small things {veggies}

small things #63 ... veggies

I hear the car door slam and I know that Daddy has come home.  From my spot at the kitchen sink, I hear the thump and thud as kids run to the front door.  Lydia grabs a leg and gives it a squeeze while Ashley grabs his attention with the latest news from school.  Being the good daddy that he is, he listens and squeezes back and then slowly disengages himself in an effort to get to the kitchen.

A quick smooch and a smile and he's landed back at home.  Ahhh....

The kids run back to whatever they were doing before they attacked Brett at the door and I return to stirring pasta and chopping tomatoes.  A few minutes later, Aaron sniffs his way into the kitchen.

"What's for dinner?"

"Spaghetti and a salad."

"Yum.  Where's Dad?"

"I'd check the garden."

The garden.  Brett's other baby.

(Three years ago, Brett had a dream to put in two garden boxes and we've been enjoying the fruits of his labor ever since!  We've had another bountiful year and it has been a pure delight to eat and enjoy vegetables from our own garden.)

In the morning, Brett can be found checking on his plants and making sure that all the sprinkler heads are working.  In the evenings, if Brett isn't in the house, you can bet that he's outside checking on the pepper plants, re-directing the pumpkin vine, hunting for cucumbers or harvesting tomatoes.

Upon returning to the kitchen, he's likely to deposit a pile of produce on the countertop.  Hardy green zucchini and lumpy squash abound.  Purple eggplants and chubby cucumbers spill out of the bowl.  Fire engine red cherry tomatoes and brilliant yellow pear tomatoes sit within reach to be nibbled and munched by my grazing children.  And me.

He also fills me in on the prolific abundance of pole beans, the voracious spreading habits of oregano and the curiously orange spaghetti squash that apparently experienced a little cross-pollination with the pumpkin plant nearby.  We mourn the demise of the Santa Fe pepper plant and Google recipes requiring an abundance of cucumber.

On our recent return from a visit with Gramps and Grammy, we discovered a rather barren kitchen.  The refrigerator light was blinding for lack of food and the pantry echoed.  Gratefully the garden was still overflowing with veggies.  In spite of being desperately in need of a grocery store run, we ate like kings and queens that night.  Veggie-loving kings and queens!

Grilled eggplant and zucchini, roasted spaghetti squash and homemade fresh tomato sauce with basil.

Veggies ... one of the most delicious aspects of summer.  Especially if we grew them ourselves!

Four other fruits we grew this summer ...
standing in front of our prolific garden.

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#2 - You were supposed to have a garden this summer - share the fruits of your labor.  Or in our case, Brett's labor. 

Food For Thought ~ Green & Blue Food

I remember as a kid my mom saying, "Put a rainbow on your plate."  Green salad, red tomatoes, yellow cornbread, white chicken breast off the grill with a splash of magenta bbq sauce!  That was how she encouraged us to eat a variety of fresh foods and to have a diverse selection of nutritious eats at each meal.

Every now and then those words come back to me ... especially during my un-inspired meals when I bring to the table blah foods.  Recently when I served the family rice, chicken and french bread, I was tempted to give everybody a generous squirt of ketchup in an attempt to at least provide two colors to eat from!

Today's Food For Thought will help you add two colors to your dinner:  Green and a dash of Blue.

Enjoy!

Fried Green Tomatoes
(This is my "guess and by gosh" recipe ... it turned out tasty!)

Ingredients:
2 very green tomatoes, no pink on them
1 cup Panko, Japanese-style bread crumbs
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup flour
Pinch of coarse salt
Olive oil

In the same way that you bread eggplant or chicken, prepare three dishes:  one with the beaten eggs, one with the flour and salt and one with the bread crumbs.  Eat about 1/2 inch of oil in the pan.  Cut the green tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices.

When the oil is hot, dip each slice of tomato in the flour, then the egg and finally in the bread crumbs.  Be sure to get each slice well coated.  Cook in the hot oil for about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.

