Roasted Root Vegetable Medley

The root vegetables that we planted in the winter are the perfect size for pulling right now and we've been enjoying them lately.  The ground is not too wet and not too dry, so when you grab the vegetables, they pull right up from the soil.  Years of working in compost, leaves and other organic matter into the garden is really paying dividends in terms of soil quality.

Here is a nice little 'mess' of root vegetables I pulled for supper tonight.  From left to right we have carrots, turnips, bull's blood beets and chioggia beets.

As far as roots and greens, they can both be eaten, but today I was in a charitable mood and tossed the greens over the fence to the cows, goats and chickens who promptly ate them and begged for more.  I brought the root vegetables inside and Tricia washed them and cut them up and put them on a cookie sheet.  She added a couple tablespoons of melted butter and olive oil, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons of minced garlic, thyme, and salt and pepper. Then she'll garnish with parsley and toss around on the cookie sheet to coat everything nicely.

I think the vegetables look almost as good as they taste.  These get placed in the oven at 375F for 30 minutes.

Many times, if you steam vegetables or cook them on the stove top, the color fades away in the water along with nutrients and taste.  That is not the case with roasting vegetables.  When you roast vegetables, the dry heat of the oven caramelizes the sugars in the vegetables, yielding a delicious dish that gets us going back for seconds.

We still have a row and a half of carrots to pull as well as a row of beets.  I'm sure we'll steam some, but roasting them is my favorite way to prepare them.