Curried Roasted Veggies For An All American #SundaySupper

My husband and I have a Cowboy & Indian (the sub-continental kind) marriage. I often joke that I traveled halfway across the world to marry my Texan. While that's very adventurous and romantic, it does get a bit dicey making sure our mixed-heritage family learns and appreciates both our cultures. Our kids need to appreciate mixing together curry spices and making sausage, their heritage of cotton farming and adventurous immigration. Our two worlds come together most often at the family table.

Summer in Texas mean firing up the grill every chance we get. My darling husband in the grill master, and I'm happy to put him to work. Here's a picture of a recent #SundaySupper grill out:

To balance the meal out, I added in Curried Roasted Veggies. Right now we have a wonderful abundance of produce at our local Farmers' Market and there's nothing easier than throwing together a variety of vegetables with some oil and spices and roasting them. I could have threaded the marinated veggies on skewers and grilled them to make smoky vegetable kababs, but since I didn't want to compete for grill space, I opted for the oven.

Also, slow roasting brings out the depth and sweetness of the vegetables. Here's what the finished dish looked like:

Once everything was served my husband took one look at the table and declared it an All-American Meal.

Thanks for joining my family at our table and sharing a typical mix-n-match meal with us. This is my first #SundaySupper post, an initiative started by Isabel at Family Foodie. Her mission is to bring back Sunday Supper around the family table in every home. Every Sunday on a twitter a group of bloggers share Sunday Supper recipes, tips and stories.

Renee from Magnolia Days is hosting the theme for this week, which is Celebrating Family Heritage.

Curried Roasted Veggies

1 large red onion, cut into eighths

3 large red potatoes, cut into large cubes,

2 red bell peppers & 2 green bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch thick strips

16-oz package of baby carrots

4 large yellow squash cut into chunks

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes

2 cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup olive oil or ghee (clarified butter)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

3 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon sugar

a handful of dried cranberries

Garnish:

A handful of cilantro, chopped

A small bunch of mint, slivered

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, toss together all the ingredients.

3. Lay the vegetables out in a large roasting pan, preferably in a single layer.

4. Roast for 30 minutes, stir and then roast for another 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

5. Once done, let cool for 10 minutes. Top with mixed herbs and toss together.

Serves 12

No-labor grilled veggie recipes for Labor Weekend

So we're in the middle of a 3-day Labor Day weekend and many of us are gathering around a grill. It's sort of like a last big "Hurrah!" School has started, the temperatures have started to drop (Yay!)and we are saying good bye to summer.

When grilling is mentioned, many people immediately think of some sort of meat -- large cuts of steak, stings of sausages or skewers of kababs. Not me. I offer you veggies.

My favorites are sturdy vegetables that don't fall apart on the grill, like squash, onions, bell peppers, asparagus and okra. A mix adds a rainbow of color and flavors to your meal. Grilling adds a smoky depth to the veggies, and brings out a natural sweetness. All with only a minimum of fuss.

Step 1. Marinate the veggies.

Step 2. If using bamboo skewers, remember to presoak them. Also, using two skewers makes the veggies easier to handle, esp. in case of long veggies.

Step 3. Grill time! Remember cooking time will depend on various factors: the type of vegetable, the thickness of it, and personal preference regarding doneness.

Step 4. Serve!

Recipe for mixed veggies

2 medium zuchhini, cut into 2" pieces then halved lengthwise
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 2" pieces
8 to 10 pearl onions, sliced in half from top to bottom
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS lemon juice
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt & pepper to season
3 oz goat cheese, crumbled

Directions:

1. Preheat grill to medium-high. Brush grate with oil.

2. Toss the cut veggies with the marinade ingredients.

3. Get a bowl ready for cooked veggies.

4. My indoor grill didn't have a lot of space, so I had to grill in batches. The Zucchini and onion will take longer to cook than the peppers. About 5 to 6 minutes.

5. Finish off the veggies by sprinkling the goat cheese on top and serve with pasta, couscous or pita bread.

Grilled Okra Recipe

15 medium-sized young okra
2 tablespoons of oil (vegetable, canola or olive)
Juice of half a large lemon
1 rounded teaspoon of Cajun seasoning or curry powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper (optional)

6 bamboo skewers, presoaked

Directions:
1. Preheat grill.
2. In a medium bowl, toss the okra, oil, lemon juice and spices together until all the okra is well coated.
3. Thread about five okra pods onto two parallel skewers (sort of creating an okra billboard).
4. Grill each set of okra about 15 minutes (turning once half way through).
5. Serve with ranch sauce (optional)