It is freakin' cold out there. Blame the Arctic wind (thanks for sharing, Canada), blame the cold front coming in off the Great Lakes, blame the bloody groundhog. It doesn't matter who you blame for the frigid temps, there's no avoiding the fact that meals this time of year need to be hot and they need to be substantial.
We're talking about hearty soups and stews, yes. Things that will warm you up and you can double/freeze for another week. But eating this kind of spoon-food day after day can become tiresome for a vegetarian. This is where roasted root vegetables come to the rescue. Their salty-sweet crunchy-tenderness make for a lovely break from all that mush. Even when it doesn't seem like there is time, it's still worth it to squeeze in a few extra minutes to preheat the oven, peel and quarter a couple sweet potatoes, a handful of parsnips, or a bunch of beets. While they cook, you can get the rest of the meal going, then relax and enjoy your glass of wine while the oven and stove do the rest.
The other night I put together a quick red lentil curry over brown rice (pictured above), but before I even got that going, I threw some sweet potatoes and beets into a 450-degree oven after being tossed in olive oil and kosher salt. The curry recipe was nearly as basic: saute a chopped onion, a couple smashed garlic cloves, and a grated thumb of ginger together, then stir in a teaspoon of cumin, a half teaspoon of coriander, and a teaspoon of curry. Stir in 3 cups water, bring to boil, then add 1 cup rinsed red lentils and simmer 30-40 minutes and salt to taste at the end. Served over rice (put the water on to boil before chopping onions for the curry) with a large dollop of plain yogurt on top, and we had some nice sweet and sour flavors going, but not much texture. Pairing it with roasted veggies played up the sweetness of the ginger, but it also gave us something to chew. A sprinkling of fresh cilantro leaves would have been great, too, but my freezer bag of herbs needs replenishing.
So don't forget about root veggies. Other good choices are celery root, rutabaga, turnips, carrots, potatoes (okay, technically not a root vegetable, but play along with me). Of course there are many more but these are likely to be at your local market. And when you are done cooking and everybody is going stir crazy from too many craft projects and too much quality together time in the house, get the heck outta there!
Here are a few pics of what we've been up to lately...
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Some old fabric, foam core and batting came together for a pelmet box window treatment
thanks to a great tutorial on a friend's lovely interior design blog |
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| Enthusiastic skater - 1st time out on the ice! |
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| What a trooper - never cries when she falls (often!) |
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| A visit to the remarkable Phoenix sculptures at MassMOCA - made from all recycled parts. Can't imagine what they'll look like at their next installation inside the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan! |
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| The girls love Sol LeWitt's mesmerizing wall art |
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Imagining herself covered in tattoos -
help me Lord! |
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| Time to get back outside and enjoy Winter while it's here! |
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