Roasted Vegetarian Dinner

This wonderful vegetarian dinner was easy to make. It used 15 different vegetables and only took about 15 minutes to prep. The baking time was 1-1/2 hours - and it was unattended. The house smelled wonderful and now we have leftovers for tomorrow, too.I found these graffiti eggplant in the market today and immediately thought of making ratatouille and a vegetarian roasted dinner. Roasted dinners are my favorites - you put everything in the oven and then serve when done. The house smells great and there is little attendance time. Plus you are more efficient with energy use because everything goes in the oven.Here are the main ingredients:2 eggplant, cubed1 yellow squash1 zucchini1 oniongarlic - minced - 2 cloves1 shallot1 cup mushrooms1 bell pepper2 cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes2 tablespoons olive oil1 tsp parsley1 cup water or brothPlace all ingredients in a large covered casserole:Bake for 1-1/2 hours.We also added a steak potato and a fancy yam:And a spaghetti squash:It is easy to make this delightful squash -you cut it in half, remove the seeds and place it cut side down in a covered baking casserole. A microwave can cook it in 10 minutes, but we chose to throw it in the oven with the ratatouille and the yams.And in the mean time, while these items baked, we made an heirloom tomato salad and the snack bowl for the week.This is celeriac - it is a root that has a distinct celery flavor. It is delicious when put in soups and when shaved or minced finely for salads.These are heirloom tomatoes. They are non-hybrid, open pollinated tomatoes that are very intriguing in the number of colors and shapes they are available. Generally they are interesting and very flavorful. It was our best choice for the winter market and since we were going vegetarian there is more room in the budget for fun items like these.The salads, we decided, should be individuals - diners have their choice of red or yellow heirloom tomatoes, complete with julienne (thin strips) of celeriac and shaved organic carrots. We topped these with olive oil and balsamic vinegar glaze and black pepper:I also bought huge pears and honey crisp apples - so those got washed and put in a bowl in the refrigerator - waiting to be snacks for the week. I noticed they disappear faster when put in a bowl:It took about 1-1/2 hours for the ratatouille, potato, yam and spaghetti squash to cook until perfect. (The oven was 375-400 degrees):Here is a shameless plug for our new store:http://nutritioneducationstore.comWe have a new Apple Poster.The apple poster is a great visual of a healthy choice! It positively reinforces a nutrient dense food over junk food choices and the savings! Using this visual will help clients make a daily healthy choice.We were featured on http://www.usapple.org/educators/applestore/index.cfm as a great apple resource!