Recipe Redux: Roasted Winter Vegetables with Miso-Lemon Dressing

I have been a veggie-roasting fool lately. A week of eating on the go put me a little behind in using up our CSA vegetables and I've been trying to play catch-up ever since. I knew that if I was getting sick of eating roasted cauliflower for almost every meal, my family was, too. An email alert from The Kitchn saved us from veggie boredom. Roasted Winter Vegetables with Miso-Lime Dressing sounded just exotic enough to kick the winter veggie blahs.

I changed things up a bit in my version, opting to use broccoli instead of sweet potatoes, coconut oil instead of walnut oil and lemon juice instead of lime juice. The resulting dish was slightly tropical, and as you can tell by the picture, incredibly edible. So much so that Lily was snatching brussels sprouts before I even had a change to dish hers up. For the first time in weeks, there were no leftovers after dinner. I can't wait to try this dressing on other veggies. Next, I'm going to try it drizzled over roasted potatoes or maybe even as a dressing for greens and chopped avocado.

Roasted Winter Vegetables with Miso-Lemon Dressing

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 8 ounces brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved lengthwise
• 1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 large head of broccoli (or two broccoli crowns), cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoon white miso paste
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• Black pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400. Place veggies on individual baking sheets, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and toss to thoroughly coat (if you don't want to use oil, cover the veggies with foil). Bake, turning every 10-15 minutes until browned and soft. The broccoli and brussels sprouts will be done in about 15 minutes; the cauliflower will take about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the lemon juice and miso paste until smooth. Slowly drizzle warmed coconut oil (barely melted), whisking constantly, until thoroughly combined.
• Place roasted veggies into a large bowl with dressing and toss to coat. Season with pepper and serve.

Kids Eat Plants, Too

I always find it interesting when parents tell me that their kids "only" eat chicken nuggets, macaroni & cheese, french fries, etc. When folks see how Lily eats with us, there are always remarks.
"My kids would NEVER eat that!" "Wow...will she really eat that?!" "How do you get her to do that?"
I used to laugh it off. Then I got defensive. Now, I've just resigned myself to being weird by other people's standards. Feeding Lily a variety of foods has always been a priority for us. We never wanted to raise a picky eater. We love trying new things and experimenting in the kitchen; it's important to us to cultivate that lifestyle for our children, regardless of age.
So with Lily, we started early. I made her first foods to ensure she was exposed to variety of textures and flavors. The end result is we now have a toddler who eats just about anything that doesn't eat her first.
Lily loves beans, greens and almost everything in between. Her favorite foods include avocado, broccoli, greens, nuts, fruits and nut butters. She likes ethnic food and American standards. She also loves everything she's allergic to, but that's a different story.
She also has dislikes. She prefers cooked veggies over raw ones, peeled fruits over those with skin and sweet potatoes over white ones.
I don't judge others for what they feed their kids, but I do object to parents who act as if they are powerless victims. A child cannot force an adult to do anything that adult doesn't want to do. Our daughter doesn't eat chicken nuggets and mac & cheese because those are foods we never bothered to introduce into her diet. It hasn't been convenient, but it's been worth it.