Remove to a plate lined with paper towels and let some of the oil whisk away.  I then stacked them in a casserole dish and slid them in to the oven at about 190 degrees to keep them hot until they were ready to be served.  The sharp taste of the green tomatoes coupled with the crispiness of the bread crumbs made this a dish worth making again!

Penne with Pesto, Blue Cheese and Walnuts

(This recipe is from The Dinner Doctor - with a few tweaks.)

Ingredients:

16 oz. box of penne pasta

1 cup walnuts, toasted*

1/2 cup pesto, from the store or homemade

1/4 blue cheese

1/2 pound broccoli or asparagus spears

* To toast the walnuts, put them in a dry skillet and cook over high heat until browned a bit, stirring constantly.  Remove them from the pan immediately to stop them from burning.

Prepare the pasta according to the package directions.  During the final 5 minutes of cooking toss in the broccoli or asparagus.  (I chose broccoli this time as it was from our garden ... and it needed a delicious dish to be showcased in!  Asparagus is equally scrumptious!)

In a small bowl combine the pesto and blue cheese.  Use a fork to mash the blue cheese and incorporate it into pesto.

When the pasta and veggies are finished, drain thoroughly.  Return this to the pot and add the pesto mixture.  Toss well and serve immediately.  Top with toasted walnuts.

Those delightful fritters on the side are made from zucchini from our garden.  Here's how...

Zucchini Fritters

(This recipe is from Food Network Magazine, July/August 2010 with a few adjustments.)

Ingredients:

2 small zucchini, grated

2 tsp. salt

4 scallions, chopped

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 cup flour

Olive oil

Place the grated zucchini in a colander in the sink and toss with the salt.  Let the zucchini drip into the sink for about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, heat 1/2 inch of olive oil in a skillet.

In a medium bowl, combine the scallions, egg, cheese and flour.  Squeeze the excess water from the zucchini and add to the bowl.  Mix well.

When the oil is hot, spoon about 1/3 cup of the fritter mixture into little mounds in the oil.  Flatten with a spatula and let cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.  Drain on paper towels and season with a pinch of salt.  Delish!

Apple Slaw

(This recipe was inspired by one in Food Network Magazine, October 2011 ... with a variety of tweaks!)

Ingredients:

4 apples, chopped (I chose Granny Smith)

1 large head endive, chopped

1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted

1 cup blue cheese

Vinaigrette (below)

Coarse salt and ground pepper taste

Vinaigrette:

3 T. honey

2 T. rice vinegar

1 T. dijon mustard

2/3 cup olive oil

Coarse salt and ground pepper taste

Whisk together the honey, vinegar and mustard.  Add the oil slowly, whisking well.  Add the salt and pepper to taste.

Combine the apples, endive, walnuts, blue cheese.  Add enough vinaigrette to coat.  The tart apples with bitter endive and rich blue cheese was a delightful mouthful!

Enjoy your rainbow plate today!

Food For Thought - Carrots

This year we planted carrots in our garden.  A lot of them.  We were excited as we watched their little green and feathery tops poke through the soil.  Then as they grew and multiplied we learned the wisdom of thinning.  It seems wasteful to pluck some of the puny little carrots and throw them away, but it's an essential part of making room for the carrots to grow uncrowded.  Even after thinning, we have ended up with a bumper crop of carrots!  A treasure trove of long orange beauties that would impress even our old pal, Bugs Bunny.

That tangle of carrots in the middle
is what happens if you don't thin.  Oops.

But what do you do with a garden full of carrots?  The kids will only eat so many carrots dipped in peanut butter.  Here are a few carroty recipes that we enjoyed and I hope you will, too.

Carrot Raisin Salad
(This recipe is a family favorite from my mom.)

Ingredients:
4 large carrots, shredded
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 T sugar
2 t. rice vinegar

Combine the carrots, raisins and walnuts in a medium sized bowl.  In a small bowl, combine the mayo, sugar and vinegar.  Mix well.  Pour the dressing over the carrot mixture and stir.  This salad is from the same family as the Broccoli Waldorf Salad.  Once I wrapped my head around having fruit and veggies together in the salad, they have become some of my absolute favorite side dishes!

