More roasted veggies . . .

My latest adventures with roasting vegetables are just getting more and more delicious--I wanted to work on vegan pizzas and thought that roasted veggies would give the pizzas lots of flavor so the cheese wouldn't be missed. I roasted more garlic but this time added thyme. I also roasted tomatoes, which I had not done before (who knows why--it was even easier than roasting garlic and, oh my gosh, so good). And one of my favorite roasted veggies--eggplant. Next post will be about what I did with all those roasted goodies--but in the meantime, here are roasting directions.

Thyme Roasted Garlic

4 bulbs garlic
olive oil
4 sprigs fresh thyme
Preheat oven to 400 degress F. Peel most of the white papery skin of a the garlic bulb, leaving enough so that the cloves still hold together. Slice off about 1/2 inch off the top—just enough so that most of the cloves are exposed. Place garlic bulbs cut side up in a small baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil. Place a sprig of thyme over each bulb. Cover the dish—if it doesn’t have a cover use foil. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, or until cloves are soft and outsides have started to brown. Let cool slightly before pressing the paste out of each clove. Keep any unused paste in a covered container in the refrigerator up to one week.

Roasted Eggplant
I love to roast a bunch of eggplant and keep it in my refrigator to put on sandwiches, pizza, pasta, salads—I have even been known to just snack on it plain--really!

Preheat oven to 400 degreees F. Oil large baking sheet. Slice eggplant into 1/2-inch slices. You can slice horizontially or vertically depending on whether you want big or smaller pieces. Lay the slices onto the oiled baking sheet. Brush more olive oil over the tops of slices. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until bottoms are browned. Flip slices and baking until brown—another 5 or 10 minutes.

Roasted Plum Tomatoes
A wonderful, easy way to concentrate the tomato flavor. I recommend the parchment paper because otherwise, the baking sheet is really a pain to clean.

16 plum tomatoes, sliced in half (horizontally or vertically, doesn’t matter)
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper if desired (otherwise oil the baking sheet). Place the tomatoes on the baking sheet cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle tomatoes with sea salt and olive oil. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until skin is blackened. Let tomatoes cool slightly before squeezing the tomatoes out the skin.

Blue Corn Crackers

I don't buy crackers very often as they always seem to have ingredients I prefer not to eat like hydrogenated oils or non-organic corn or soy ingredients that are most likely genetically engineered. Crackers are easy to make though -- pretty similar to making pie crust. I have many recipes in both Simply Natural Baby Food and The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook, but here's a new one I came up with recently. My daughter's friend liked it spread with freshly made peanut butter and sprinkled with sea salt.

Blue Corn Crackers
Crispy, flavorful, perfect with soup or as a snack. If you don't have blue corn meal, the regular yellow variety works just fine.

3/4 cup blue corn meal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup oil
1 tablespoon agave
3 – 4 tablespoons water, as needed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Large a medium cookie sheet with parchment paper. Mix cornmeal, whole wheat flour, and sea salt in large mixing bowl with fork. Add oil and agave and mix with fork until it begins to hold together. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time and mix with hands until mixture holds together.

Press dough into parchment lined cookie sheet. Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Score into squares with knife or pizza cutter. Bake 15 minutes, or until edges are golden. Cool 10 minutes before serving or remove to rack to cool completely.

Makes about 2 dozen crackers

Easy roasted vegan dinner

I am just all about roasting lately. It's easy, makes the house smell great, but mostly everything just seems to taste spectacular when it's roasted.

Here's my latest creation that we all loved. And it really has all the food groups--maybe add a nice warm, crusty bread to round it out!

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 head cauliflower, broken into bite size florets
1 3/4 cups or 1 (15-ounce can) garbanzo beans
1 large onion, peeled and cut into wedges
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (thyme would also work well)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a large bowl, toss everything together with enough olive oil to coat. Spread on a large baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Roast in the oven about 30 minutes, or until the squash and cauliflower are tender. Stir and flip veggies once or twice to keep once side from getting to brown.

Serves 4-6

Help get GMOs out of Trader Joes

According to Trader Joes website, "Our customers can be assured that all products in Trader Joe's private label are sourced from non-genetically modified ingredients. Our efforts began in 2001, when we determined that, given a choice, our customers would prefer to eat foods and beverages made without the use of genetically engineered ingredients. Our process has been to identify any product containing ingredients that could potentially be derived from genetically engineered crops and work with our suppliers to replace offending ingredients with acceptable alternatives."

