I don’t really know what has gotten into me lately, but I have been grilling and roasting all week long. I had some acorn squash longing to be loved and screaming for attention. Did I ever tell you that my food speaks to me? Well they do…in my imaginary world…I’m the only one that can actually hear them though. I get some weird cravings at times and I guess this was one of them. I just really wasn’t in that mood for  meat. Can you believe it? Me? The avid meat eater? But my body gets that way sometimes and I just listen to it. The roasted veggies were so sweet. I had the boys snacking on them as if they were chips, and to top it off…. they kept coming back for more.

Believe it or not, vegetables and tubers are the easiest things to roast. It isn’t labor intensive at all. You throw it in the oven, walk away and 45 minutes later….it’s done? Depending on the veggies that you are preparing, the roasting time may be shorter…or longer.

I wanted roasted plantains. They are awesome! I have always fried, boiled or used the green plantains to make porridge as a breakfast cereal, but I had never roasted them before. I have to give credit to my friend Stacy. I was so proud of her the other day.  She was actually boasting about all the dishes that she had prepared, and roasted plantains was one of them. Now let me tell you a little about my friend Stacy. She will cook,  and she knows how to cook, but she’d rather not. She’d rather eat MY food and I really don’t mind. She is actually my taste tester and she gives really great reviews. I love her constructive criticism as well. I rarely get a complaint from her. Her reviews are more like: “This is really good, but the onions could have caramelized a little bit more, but overall, it is taste d’luscious!” I gotta love her. And when Stacey takes food from my house, she puts on her “nobody else is getting any of this aura.”  But I don’t mind because she makes me feel as if I’m the best cook in the world. Stacy REALLY LOVES MY FOOD! And then she give me all this free publicity. She accredits my culinary expertise so well. I just gotta love her!

I’m so so sorry….I got off track. So, yes we have established that I love Stacy and she gave me the idea for the roasted plantains and all I have to say is: WOW! Who knew that roasted plantains would taste so amazingly d’luscious? It was tender in no time and I had to remove it from the baking tray before the other tubers were done. It would have probably melted….well maybe not melted. It would’ve been overdone.  The acorn squash roasted pretty quickly as well, and I removed it from the oven.

The potatoes were tender but not as crisp as I would have liked them to be, so I left them in the oven for another 15 minutes.  When roasting veggies, you tend to do that (removing some before others), based on how you prefer the consistency and texture of your veggies. If you really like fried potatoes, this is a great substitute. It’s actually oven fried potatoes. It’s crispy and tastes like fries without all the grease.  My boys and their friends, aka my adopted children that wants me to be their mom for a week….or forever…killed the oven roasted goodies. If I hadn’t known better, I would think that they thought it were eating a bag of chips or something.

Well Stacy wasn’t here to taste this roasted vegetable trio, but trust me…she will probably be requesting this authentic dish on her next visit to my house, and I love her so much….I will do it for her…no questions asked.