Stir-Fried Carrot Slivers
(This recipe is from "The Dinner Doctor" with a few additions.)

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil

2 cups carrots, shredded
1 cup snap peas, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup orange juice
2 t. brown sugar
1/2 t. ginger (fresh ginger would be even better!)
Salt, to taste
4 green onions, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a medium pan.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the orange juice, brown sugar and ginger.  Set this aside.  Add the carrots and snap peas to the oil and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add the orange juice mixture and stir well.  Let cook for 2-3 minutes longer until the carrots are tender.  Add a pinch of salt to taste and top with green onions.  Serve immediately.

Spiced Couscous with Chicken and Carrots
(This recipe is from Food Network, October, 2010.  I made my typical adjustments.)

Ingredients:

3/4 t. cinnamon

1 inch fresh ginger, grated

Salt & pepper, to taste

4 medium carrots, sliced

1 cup couscous, dry

2 cups chicken, shredded

3 T butter

1/2 almonds, chopped

1/2 cup raisins

4 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

Sour cream, for topping

In a medium pot, bring 3 cups of water to a boil.  Add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, grated ginger, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to the water.  Add the carrots and cook until crisp tender, about 5 minutes.

Drain the carrots and set aside the liquid for later.

Put the couscous and chicken in a large bowl and pour 1 cup of the carrot water on top.  Cover the couscous with plastic wrap and let sit for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork when ready.

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter.  Add the almonds, raisins, green onions and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.  Cook for about 5 minutes until the nuts are toasted.  Stir in the cilantro.

To serve, fill bowls with chicken and couscous mixture and pour a bit of the carrot water over the top.  Add the carrots and then finish with the almond mixture.  Top with fresh cilantro and a dollop of sour cream.

From experience ...
you might want to double this recipe.

Food For Thought

It's been a little while since I've been in touch with my foodie-side.  I've missed her. :)  We had been so busy with VBSing, traveling, water-parking, traveling, recovering and laundering that we had also been scrounging, left-overing and sandwiching.  Until this week.

My aunt, uncle and cousin were in town and suddenly my dinner inspiration kicked in and I jumped back into actual cooking.  Mommy's happy slicing and dicing in the kitchen; my family is happy eating fresh and good-for-you meals ... Everybody wins!

This week, we enjoyed a few of my favorites:

Southwestern Slaw
Cold Curry-Peanut Salad
Fiery Broccoli (in place of green beans ... and equally tasty and toasty)

Now I'm back into the groove of cooking again and ready to try out some new flavors and foods.

Here are a few new salads to freshen up your main courses ... and to add a little green to your plate.

Creamy Spring Peas

(This recipe is from Food Network, April 2011, with a few tweaks to lighten it up.)

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen peas

1 lb sugar snap peas

1/2 lb snow peas, trimmed and thinly sliced

5 slices of bacon

2 T flour

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup evaporated milk

Juice of one lemon

Freshly ground pepper

Kosher salt

Fill a large bowl with ice water and set it aside.  Fill a large pot with water (with a pinch of salt) and set to boil.  When the water is at a rolling boil, add the snap peas and cook for 2 minutes.  Then add the snow peas and cook for a mere 30 seconds.  Drain the peas and then dump them into the ice water to cool them quickly and retain their beautiful bright green color.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon.  Once crisp, set the bacon aside on a paper towel and then chop coarsely.  In the bacon drippings, add the flour and cook over medium-high heat until toasted.  Whisk in the chicken broth and evaporated milk.  Stir well to remove any lumps and then cook over medium heat until the mixture is reduced by 1/3, about 5 minutes.

Drain the cooling peas and add them to the creamy mixture along with the frozen peas.  Cook (stirring constantly) until heated through - about 5 minutes.  Stir in the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Top with the chopped bacon before serving.

In this case, it's easy being green.

Peas & Sprouts

(This recipe is something I threw together to add a little summer to a recent dinner.)

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen peas

1 lb frozen brussel sprouts

2 roma tomatoes, diced

Rice vinegar

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside.

