THE LOVELY CRAZY

I rely pretty heavily on frozen produce in the mid to late parts of winter. I do have my winter farm share but that is never enough so I pack my freezer as full as I can with stuff in the fall (mostly shredded zucchini and lots of tomatoes and eggplant). And then sometime between Christmas and New Years its pretty much gone. Once that happens I start in with store bought frozen veggies. I usually by frozen broccoli, peas, and green beans and right now me and the frozen green beans are having a moment.

I don’t know how it started but almost everyday I dump like half a bag of frozen green beans (sometimes a whole bag) onto a baking sheet without any oil or seasoning, and pop it into a hot oven for like 15 minutes. And that is it. I pull them put and they are crispy, crunchy, and probably one of the tastily way a green bean can be eaten (besides fresh). And the weird thing is, I have tried to mimic the crispness and crunchiness with fresh green beans but it never works out. There is something about roasting them frozen that gives them the perfect crispy texture. And no no to oil. They don’t need it, it only makes the beans soggy.

So it might seem kind of weird and it’s not a recipe, but I highly, HIGHLY, suggest that next time have a hankering for a tastely crunchy treat, try roasting some frozen green beans. And then let me know if you become addicted too.

Sometimes it’s the simplest things, you know?

Frozen beans go straight from freezer onto baking sheet and into the oven.

They then come out crispy. That's it.

And yes, I usually just eat them off the baking sheet with my fingers because why bother dirtying a dish?

-C

Crispy Green Beans

Frozen green beans

Preheat oven to 400

Dump frozen green beans onto a non oiled baking sheet single layered and place into hot oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crispy. Remove and eat.

Sometimes it is the simplest of simple things that really get me excited about food. Take for instance burnt broccoli. What exactly is there to say about it other then it is broccoli roasted until it is burnt.

Well I tell ya, it’s amazing and delicious.

I have always been in love with broccoli but lately I have taken to eating more and more of it then usual. Partly because I have been getting a lot of it at the farm, but mostly because I have been craving it in the weirdest way, like every time I get hungry, all I want is to eat is burnt broccoli. What I do is I roast the broccoli unit it is basically burnt. And then I eat it, just like that, nice and burnt and crispy and I just can’t get enough.

Is that a little weird? Maybe sure, but whatever, it is fantastic and I really don’t care if it is weird. I’m doing me and eating a plate of burnt ass broccoli every day makes me happy.

You should try it. It will portably make you happy too.

To the broccoli!

The stuff. All you need is broccoli. You could toss int n a a tiny bit of oil if you want, but I forgo the oil. And salt and pepper if you want too, but again, I don’t want it.

So basically all you do is brake apart broccoli crowns and stick them on a baking sheet and pop it into a really hot oven for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how burnt you want your broccoli.

Good and crispy. I might leave it in a tad bit longer but at this point I just wanted to eat it so I just called it.

Then once it is burnt, you eat it. Plain and unadulterated or splashed with lemon juice or even dipped in hummus. Any way is a good way because burnt broccoli is alway going to be good.

-C

Burnt Broccoli

Broccoli crowns (at least 1, if not a whole lot. Make as much as you want)
olive oil (optional)
salt and pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 450

Break of cut apart broccoli crowns into florets and place on a baking sheet. If you want, lightly oil the baking sheet and or toss broccoli in a teaspoon or so oil.

Place in oven and cook for 45 minutes to an hour or until broccoli is burnt to your liking.

Remove broccoli from oven when done and eat, as a side, in a sandwich, or on it’s own as a great snack.