Springtime on a Plate!

Just a quick post tonight, as it is such a gorgeous Spring evening!

what colors!

Spring is wonderful for its cool, pleasant evenings, and also for the amazing fresh vegetables! Tender asparagus, spicy radishes, and cooling zucchini are all springtime stars! And they were center-stage in tonight’s dinner as well!

Springtime on a plate!

Tonight, I made roasted spring veggies with broiled flounder and a mushroom millet pilaf! So delicious!

First the veggies. Here’s what you need:

1 zucchini, sliced in 1/2 in rounds and then cut in half
1 bunch of asparagus, woody ends trimmed
1/2 red onion, cut in chunks
radishes, whole
garlic cloves, whole, in skins

Preheat oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets with tin foil and spray with olive oil. When your veggies are cut and completely dry, spread them out evenly on the trays and mist with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 40-45 minutes, flipping half way through. Mmmm mmm mmm!

so delicious!

Next, with these show-stopping veggies, I served broiled flounder.Lobsta Bakes‘ wild, ocean-caught flounder is so sweet and delicious! Lobsta Bakes is so amazing because it’s the only place in Cincinnati where you can find wild, ocean-caught, antibiotic-free, fresh-never-frozen fish flown in from Maine every morning! I am so grateful for their amazing store! I broiled the flounder in 1 tsp EVOO, salt, pepper, lemon zest and juice, and fresh dill. YUM!

Gorgeous flounder and asparagus!

Finally, the millet pilaf. I cooked this gluten-free, Body Ecology Diet friendly, pseudo-grain in vegetable stock. While it was cooking, I quickly sautéed onion, garlic, and mushrooms, and then added them in to the cooked millet. Delish.

This meal was terrific. The roasted spring veggies stole the show! When you roast veggies like that for a long time, they release their sugars and beautifully caramelize. The red onion and the radishes became almost like candy!! The asparagus was so tender and wonderful. And the zucchini when it roasts — oh my Gosh — the flesh becomes SO creamy and melts in your mouth! Buttery and sweet…truly magnificent!

fantastic caramelization of the veggies!

And the colors on the plate were just gorgeous! Pink, lime green, purple, and deep olive-green! It definitely looked like spring on our plates!

Tomorrow’s Friday! Woohoo!

I got to use one of my favorite tools tonight for the veggies: my olive oil mister! It makes it so you don't have to use olive oil cooking spray, which is filled with propellants and other icky ingredients. Here's the one I use: