and pepper, of course. Sautee over medium heat until the onions are for sure softened and the carrots are starting to lose their crunchiness.

The experimentation phase begins. I tossed in dried tarragon and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Tarragon has this slightly sweet taste to it that pairs so nicely with anything poultry related. Next time you make a chicken salad (I'll show you here sometime...of course.) add some tarragon and dried cranberries. Bomb, I tell you. At this point I also added in a carton of chicken stock. If I were a more elite human being, I would have homemade chicken stock frozen and ready to go in my freezer, but I'm not and I don't. At this point, just let simmer until the broth is at least bubbling low and the carrots have reached your desired tenderness.

Continuing on, I decided to toss in some sliced mushrooms and a couple handfuls of baby spinach that were sitting in the fridge. This then turned my soup into something that looked decidedly Asian. If I wanted to, I could have gone that route and added some ginger and maybe some coconut milk.

Instead, I decided to throw in a bundle of soba noodles because I had a package sitting in the pantry. Apparently, if you get soba noodles that are 100% buckwheat, that means they are gluten free? That's cool. I'm not too concerned with that, though. But I love that these noodles cook up so quickly. Just when everything is pretty much done, throw your noodles in and let them simmer away another 4 or 5 minutes. Then you're done! Wait, I mean, taste everything as you go along and add seasoning as you desire. Stuff you may want to think about putting in, based on your taste preference: salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, soy sauce, even sugar.

And there's dinner! Really hearty, yummy and easy. Which is good. The quicker your dinner is prepared, the quicker you can get to watching The Real Housewives of Orange County reunion show on Bravo. Those ladies are nutso.

Macro shot of the roasted veggies on the side. I love a good macro shot.

And scene. (Is it "End Scene"?)