Love and Veggies

The late lamented Nile Cafe in Fell's Point used to serve a salad of
fresh and grilled vegetables.  I think it had lettuce, tomatoes,
cucumbers, olives, and feta cheese, and grilled eggplant, zucchini, red
bell peppers, and mushrooms.

Grilling, roasting, or broiling veggies is an easy and delicious way to
use them.  You can do up a lot at a time and refrigerate them for
antipasti, salads, sandwiches, or pasta (reheat and either put in a
 sauce
or just dump on top of the pasta).

If the veggies are large, slice horizontally; if medium-sized,
diagonally; if small, vertically.  Not too thick.

If you're going to grill them, you may first marinate them in a
vinaigrette or in an Asian-style marinade with soy sauce, sherry,
 garlic,
ginger, and a touch of sweetening (I use frozen apple juice
 concentrate).
 Put the whole thing in the fridge for an hour or more.

Or you can roast them at 425 degrees F.  The simplest way is to just
spread the veggies on a baking sheet, spray them with an olive oil
 spray,
and shake on salt, pepper, and herbs.  Last night I put EVOO in the
blender with garlic, a little fresh parsley and basil, dried rosemary,
salt, and pepper; then I spread that over the veggies.  Check the
 veggies
frequently and turn them when they're just beginning to get soft, after
about 5 to 7 minutes.  Then give them just a few more minutes (maybe 3)
on the other side before checking them.  Don't let them burn!

To roast bell peppers, leave them whole, and turn them on another side
(they're more or less square) every 3 minutes or so.  When they're
 soft,
take them out, put them in a stainless steel or ceramic bowl, cover it
with a lid, and leave them to steam 20 minutes.  Then peel off the
 skins
and take out the innards. Green peppers will often turn red if you
 leave
them at room temperature.  But you can also roast them green.

You can also roast onions, Florence fennel, carrots, sweet potatoes,
whole or thickly sliced mushrooms (beware; they get done very fast),
 and
tomatoes (they will dry out somewhat and have an intense flavor, like
sun-dried tomatoes).

Jodean