Oven Roasted Vegetables

I hope most people have somebody at their office that makes them smile. I have several but today I'm thinking of one in particular. She's just fun. I enjoy the fact that she smiles through pretty much anything from migraines to server crashes and has a quick and sassy wit. All around a first rate gal. Additionally, she roasts her vegetables, which makes her cool.

Inspired by her emphatic description of slightly blacked squash lightly brushed with olive oil and dusted with coarse salts, I made this for dinner. Unfortunately, my Mom called right at that critical moment of optimal blackening and I got distracted. By the time I realized what I had done, a few broccoli florets had turned to ash. Sigh. (Mom, I would reduce every broccoli floret in my fridge to cinders for a good convo with you, no hesitation!) However, there were plenty of good veggies left and even though they are a little dark, I REALLY enjoyed the meal, especially when paired with a glass of Malbec from The Fresh Market. YUM...

Preparing for My Vegetable Garden

I know it's the middle of January, but thanks to Pinterest and the lovely little banana plant I've had in my room all winter, my spring planting fever is here early! Last year I did a few herbs and dreamt of rain driven irrigation systems, but this year, I'm going for it! This will be the year of my cunningly fashioned bamboo irrigation pipes and recycled material flower beds! Of simple and practical composting and my very own home grown vegetables! Since I now have two of my lovely sisters as room mates, I believe I can safely ask for a little help in this endeavor and perhaps between the three of us, we'll have a crop to show for our labors. I'm so ridiculously excited by the thought. :)

Quite by accident, I came across a fun little online tool for vegetable garden planning - Sprout Robot! This site is a ton of fun... instructions drawn in comics style? With zip code specific planting lists? Yes please! And their logo is fun. I'm a sucker for a good logo.





I'll be starting my broccoli indoors the week of January 21st, so if you're hoping for a grocery-yielding garden this year, better start planning! I have a Pinterest board going (in its infancy at the moment) if you'd like to follow some of my inspirations and ideas!

Source: saidosdaconcha.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest