A Tale of Two Veggie Dishes

Once upon a time, there was a woman who was a pro at making baby food. But she always knew there was an arch nemesis to the homemade baby food world: green beans. So one sunshiny day, she decided she would try three different methods using two different types of green beans to see if it was at all possible to match the perfectly smooth texture of jarred baby food. To her utter dismay, two and a half hours passed by as her kitchen got messier and messier; and all she was left with was the same kind of homemade baby food green beans she had ever ended up with. A whole morning gone with nothing left but textured baby food her daughter won't be able to eat for a while yet.

Now I remember why I always bought jarred green beans. Green beans don't have pits. They ARE the pits. Ugh. I began with good intentions to use frozen green beans. Steamed 'em up, and started hand-cranking away. And cranking and cranking and hand cramping and cranking... Just an awful amount of work that produces such a tiny amount of baby food. So I was going to throw them into my awesome electric baby food mill, but I think it must have shorted out a few seconds after I began. And being the amazing electrician I am, I have no idea what happened (nor did I choose to investigate -- good news for those of you that know my "background" in electricity...). I then tried to hand-crank some more, got fed up with that, and promptly grabbed the two cans of French style green beans (no salt or preservatives, just beans and water). Those cranked up very nicely, though still more difficult than soft fruits. It's amazing the amount of water that comes out of green beans! But what was I going to do with the rest of the steamed frozen green beans? I put them in the Kitchenaid mixer attachment that grinds food. Wow. Water pouring out here while green bean pieces that resembled cow cud pushed out here, and oops there's a leak there too. Pushed some more beans down and now I have green bean juice a few feet up on my cabinet doors. Forget it! I was left with two bowls of baby food. One a bright fresh green with tons of water and a potent flavor. One a muted green with a softer consistency and bland green bean flavor. Neither of which Eden can eat just yet because it is too textured. So I just combined the two (now that was a pretty site - not!) and froze 'em up. And now I just remembered I completely forgot to add a little salt and butter. ::sigh:: I hate green bean baby food. Let's nuke the City of Green Bean Baby Food and move on to the tale of a lovely veggie dish.

Far away in another veggiedom, there was a woman who was about to do something she'd never done before. She grabbed a zucchini, a yellow squash, and several red potatoes. "I want to try my hand at oven roasting some veggies!" she said to herself. "I know I'll probably be the only one that likes them, but who cares!" So she chopped them up, dressed the chunks, and threw them in the oven without a worry. After a while, out came gorgeous roasted veggies that she thoroughly enjoyed. Why, so much that it was ALL she ate for dinner. Two bowls of yummy roasted veggies -- and no one wanted to share! More for her! Since then, she has made them several times and encouraged her King and knights to try them with her. The King loves the potatoes and graciously eats a few of the zucchini and squash pieces. The knights? Well, they still need convincing.

Seriously! I realize I'm probably behind a lot of women in the whole veggie department, but hey I'm catching up! It is so super easy to roast veggies, so cheap, and so delicious! Just a little chopping, mixing, and oven-time gives you a beautiful and hearty side dish to any meal. I mixed my zucchini, yellow squash, and unpeeled red potato chunks with salt, pepper, 2 glubs of olive oil, 2-3 glubs of Italian dressing. Spread them out on my wonderful new metal baking sheet. Roasted at 425 for 40-50 minutes, turning every 10 minutes or so. The few times I've made them with something else baking, I just put them in at 425 while I prep the other dish, turn the oven down when I add the other dish to the oven, and then crank it back up to 425 when the other dish comes out. It's worked great every time. Try it! Who knows, maybe I'll throw in a sweet potato soon. Though I am CERTAIN the King won't be eating those pieces... (I just realized there are no after pics -- I was too excited to eat them!)