Roasted Eggplant

The texture and taste of this eggplant is as unusual as it is awesome. The slices of eggplant had a texture similar to the apples in an apple pie and they soaked up all of the flavor of the balsamic vinegar.

This makes a great simple side dish to accompany almost anything although I ended up eating all of it for dinner one night. :)

Enjoy!

Roasted Eggplant

1 Eggplant halved and sliced a 1/4 inch thick

4 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

4 tablespoons Olive Oil

2 tablespoons Brown Sugar

In a large bowl mix together balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and brown sugar.

Toss in the eggplant and stir around until thoroughly coated.

Put into a 9 inch pie plate and bake at 375 for about 20-30 minutes (until eggplant is softened and the top has started to brown), stirring once of twice. Serves 4 as a side dish.

Balsamic Roasted Asparagus

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables, normally I pan fry it but I decided to try roasting it since I have been doing that lately with most vegetables. This asparagus turned out beautifully. One thing to keep in mind is that the quality of asparagus varies greatly in stores. The best asparagus is on the smaller side, the smaller, younger stems are more tender and taste a lot better. The larger the asparagus the more "woody" and tough it is going to be. Also, it should be pretty bright green with darker purply tops. The photos below are some examples of how good asparagus should look.

This is how the asparagus would look

Here is the big bunch

 This recipe is really simple and easy to modify. If you don't like balsamic vinegar try using lemon pepper seasoning or some other blend that you like.

Enjoy!

Balsamic Roasted Asparagus
1 lb or more Fresh Asparagus
2 - 3 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
Olive Oil (approx 1 tablespoon or less)
Snap and rinse the asparagus and lay in a single layer on a large cookie sheet. Sprinkle with spices, oil, and balsamic vinegar and toss to coat. Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes until some of the asparagus starts to brown slightly and stick to the pan.

Roasted Green Beans

Yummy Green Beans

All vegetables taste better roasted, as far as I can tell. Now that I have started to roast veggies I eat them so much more often! These green beans are so yummy I could just eat them for dinner and nothing else. Also, super easy.

Roasted Green Beans
About 1 lb. Fresh Green Beans (obviously you can use more if you want)
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Rinse green beans and snap them (snap off the ends, this will get rid of any strings too). Then snap in half so they are easier to eat. Put green beans on a large cookie sheet (10x15). Shake balsamic vinegar onto the beans to taste (I think I used about a 1/4 cup). Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle on salt and pepper. Toss the green beans until coated and roast in the oven at 425 for about 20 minutes turning the green beans over once or twice. The beans should be starting to get a little browned and be just starting to soften when they are done.