We had enough snow ten days back to cause school cancellations, but the weather has since turned warm and sunny. Two days ago, in fact, the temperature pushed the thermometer up to a completely unseasonable eighty-two degrees, which certainly made that a Good Friday in more ways than one. While it is possible that the temperature could still drop to freezing, at least at night, during the next few weeks, that fact tends to matter not so much, when we know that warmer weather is within reach and that it is now time to break out the flipflops, patio furniture and garden tools. On the subject of gardening, I have big plans to do some much-needed landscaping in our backyard this year, which shall be put in motion once we return from a vacation to New Mexico that we are taking this coming week.
In the meantime, my husband and are celebrating Easter in our usual way, meaning that Scott will be working all day (since law enforcement must carry on regardless of any holidays on the calendar). In his absence, my day here at home is devoted to doing laundry, paying bills, cleaning and packing for our trip.
Our own schedule does not permit it this year, but Easter certainly presents a wonderful opportunity for cooking, eating and entertaining to anyone who is lucky enough to have the holiday off and to be spending it with family or friends. As I write this, I'm predicting that countless hams are being prepped for baking across America, to be served later today with green beans and whipped potatoes alongside. There is certainly nothing wrong with those traditional Easter fixings, but I found myself earlier mentally composing a menu that would be a bit more out of the ordinary and, to my mind, also celebrate the arrival of spring. Baby lamb chops, I decided, seasoned simply with olive oil, rosemary and salt, accompanied by tiny redskin potatoes prepared in a twice-baked style and flavored with Asiago cheese. And definitely a fresh green vegetable of some sort, probably tender spring asparagus, roasted in the oven to bring out the best of its flavor.
Unfortunately, this imaginary meal will have to wait until a later date to grace our table, but we still need to put food in our bellies later today. Although I have no asparagus on hand, there is a lovely bunch of fresh broccoli in our fridge and, as with the aforementioned asparagus, the broccoli will equally benefit from a quick roasting in the oven, which has become my all time favorite way to cook most any vegetable.
While this method of preparation is definitely not ground-breaking culinary news, it seems that many accomplished cooks we know are still often surprised to learn, when the topic arises, that we cook our vegetables in the oven. Sure, a quick steaming is a great way to prepare fresh veggies but, for me, it often leads to inconsistent results. Steaming also requires standing at or near the stove, which is more attention than I really want to give to a batch of vegetables. Oven-roasting, on the other hand, I find to be much more reliable and much more delicious, while being equally healthy. We cook veggies this way at least a couple of times per week, typically asparagus or broccoli, but most any other fresh vegetable works out just as well when prepared in this manner.
This technique is so amazingly simple that it would be downright embarrassing to present it in a typical "recipe" format. So, regarding our evening meal, suffice it to say that into a baking pan my broccoli shall go, where it will be lightly drizzled with roughly a tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkled rather liberally with salt, and topped with a teaspoon or so of minced garlic. It will then be covered with foil and baked for eighteen to twenty minutes in an oven preheated to 425 degrees. (If there is any trick at all to this oven roasting, it is only to figure out how long the pan should remain in the oven, which will vary slightly depending upon the type of vegetable involved, the size into which it is cut, and of course the differing heating traits of individual ovens.)
For dinner tonight, I intend to toss a couple big handfuls of cooked shrimp in with the broccoli, once it has finished roasting. However, I will note that for certain dinners in the past, Scott and I have actually feasted on a nothing but a big pan of beautifully roasted vegetables, because the taste is just that wonderful.
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