So that's good, you can feel pretty sure if you buy their private label you are not getting GMOs--but other products in their store contain genetically engineered ingredients, like Morningstar Farms, which admits that all but one of their products (the Breakfast Patties Made with Organic Soy) contain genetically modified organisms, and Tofutti, which uses non-GMO soy protein, but admits that other ingredients, like the partially hydrogenated (trans fat) soybean oil in their Better Than Cream Cheese, are genetically modified.

If you want to take action and ask Trader Joes to make their store GE free--or at least label products containing GMOs, send a message to them here.

White Bean Spread and Crostini

I'm working on a good white bean spread that I can use on sandwiches and I'm hoping on pizza too--and came up with this yummy spread. It's easy to make and very versatile -- you can use it instead of mayo on sandwiches and you'll get lots of great nutrients like protein and minerals rather than empty calories. If you want a stronger garlic flavor, roast two heads rather than just one. And BTW, this was my first time roasting garlic and it couldn't have been easier. Don't know why I waited so long as I love it so much.










White Bean Dip/Spread
This is a nutritious and delicious dip for raw veggies or pita wedges or steamed artichoke leaves. I like it as a substitute for mayonnaise on sandwishes—it’s full of nutrients and low in fat.

1 3/4 cups or 1 (15-ounce) can cooked white beans
1 head roasted garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Keep refrigerated.

Makes 2 cups

Variations: Add chopped parsley, chives, or other fresh herbs

Roasted Garlic
This is super easy, but can transform an ordinary dish into something spectacular. Add them to mashed potatoes, dips and spreads, or just spread them on warm bread.

1 bulb garlic (or as many as you want)
olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degress F. Peel most of the white papery skin of a the garlic bulb, leaving enough so that the cloves still hold together. Slice off about 1/2 inch off the top—just enough so that most of the cloves are exposed. Place garlic cut side up in a small baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil. Cover the dish—if it doesn’t have a cover use foil. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, or until cloves are soft and outsides have started to brown. Let cool slightly before using.

So for the crostini I toasted Italian bread, spread the slices thickly with the White Bean Spread. Arranged sliced heirloom tomatoes on top and sprinkled with chopped fresh herbs. So good! The perfect summer lunch or dinner.

Eden Foods Organic Beans--No BPA

As I continue my quest to find out what canned foods do not contain BPA - - - this from Eden Foods: "Eden Organic Beans are packed in steel cans coated with a baked on oleoresinous (a natural mixture of an oil and a resin extracted from various plants, such as pine or balsam fir) c-enamel lining, that does not contain bisphenol-A. These cans cost 14% more than the industry standard cans, which do contain bisphenol-A.

It looks like they've switched to glass for their tomatoes products too.

General Mills and BPA-lined Cans

I wrote General Mills the following email:

>Original Message From: cathe@simplynaturalbooks.com
>
I am writing because I am concerned about BPA in the canned food products that your company sells. I like the convenience of canned products but am concerned about the effects of BPA on my family. I am hesitant to continue buying these products as long as the can liners contain BPA. What is your company doing to phase out BPA in your can liners and what safer alternative are you using to replace BPA? I look forward to your response.

This is the response I received:

Dear Ms. Olson:
Thank you for contacting General Mills about bisphenol-A or BPA.

Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a critical component of protective coatings widely used in metal food packaging to help preserve food and maintain its nutritional value and quality. Most canned food and beverage products on the market today use BPA in the can lining or can lid.
Scientific and governmental bodies worldwide have examined the science and concluded that the weight of evidence continues to support the safety of BPA, including comprehensive risk assessments in Japan and in the European Union. While studies continue, food safety regulators are not recommending any specific changes or actions in can lining applications, including those using BPA.

General Mills uses can coatings that fully comply with all applicable global requirements for safe use in food contact materials. But we know that some consumer would like us to pursue alternatives – and we are working intensively with our can suppliers and manufacturers to develop and test linings that do not use BPA. While alternatives have not been identified for all types of foods, we did identify a safe, viable alternative for our tomato products under the Muir Glen brand. We began transitioning those to the alternative cans with the fall 2010 tomato harvest.

With other alternatives currently being tested, we are optimistic that new options will be identified in time. When viable alternative prove safe and effective for other products, we would expect can suppliers and the food industry – in response to consumer interest – to convert to alternative coatings.

Your views are important to us. Be assured that your comments will be forwarded to the appropriate persons here at General Mills. Again, thank you for contacting General Mills, and thank you for your support of our products.

Sincerely,

Paula A. Vaughn
Consumer Care Specialist

So for those of you who use canned tomatoes, looks like Muir Glen brand is a good choice.