My favorite place in the world in the summertime—outside of my own backyard with a Bloody Mary in hand—is the farmer’s market.

As soon as I grab my little red wagon, (a dozen are generously provided so we can lug around our produce) my blood pressure drops to record lows.

I love the fact that I am buying things that someone thoughtfully cultivated, that my dollars count and that I can see the faces of the people responsible for the food I plan to eat.

I love the dogs roaming around, the general spirit of goodwill and the smell of greens, blue sky (or mineral rain) and peaches that saturates the air.

Most especially, I love getting everything back to my kitchen and laying out the glorious bounty of it on the table.

I put it all away carefully, wiping mushrooms, cutting stems and planning a week’s worth of stewing and roasting as I do it.

Those are the moments when life truly happens.

One of my go-to ways to honor all that abundance is with a simple dish: roasted vegetables with fresh rosemary. It can be eaten hot, room temperature or cold, served as a side, on top a salad or as an amazing sandwich filling.

Colorful, easy and healthy, this wonderful recipe will also fill your home with mouth watering fragrance as it cooks.

Make a double batch—you’ll definitely want leftovers.

Roasted Summer Vegetables with Fresh Rosemary

(Serves 4 to 6)

You will need:

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1/2 red onion

2 red bell peppers

2-3 heaping cups mushrooms, any kind

Cut all veggies into bite sized pieces and toss onto a large baking sheet.

Then add:

5 cloves garlic, chopped

2-3 tbsp live oil

2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (or substitute 1 tbsp dried rosemary)

Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste (I use lots of both)

Mix all ingredients together with your hands, thoroughly massaging the oil into everything. Spread out veggies into an even layer on the pan.

Cook for 20-25 minutes in a 400 degree oven (or until the edges of some of the veggies turn brown), mixing once halfway through.

Serve with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and maybe some fresh chopped basil to fancy it up.

~

Relephant Read:

Build a Beautiful Summer Salad. {Vegan, G-Free Recipe}

~

Author: Erica Leibrandt

Editor: Toby Israel

Photo: Liz West/Flickr // Pixabay

~