Sundays make me think of the roast chicken or other special Sunday meals my mom would make filling the whole house with comforting smells. I would always proceed to eat all the vegetables and my favorite was always when we reached back to our English roots and made roasted potatoes and parsnips.  These days I don’t have the meat but I can still eat all those delicious crispy winter veggies.  The possibilities are endless.  Add whatever spices sound good mixed with oil in the last few minutes of cooking.  When you pull the veggies out add olives, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh herbs, citrus, you name it.  Put this together with some farro, juicy portobello mushrooms, and a leafy green salad with orange, grapefruit, and pomegranate to recreate our plate from last night:

Roasted Winter Veggies

• About 3 pounds of whatever you like best I used:  2 parsnips, several small carrots, 1 yam, 3 small purple potatoes, and a purple sweet potato I found
• 2-4 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs smoked paprika
• 2 tsp cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup kalamata olives
• About 1 tbs capers
• 2 tbs parsley

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Cut veggies into 1/2 inch chunks and spread on a baking sheet
3. Mix with 1-2 tbs olive oil and roast for 45 minutes stirring a few times
4. Stir together smoked paprika, cumin, and salt and pepper with 1-2 tbs oil
5. Mix with veggies and roast for another 5-10 minutes until they have absorbed the oils and become crispy
6. Stir in olives, capers, and parsley

Roasted Portobello Mushrooms

1. In a small baking dish stir together about 2 tbs each or balsamic vinegar and olive oil
2. Add salt and pepper to taste
3. Coat caps of mushrooms with mixture and then turn gills down in dish
4. Cover with foil and bake at 400 to 425 until juicy and tender about 25 minutes

Farro

Rob and I are always looking for new healthy whole grains and farro is increasingly available and delicious. After we tried farro for the first time it quickly became Rob’s favorite, it is so easy and delicious! There are several ways to cook this chewy delight, my preferred method is just like pasta. No measuring, just boil and drain.  We buy the pearled or semi-pearled variety which cooks in 10-20 minutes. This time I added a lemon to the cooking water and stirred in the zest and juice of one lemon after draining.