Roasted Vegetables

Eating healthy for a sustainable period takes practice. The problem is, no matter what the diet – low glycemic (like me), Weight Watchers or low-calorie – we develop certain “go to” foods and tend to eat them over and over. There are ways to keep those foods fresh tasting and unique. Roasted veggies fit almost any diet, and most of us can sling a little olive oil, sea salt and/or balsamic vinegar together to make them even better. But here’s a nice little recipe for a vegetable sprinkle you can make up, and then use about a teaspoon of it on squash, asparagus, beets or whatever you happen to be roasting.

This recipe can be found on the internet but it was originally published by Fine Cooking Magazine in November of 2007. You can mix it into a sprinkler container and have enough for several trays of veggies. Last night on Alton Brown’s “Good Eats”, he made a sprinkler jar out of a regular jar with 2 lids, one for covering, and one with holes in it for sprinkling. He used his for making dry rubs for meats, but I think you could adapt it. Or just use an old salt shaker.

2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
½ tsp. chile powder
½ tsp. sweet paprika
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
Pinch of cloves

Although the veggie sprinkle was originally designed for squash, I think it’ll work for sweet potatoes, beets and carrots, too. When I make roasted asparagus, I tend to use lemon zest, sea salt and sometimes a sprinkle of garlic. Invent your own sprinkle and come tell us about it!

Fancy up the Vegies

A couple of years ago I bought a medium-sized microwave steam pot from Pampered Chef and now it's the most overworked tool in my kitchen. Yesterday I sliced a pound of carrots (we like them for leftovers) sprayed them with Pam cooking spray, added some Mural spice and sea salt, 3 tablespoons of water, and microwaved them for 7 minutes. Wow, sweet and tasty and they were not cooked to mush.

Which reminds me, the new Penzey's spice store opened up at the mall so we've already made a trip. Lots of new spices to try. What I love about Penzeys is the spices taste so much better than the cardboard-tasting stuff available in supermarkets. Whether it's chili, taco or smoked salt, there's just such a difference. Mural of Flavor is our very favorite, it's a blend of shallots, onion, garlic, lemonpeel, citric acid, chives and orange peel. Its salt free and works on chicken, pork, fish, vegetables and even popcorn.

I think it's easier to stay on a diet when you eat spicy food. It makes up for the scrumptious flavor you miss eating low fat foods, like I have to do. I think good cooks know about spices and how to use them. Penzeys always has new spices to try. This week we visited the shop at the Palisades mall and bought a new spice called Northwoods seasoning for chicken and fish (I'm eating a lot of lean proteins). You could probably make your own, the ingredients are: salt, paprika, Tellicherry black pepper, thyme, cracked rosemary, granulated garlic and chipotle. It was delicious on Cornish game hens.

They also had great gift boxes, including grill master, pepper-lovers (with or without the mill) and chocolate lovers. Lots more too. I bought up a bunch to use for gift baskets. What kind of food are you cooking up?