Vegetable Candy

Step away from the pan!  I mean it!  Step away from the pan!


This is what you're going to have to say to your family if you want to have any of this vegetable candy left to serve for dinner.  It is so incredible on its own that it really doesn't need the feta et al.  But, all of that is pretty awesome also.  So, yes, you want to serve the whole deal. 


How did I find this wonderful dish?  The Secret Recipe Club.  Once again, I got a GREAT blog.  They have all these rules for the times you get a blog with nothing you'd like to cook.  Or one where you try some recipes and they're all duds.  It's never happened to me.  I know I'm going to miss one or two here but I've got to say that some of my favorite dishes I've tried from other bloggers have come from The Secret Recipe Club.  Irish Pancakes.  Josie.  What a total delight.  We keep making these and loving them more and more.  Wendy's Burgers.  Wow - that gal can cook.  Oh, and she's a hoot too.  Barbecued chicken dip.  Crack dip as her husband called it.  Indeed it is. 


Here's how it works. Every month we are assigned a blog.  Once a month we all post a recipe from our assigned blogs.  Actually every week there's a group who posts their recipes.  The most popular tend to be the sweets.  Since I'm not a baker like my friend Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake, I go for the savory dishes.  That is unless I find a dish like this with roasted vegetables.  One of my favorite things in the world.  I've never tried roasting carrots and parsnips together.  And, I love both of them.  Even if nobody comes to visit because I'm blogging about boring old vegetables, it's ok.  Because I have a fantastic new recipe. 


Who's my secret pal this month?  Cookin' with Moxie.  Jamie's involved with more recipe swaps and blogging groups than you can shake a stick at.  I have NO clue how she does everything she does AND makes such great recipes.  I started with half a dozen choices.  This one was my favorite but I wanted Connie to participate.  So, I printed all the recipes on Adobe and put them on my desktop.  Read them all to him and he ranked this as number one too.  Fine, it was decided. 


What did we think?  Umm, you can probably tell from my opening line.  This was fantastic!  I can't wait to try the feta mixture on other roasted vegetables.  Actually, it'd be great on roasted red potatoes too.  And, the carrots and parsnips?  A match made in heaven.  I'll make these just with the glaze.  Do be careful that they don't get too done.  I'm one of those folks who really has a problem peeling most vegetables.  Feels like I"m getting rid of way too many vitamins.  So, I left mine unpeeled.  I did leave out the centers of the parsnips as they were a bit tough.  I made everything the night before so just had to assemble the dish quickly after a long day at work.  This will be a regular vegetable dish for us.  Thank you so much, Jamie!!

Roasted Carrots and Parsnips

Ingredients:

1 4-oz package feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 c chopped dried cranberries
1/4 c chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 t lemon zest
1/2 t crushed red pepper
4 T olive oil, divided
2 lbs carrots
1 lb parsnips
2 T brown sugar
3 T balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

The feta, cranberries, parsley, lemon zest, one tablespoon of olive oil and crushed red pepper get mixed together to make a dressing.  You can make this the day before if you'd like.  Preheat your oven to 400.  Cut the carrots and parsnips into matchsticks. 

Mix the brown sugar, balsamic vinegar and three tablespoons of olive oil. In a baking dish, toss the carrots, parsnips and brown sugar sauce. 

Bake them for 35-45 minutes, tossing them every 15 minutes or so.  Remove the pan from the oven and toss the carrots and parsnips with the feta dressing.  I actually put the dressing on top of my vegetables.  Now, the recipe says it'll serve six.  I made half and we inhaled it. 

adapted from Cookin with Moxie.  Originally from Southern Living.