Microwave the peas according to the package instructions and then plunge them into the ice water to stop them from cooking.  Do the same with the brussel sprouts.  Once the sprouts are chilled, cut them into quarters with a paring knife.  Toss the peas and sprouts together in a serving bowl with the tomatoes.  Add a splash of vinegar, oil.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  

Simple, but scrumptious!

Broccoli Waldorf Salad

(This is an old family recipe.  And a favorite in the summer time.)

Ingredients:

4 crowns of broccoli, chopped

1 granny smith apple, chopped

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup walnuts

3/4 cup mayonaise

1 T sugar

2 T vinegar

In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, apple, onion, celery, raisins and walnuts.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the mayo, sugar and vinegar.  Pour this mixture over the salad and toss well.  Refrigerate for one hour before serving to allow the dressing to mingle.

Proof that it's okay to mix fruits and veggies.

Starstruck Edamame Salad

(This recipe is from Food Network, June 2011, with a few tweaks.)

Ingredients:

8 oz small pasta (I used stelline ... adorable little stars!)

2 cups frozen edamame, thawed

1 cup cilantro, chopped

4 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup parmesan

1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest

Kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

In a medium sized pot, prepare the pasta according to the package instructions.  During the final minute of cooking, add the edamame.  Drain the mixture and transfer to a large bowl.  Add the cilantro, green onions, oil, parmesan and lemon zest.  Mix well and then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Warm and refreshing at the same time!

Food For Thought

A few weeks ago I shared with you several cole slaw recipes ... and received some rave reviews!  Thanks! In the spirit of warm weather hopefulness :) I thought I would share with you a few more summer-time favorites!

Lots of veggies.  Not a lot of cooking.  

And the fresh taste of summer.  Dig in!

Pasta Salad

(This recipe is one of those "a little of this & a little of that" meals ... never the same twice!)

Ingredients:

16 oz pasta of your choice

Veggies of your choice, chopped into bite-sized pieces:

Tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, bell peppers, olives, mushrooms, green onions, avocados, zucchini, broccoli, etc.

Meats & Cheese of your choice:

Chopped kielbasa, cubed ham, cubed chicken, cubed cheddar, shredded mozzarella, crumbled feta, crumbled blue cheese, etc.

Olive oil

Vinegar

Italian seasoning

Garlic clove, minced

For this particular pasta salad, I used:  rigatoni pasta, cherry tomatoes, olives, red onion and shredded mozzarella.  Prepare the pasta according the package instructions.  When cooked, drain and rinse with cold water.  Let the pasta sit in a colander over the sink to drain well.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add your chopped veggies, meats and cheeses.  Drizzle with about 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1/4 cup of vinegar.  Add a generous shake of Italian seasoning and the clove of garlic.  Give this a good stir - it will be very loose and soupy.  Add the pasta and toss well to coat.  I like to let the salad refrigerate for a few hours to let the flavors mingle.  If the pasta seems a bit dry when it's time to serve, just add a splash more oil and vinegar.

Simple splendidness ...

Tuna Noodle Salad

(This recipe is one my mom makes regularly during the summer.  And one of my favorites!)

Ingredients:

16 oz pasta of your choice (We used bow-tie pasta this time.)

1 package of tuna (I like the tuna in the pouch ... more fresh tasting.)

1/2 cup cubed cheddar cheese

1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped

3 green onions, chopped

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup mayo

1/2 cup sour cream

Salt

Pepper

Prepare the pasta according to the package instructions.  During the last 5 minutes, pop in the peas and let them cook with the pasta.  When finished, drain and rinse with cold water. Let the pasta & peas sit in the colander in the sink and drain.

In a large bowl, combine the tuna, cheese, onions and cucumbers.  Add the mayo, sour cream and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Mix this well.  It should seem overly creamy so that it will also be able to coat the noodles well.

Add the noodles and mix well.  I let the salad sit in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavors mingle.  Even my kids like this salad ... they don't even notice the tuna! :)

Creamy deliciousness ...

Tomato & Olive Tapanade

(I served this at a get together ... and brought home an empty bowl.)

Ingredients:

2 large tomatoes, chopped

3 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup olives, sliced

1/4 cup blue cheese

Olive oil

Vinegar

Salt & Pepper

Crusty bread

Toss the veggies and cheese together in a medium sized bowl.  Drizzle with a few tablespoons of olive oil and a splash of vinegar.  Add a little salt and pepper to taste and stir well.  Let this mixture sit on the counter for about an hour to get to room temperature.  Stir once more before serving.

I sliced the crusty baguette into 1/2 inch slices and used it as a delicious vehicle for consuming all the tomatoey, olivey, blue cheesey goodness. :)

Flavorful bites ...

Roasted Asparagus

(This isn't so much a recipe as it is brief instructions on how to eat an entire pound of asparagus all by yourself!)

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh asparagus

Olive oil

Coarse salt

Crushed pepper

Break off the woody ends of each asparagus by gently bending each stalk.  The asparagus will snap off right where the texture goes from tough to tender.  Rinse the asparagus in the sink and let it drain for a few minutes.  Give them a good shake before spreading them out on a cookie sheet.

Make sure the asparagus are in a single layer for even roasting.  (They cook quickly enough that you can do additional batches, in necessary.)  Drizzle the stalks with a little olive oil and then toss the stalks around with your hands to get them evenly coated.  Next sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the entire pan.

Now, pop them in the oven set to broil.  Leave the oven door open a crack so that you can keep an eye on them.  After about 3-4 minutes, slide them out and move them around a little with a set of tongs to allow them a chance to be roasted on all sides.  Pop them back in for about 3-4 minutes.  

You are looking for the asparagus to be a bright green color with little flecks of black from the roasting ... but not mushy.  I like my asparagus to still be a little crispy when I bit into it.  Something like this:

A plate full of spring!

Food For Thought

Today Blogger was acting a bit wonky .... grrrrr.  So, if this post looks weird (i.e. pictures randomly placed or huge spaces between text) it wasn't me. :)  Hopefully when you read it, it all makes sense.

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Happy Friday!  My weekend is starting a little earlier this week ... and so Food For Thought is coming a day early.  The kiddos are off of school today and I am off to play.  Not that this writing is much work, but it does require some attention to detail, and somehow that doesn't seem to happen when every 8.36 seconds someone is asking me a question or saying, "Watch this, Mom!"  So I hope you will understand :) and I'll have something interesting for you to read on Monday.  Pinky promise! :)

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One show we love to watch with the kids is Iron Chef America.  The kids have been known to battle it out in our own kitchen stadium (i.e. the basement) complete with secret ingredients, points of plating and celebrity judges.  Brett and I enjoy seeing the interesting ingredients that the chefs work with and the amazing dishes they are able to prepare.  It's a show for the whole family!

Now ... I'm sure you have been on the edge of your seat waiting and wondering what my secret ingredient was last week.  Am I right, or am I right?!?  Well ... wait no longer.

This week's Food For Thought post is ... Hidden Veggies!

Specifically, I will be showing you how to hide zucchini and eggplant in three different dishes ... delicious, healthy dishes that your kids will love, too!  Ready to be fooled?  And wowed?  Here we go!

My kitchen buddy.

I have a terrific food processor that I use to grate and puree the veggies found in these recipes.  If you don't have a food processor (I'm so very sorry...) you can also use a cheese grater to grate the zucchini and a blender for the eggplant.  However ... I highly recommend having a food processor in your kitchen.  Still not convinced?  Then you need to brows here. :)

The first recipe I will share with you is one of my kids' favorite breakfast items.  Aaron actually chose to plant a zucchini plant so that I could, and I quote, "make zucchini bread."  That's my boy!

Zucchini Bread

(This recipe is from my mom ... with some tweaking.)

Ingredients:

Veggie goodness!

