Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Roasted Vegetable Pasta

Roasted Vegetable Pasta

I'm one of only a few single people in my department at work. Most are married with kids, married without kids, or planning their weddings. There might even be a couple who, although not married, are in a relationship.

I'm none of these things.

You can usually tell who the single people are, just by how they eat. Many eat daily in the cafeteria, warm up frozen dinners or bring the same sad looking sandwich every day.

Many single people I know don't see the value in cooking for just themselves. They'll learn to cook when they get married or move in with someone, they say. Afterall, most veggies, meats, etc. don't come in single-serve packages.

I understand their reasons, but I disagree. I don't have to wait until I'm married to feed myself well.

It's true, most things don't come in single-serve packages. But, I've developed lots of strategies for dealing with family-sized packaging.

For one, there's this Roasted Vegetable Pasta. It's a good go-to recipe when you have bits of odds and ends in the produce drawer that need using up.

I used the mushrooms, tomatoes and onions that it called for. But really, you could use just about anything that's good roasted. Broccoli, green beans, brussels, squash. Heck, you could probably even have zucchini or summer squash.

Instead of wine, you could try balsamic vinegar. That'd be good, too. If you don't want onions, try tossing in some garlic instead.

If you decide to mix it up a bit, definitely keep the tomatoes. They burst when you roast them and add a sauciness to the dish. The tomatoes are my favorite part.

What are your go-to meals when you need to clean out the veggie drawer?

2 comments:

Chrissie said...

I'm married now, but always made sure to cook properly for myself before - and still cook separate meals for myself and my husband a lot of the time, simply because I'm more adventurous than he is and don't choose to restrict myself to his taste in food! I use my freezer a lot so that I can still cook multiple portions of food, and the main way I use up veggies is through making big vats of vegetable soup! Even in the summer... and I love roasting or grilling vegetables too!

Kori said...

This pasta looks delicious. I love making veggie pasta dishes with garden fresh veggies in the summertime. It's just so fun to walk outside, pick what you want, cook them up, and enjoy their wonderfully fresh flavor :) Enjoy your weekend!