Recently I have seen and heard from a lot of family members.  I have different relationships, as we all do, with different people.  (Except for the imaginary people…all of those relationships tend to be very shallow and all about ME!)

When I talk to my mom, we talk about everything under the sun.  (One time we even talked about the sun and she told me it was hot.   She was right.)  I laugh at our silly private jokes that have gone on for years and realize I am slowly becoming a lot like her.  (This is not a bad thing.)

My sister and I talk a lot.  Actually, we talk a lot about food.  (She is an amazing cook and needs to do a guest-blog on her meatloaf one day.  Hint! Hint) I was the tag along little sister and would be lying if I didn’t say she has been an influence in my life over the years.  (I still give her credit for teaching me to read…trashy love novels!)

And when I get one of my aunts or my Grandma on the phone, I seem to regress and let them fix all of world’s problems for me.  (They are very good at this and they call me “honey” which seems to make everything better!)

The time spent talking to my family is something I cherish.  I like the awareness of the nuances that make us similar just because we share the similar roots.   There are plenty of differences too but I wouldn’t trade my root medley at all! (Okay, there are some genetic flaws but it could be worse.)

Root Vegetable Medley

Ingredients

3 carrots, cut into “sticks” (Cut lengthwise in half and then in half again)

3 parsnips  (Cut lengthwise in half and then in half again)

1 sweet potato (Depending on the shape of your potato, make it similar in size to the parsnips and carrots)

3 beets (Cut into similar size as above veggies)

1 onion (I ended up using some little onions that I just quartered but you can use a yellow onion and cut it into slices.)

4 tsp of fresh, chopped sage

4 tsp olive oil

Rosemary (about 6 pieces)

Salt and pepper

Directions

Oven 400 degrees.  (You will need to have a rectangular casserole dish ready.)

Assuming you already have cut your vegetables, grab a small/medium size bowl.  (If you are a messy kitchen person, go for the bigger bowl or you will have root veggies on the floor.)

In your bowl, mix the parsnip and the carrots with 1 tsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of the chopped sage.   Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Place in one section of the casserole dish (in one third).

Next, mix the sweet potato, 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp sage. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Place next to the carrot/parsnip mixture in the casserole dish (in one third)

Next, mix the onion, 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp sage.  (I added this around the edges of the casserole because honestly, I almost forgot the onion)

Finally, mix up your beets, add 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp sage and place them in the remaining third of your casserole dish.

Lay sprigs of Rosemary in dish (I only like mild rosemary flavor.  If you love rosemary, you can finely chop it up and add it to the dish.  I would cut the amount in half or I think it would be too overpowering.)

This is how it should look in your pan.

Bake, covered with foil for 30 minutes.  Uncover, mix each vegetable individually and bake another 15 minutes.

Veggies should be fork tender.  Mix together gently (don’t go crazy mixing or everything will turn pink because of the beets).  Taste for seasoning and serve.

This is one of those recipes you can really play around with to incorporate whatever is in your fridge (or on sale at the market.)  Cut your vegetables uniformly so that they cook evenly.

There are a lot of different vegetables that make up this medley, kind of like a family.  The only difference is at least in the recipe you can replace the ones you don’t like!