The Cross and the Cleaver: Eat Your Veggies
Vegetables … some of them or all of them, you can love them and hate them at the same time. In my opinion no other food group generates as many conversations or emotions as vegetables. Well, maybe except for the offal, but about that some other time.
Quite a few families have wild and creative tales of disguising vegetables to ensure their darlings eat some. Yelling “eat your veggies!!!” or pointing out some hungry children elsewhere goes only so far. Remember, when pitching zucchini cake or carrot cookies, accentuate the name of the dish while quickly whispering the name of the vegetable involved (or try to skip it altogether). With some weird children, telling them that brussels sprouts are Martian brains, broccolis are miniature trees can work magic!!!
For many of us, our food tastes and preferences change with time. I used to detest with passion peas and carrots in butter sauce. You only had to mention parsnip (forget serving it) to provoke in me a gag reflex. Cinnamon, to me, was the Satan’s spice. Now, I am quite fond of all of these. Though I will still try all the tricks I know to hide the texture of green celery LOL.
I love the versatility of the dinner-side vegetables. What you don’t eat with your roast pork, you can finish off cold heaped on sliced bread and drizzled with your favourite drizzle. Alternatively, they can be an amazing source of base for the next day’s soup or stew. Just look up “bubble-and-squeak” as a starting point for 101+ ideas for leftovers (I wrote about some in the past).
Here are a few ideas that will make you not so much have to say “eat your vegetables” but cope with “can I have some more of that?”
1) Honey-orange glazed, kinda roasted, carrots. This recipe works well with older carrots that lost initial freshness, sweetness and crispness.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Slice quite thickly three large carrots and arrange in one layer, in an oiled oven-proof dish.
Mix ¾ cup of orange juice with ¼ cup of honey. Add a pinch, or splash, of cayenne pepper and a tsp. of culinary lavender (if you have any and if you feel adventurous). Pour over the carrots and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
Pop in the oven. After 20-25 minutes remove the foil and roast for an additional 20 min, or until half the liquid evaporated and caramelization begins to occur.
Serve with pork, as it will make the worst and cheapest cut taste the choicest and most expensive.
2) This one is inspired by Tzimmes, a traditional dish of Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix well generous cups of large chunks of each: parsnips, carrots, golden beets, turnips, sweet potatoes, prunes. Aim at approx. 3lb total weight. Arrange in one layer in a greased oven-proof dish.
Mix 1 cup of orange juice with ½ cup of water, ¼ cup of honey, heaping tbs of brown sugar and heaping tsp of cinnamon. Pour over mixed vegetables and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
Pop in the oven. After 45 minutes remove the foil and roast for an additional 45 min, or until veggies are tender to the fork.
Goes well with plain roast chicken or chunkier poached fish.
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