Nothing beats roasting for vegetables, in my book. My husband, who basically hates vegetables, totally agrees with me on this. Over time, my vegetable-roasting repertoire has expanded to include things I never imagined back when I was still intimidated by my oven. Now I am here to tell you: you’ve gotta try it!

If you saw my kale post, you know we love roasted sweet potatoes, and hopefully you gave it a try. I use basically the same method with everything: wash it, cut it, toss with olive oil and salt, and roast in an open pan for about 20 minutes at 375 to 400 F. Less dense vegetables and smaller pieces cook faster, others-like whole potatoes-take a little longer. Butter is a very nice option, or coconut oil, depending on your taste. Olive oil is the easiest, though. You can add other seasonings if you like, but be sure they can take the heat.

Here are some things I love to roast, in order of popularity at my house:

• Sweet potatoes
  
• Potatoes
  
• Apples
  
• Cauliflower
  
• Asparagus
  
• Squash (especially Butternut and Delicata)
  
• Carrots
  
• Beets
  
• Kale
  
• Broccoli
  
• Green beans
  
• Onions

Other things that I have not tried yet, but expect to soon:

• Plantains (and bananas)
  
• Fennel
  
• Parsnips
  
• Turnips
  
• Artichokes

And of course, you can roast tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, zucchini and all kinds of other things.

What is amazing is that you can cook all of these things other ways, but roasting them just does something magical. It brings out hidden sweetness and flavor you had no idea was there. My favorite case in point is cauliflower. I have had it steamed and mashed, and I like it fine, but it is nothing exciting. (My husband hates it.) But roasted, even he goes in for a big helping. It looks better (nice golden toasty-ness), smells better and tastes better. And it is awesome with some coconut sauce: warm up some coconut butter (like nut butter, only coconut) with some regular butter and a pinch of salt, and stir until smooth.