Raid the root cellar and roast it.

This is a perfect time of year to raid the root cellar and roast it. Carrots, garlic, beets, red and yellow onions, red, white and blue potatoes, fennel, cabbage and a few kinds of squash are in ours. A medley of mostly vegetables with deep sugars is what I am after. If you do not have a root cellar, go to your local store and raid it for an assortment of any of the above. It will taste just as good.

Preheat the oven at 425 degrees. Take 3 carrots, 3 beets , 1 red onion, 1 red, 1 white, and 1 blue potato, 1 delicata squash, 2 bulbs of fennel, and 5-6 bulbs of garlic (about 40-50 cloves). Cut the delicata squash in half lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and cut in 3/4 inch crescent moons. Cut everything else in 1” chunks, except the garlic. Just peel the skin off of the cloves. Put it all in a gallon plastic bag. Pour ¼ cup of virgin olive oil in the bag and mix and coat everything with the oil. Add a little finely chopped fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, ground pepper and mix it again.

If you want more of one item and less of another, adjust accordingly. Try more beets, carrots and garlic, and less potatoes, if you want more sugars, veggies and less starch.  Or just keep it simple with beets, delicata squash and garlic.

Spread everything out on a sheet pan. You can also do it in one or two cast iron pans. I try not to pile the vegetables on one another, but keep them spread apart so they roast nicely. Put them in the oven for 35-40 minutes. Turn them after 15-20 minutes and make sure they are not burning. If they are a little too brown, turn the heat down to 375 and cook the remaining time. When fork tender on the inside and crispy enough on the outside for your liking, take them out, sprinkle with salt, put them in a bowl and serve.