Roasted Winter Vegetables

Here is an easy, delicious medley of winter vegetables...if you like rutabagas, parsnips, carrots and garlic:

Ingredients:

• 5 parsnips
• 6 carrots
• 1 medium sized rutabaga
• 6 (or more) cloves of garlic with their skin on
• 1/4 cup light olive oil
• 1 sprig dried rosemary (about 2 inches - more or less to taste)
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey would also work)
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and peel the parsnips, carrots and rutabaga and cut into chunks, approximately 1 inch.  Place them in a large (10 x 15 inch) oven proof glass dish and cover with the olive oil, mixing the vegies and oil thoroughly.  Season with salt and pepper and place in oven for 30 minutes.

Strip the needles off the rosemary sprig and chop them finely,  mix these with the garlic cloves (in their skins).  Add this mixture to the roasted vegetables after the 30 minutes are up and return to the oven for another 25-30 minutes (depending on how big your vegetable chunks are).

Remove from oven and immediately pour the maple syrup over the vegetables and mix them up.   For those who like garlic, squeeze out the soft insides and discard the paper skins. 

(This evening we had these vegies with maples glazed grilled ham slices and potatoes - the squeezed garlic mashed into potatoes with some butter was delicious as well)