Roasted Vegetables

This is a really easy one, with almost limitless variations. Roasting brings out incredible flavors, as the heat carmelizes the sugars and starches in your veggies. We've been roasting onions, carrots, potatoes and sweet potatoes lately, but you can roast just about anything - just cut into smallish (about 1 in.) bits, toss with oil and herbs, and place into a 425 degree oven, stirring occasionally. Like soups, it's a great way to us up anything extra you might have laying around. In the summer, I'll add summer squash and zucchinis. In the winter, parsnips or Brussels sprouts. What follows isn't a recipe so much as a guide.

Roasted Vegetables

• Chop vegetables, enough to make one layer covering your baking pan or Dutch oven. Veggies should be chopped to roughly the same size for uniform cooking.
• Drizzle with olive oil. You don't need a lot, about one teaspoon for each cup of vegetables. Toss to coat.
• Sprinkle with herbs. Rosemary is a good choice, but parsley or basil work well, too.
• Sprinkle top with salt and pepper, and a little more oil, to prevent your veggies from drying out.
• Roast in a 425 degree oven. Stir or turn about halfway through.

Roast until tender and edges begin turning a deep brown. Cooking times vary depending on what vegetables you used, but figure on approximately 45 minutes. Turn about halfway through. If they look like they are drying out, drizzle with broth, low-fat Italian dressing,  or even apple juice.

Classic Boston Baked Scrod

Boston baked scrod is one of the quintessential classic New England seafood dishes, and yet, as we say here, it's wicked simple to make. I think it's good anytime of year. It's a nice, light dish for a summer's evening, but the warm, buttery baked cracker-crumb crust is also the perfect comfort food for a winter's night.

What is scrod? It was tradionally a small cod, split and boned. You can read about the etymology here, but for our purposes we'll use a cod filet, or even a haddock.

We love the rich flavorful buttery cracker crust, but because we don't want to be too over-indulgent, we combine 1/2 cup of crumbs (about half a sleeve of Ritz crackers) with 1/2 cup of panko crumbs. If tomatos are in season, garnish each filet with a tomato slice before baking.

I pair it with a nice oak Chardonnay, roasted vegetables, or a light salad.

Boston Baked Scrod

• 4 1/2 lb cod or haddock filets
• 2 eggs (or about 3 oz. vegetable or olive oil)
• 1 cup cracker crumbs (Ritz crackers, or similar)
• Salt and pepper

Wash and pat dry each filet. Place on oiled baking pan or tray. Brush on egg or oil to coat, then cover with cracker crumbs. Use hands to pack crumbs on. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on each one. Bake in a 375 degree oven, about 12-15 minutes, until crumbs are a golden brown. To check for doneness, use a small knife to check the center of me filet. It should be white all the way through.

Use a spatula to carefully transfer from pan to plates. The fish is delicate and flaky, and will fall apart easily if you don't take care. It will still be delicious, though - Garnish with a lemon slice and enjoy!