The Joy of Fresh Vegetables

Fresh Vegetables
Originally uploaded by monkeycat!.

Yes, that is a tomato and yes, it is November. I am as surprised as you are! When Antonia and I went out to the country yesterday, we were surprised to find that there has not been any frost in Davis yet, despite what the temperature receptors right under my skin tell me every morning. We found not only tomatoes, but also bell peppers, green bean(s), eggplants, and cherry chili peppers. It was quite a bounty that we pilfered from the backyard of Chez Oakley. Now, while I sit here and write about vegetables listening to Handsome Boy Modeling School, I realize that there really is a joy in fresh vegetables. The idea that the ingredients dictate what we make is new to me yet as old as cooking itself. It is a relatively recent development that all vegetables are available all year in a supermarket.

I for one love finding something to cook with a basket of vegetables. It is a simple pleasure that I do not come across often. Anyway, the fate of these vegetables was to be incorporated into---
Roasted Vegetable and Hummus Lavash Sandwiches, a la Gregoire Jacquet, Gregoire, Berkeley, CA.
The vegetables were grilled at 400ºF for 35 minutes with some olive oil, salt and pepper by the sweet Antonia. After acquiring some lavash from the Co-Op, we put down some hummus, filled it with veggies, and rolled up our sandwiches. A brief (3-5 min.) grilling on each side in a cast-iron pan gave them the perfect brown. MMMMM did those things go down quick!