Quickie Friday: Another Round of Roasted Veggies

There is nothing easier than roasting a big pan of vegetables.  I like to roast them and store them for many future meals, if they last that long.

For these roasted veggies (which I made at EASTER!) I started by roasting up some quartered Yukon gold potatoes and white onions (which I seasoned with olive oil, salt, and pepper) at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.  I pulled my baking sheet out and added the artichoke hearts (which I buy jarred in water) and cherry tomatoes, then roasted everything for another 20 minutes or so.

The tomatoes burst to give the all of the veggies a bit of sauciness, which the H loves.  It's a simple side dish that would be a quick and easy accompaniment to almost any meal.

I saw cute, short, slouchy boots all over Europe.  Obviously I need a pair.

via

Although at this price point, I may obviously need five pairs.

Quickie Friday: Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

The F and I eat a lot of vegetables and, in an effort to get fit for my now 176-days-away wedding, I have now taken carbs off of the dinner menu (for me - the F gets to enjoy more potatoes this way, which he enjoys).  In an effort to taste carb-like things, however, I've been experimenting with cauliflower.

For this side dish I cut a head of cauliflower into bite-sized florets, drizzled olive oil over the top, then added copious amounts of garlic and read pepper before adding a light dusting of parmesan cheese.  I roasted the florets in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so, and they turned out perfectly.  Browned, slightly crispy, in spots, and with TONS of flavor.  They almost reminded me of croutons, and bread that's not bread is great for the new rules.

I have been getting into the color block trend recently, and feel that perhaps my shoe wardrobe needs some new rules, much like my diet, to fall in line.

via

I absolutely refuse to spend lots of money on a super trend-specific item, so these fit the bill.  And with a mere 3 and 1/2 inch heel, I think I could even walk in them without a problem!!!

Zucchini "Pizzas"

In an effort to get the F and myself to eat more vegetables, I will try and make anything taste like pizza.  I decided to give zucchini a go, awhile back, and it worked out wonderfully!

Obviously I failed to remove my mandolin from the cabinet when I sliced the zucchini - no matter . . .

A drizzle of olive oil, garlic, and dried basil, some grape tomatoes, and a smattering of mozzarella (and a good roast in a 400 degree oven) later, and we had pizza-adjacent veggies.  Much to the F's chagrin, I did not put pepperoni on these "pizzas," since I was going for a more margherita style.  He got over it.

On a totally unrelated note, my most-beloved coworker and I were discussing the noble business of stripping this evening, at which point I declared that it is not a profession to which I could ever consider . . .

. . . And then I saw these.

Brian Atwood via Saks

Only Mr. Atwood could make a stripper shoe look this good, and make me actually think that if I was a stripper, I would be a stripper in $970 shoes, and maybe that wouldn't be so bad.

But who am I kidding, I was born to cook, love books, and be a librarian, and being a stripper has nothing to do with any of those things and I would be awful at it.  Perhaps stripper shoes in a library wouldn't be so bad, either?  What say you, peeps?

Buttermilk Roast Chicken

I have spoken, on occasions prior (here and here come to mind) of my love of Smitten Kitchen (and I am BEYOND STOKED for Deb's cookbook to come out), so when I saw this recipe for Buttermilk Roast Chicken it became immensely obvious that I needed to try it.

I made my own buttermilk and put the chicken in the marinade 24 hours before roasting.  I would've liked to have let it soak for another day, but I literally saw this recipe and made it the next night.

I don't cook with paprika often, and when I do I'm always reminded that that's silly.  I love paprika.  And the combination of it with the garlic and buttermilk in this recipe is DIVINE.

The chicken roasted so perfectly and was so tender and full of flavor that I kicked myself for not making a billion other recipes that I have bookmarked from Smitten Kitchen.  This was a reminder to do just that.  Soon.

Similarly, I also love the B Brian Atwood line and would like to remind myself to purchase each and every pair from the collection.  Including these:

B Brian Atwood via Bergdorf Goodman

Sensible budget (much like sensible eating) be damned.