4 cups zucchini, grated

3 cups flour (I use half white/half wheat)

2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cup apple sauce (in place of oil)

4 eggs, beaten

1 T. vanilla

1 T. cinnamon

1 1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

1 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

Ready for baking

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.  Add zucchini, apple sauce, eggs and vanilla.  You can use a mixer, but I find that the zucchini strands get tangled up.  I chose to use a spatula and a little elbow grease (i.e. stir, stir, stir).  When it is well mixed, you can add the nuts.  I like my zucchini bread sans nuts, but it's also good with walnuts if you like something crunchy mixed in.

Prepare 2 loaf pans by greasing only the bottoms with shortening.  Pay close attention to the corners and bottom edges.  Pour half the batter in each pan and bake at 325 degrees for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  I have a great cake tester from Pampered Chef I use all the time. Just so you know! :)

Still warm!

Let the bread cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack.  You will want to run a butter knife around the edge of each pan prior to turning out to cool.  When the breads are cool, wrap one up in a freezer bag and save for later and cut into the other one.  Yummy!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

(This recipe is from Epi.  I made it for Brett's birthday and Norah has requested it for hers.)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup flour (half white/half wheat)

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/2 cup oil

2 large eggs

1 t. vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk*

2 cups zucchini, grated

1 cup chocolate chips

2/3 cup walnuts, chopped

*For buttermilk, you can add 1 teaspoon lemon juice to regular milk and let it curdle a bit before adding to the mix.

Now you see 'em ...

Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking soda.  In a different bowl, cream together butter, sugar and oil.  Add eggs one at a time to the sugar mixture until well beaten.  Add vanilla.  Mix in dry ingredients and buttermilk and then add zucchini.

Now you don't!

Prepare cake pan by greasing it with shortening and then dusting it with flour.  I chose to use a bundt pan ... just because. :)  Pour the batter into the cake pan and sprinkle the chocolate chips and nuts on top.

Bake the cake at 325 degrees until the cake tester comes out clean, about 50 minutes.  Cool the cake completely before turning it out on your cake plate.

Bagged and ready.

Now for decorating!  I wanted to drizzle chocolate over the top of the cake and then sprinkle additional walnuts over that.  To melt the chocolate, I put about one cup chocolate chips in a ziplock bag and set this in a pyrex (microwaveable) measuring cup.  I then melted the chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals, checking after each beep to see if it was melted yet.  Chocolate can burn rather quickly, so while this might seem tedious, it's worth it.

Just toss the bag when done!

When the chips were melted, I had a handy little decorating bag!  I simply snipped one corner of the ziplock bag and then squeezed a steady amount over the top of the cake.  Then I tossed a few nuts on top and voila!  Dessert is served!

Scrum-Diddly-Umptious!

We enjoyed this cake warmed up a bit with vanilla ice cream on the side.  You would never know that there was something green in there! :)

Mouth-Watering Pasta Sauce

(This recipe I made up ... with inspiration from my neighbors.)

This was the secret addition to last week's pasta sauce in the Italian Flag Spaghetti Pie.

Ingredients:

Veggies to roast:  Zucchini, Eggplant, Peppers and Onions

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

4 oz. can tomato sauce

Favorite pasta sauce (I like Barilla.)

Ready to roast.

Take the veggies (in this case I just had eggplant on hand) and cut them into cubes.  Place them in a single layer on a cooking sheet and drizzle with a little olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then toss them around with your hands so they are well coated.  Pop them in the oven on broil.  Stay near by and check them regularly.   You are looking for the veggies to have an all over, even browning.  You will also start to smell the veggies ... a warm, savory smell.  Yum!

Roasted to perfection!

 When the veggies have cooled, transfer them to the food processor.  I added the tomato sauce as a little liquid to help puree the veggies until they were smooth.  Give them a whirl until they are a nice creamy consistency.  The finished product doesn't look terribly palatable, but don't be fooled.  It is delicious!  This lovely, creamy, rich, veggie-fortified blend is a wonderful addition to any pasta sauce.  You don't necessarily taste the vegetables, but there is a wonderful round flavor that you don't get with plain 'ol pasta sauce.  I currently have two batches in my freezer waiting to be added to my next pasta meal.   Shhh ... don't tell the kids! :)

Before ...

After