Brielle's Avalon

You have kielbasa but no sauerkraut, but you do have random veggies in the fridge and pantry, *sigh* what to do, what to do… Chop them up and bake ’em in the oven! It’s a good, quick thing to have when you want to clean the scraps out of the fridge and get other stuff done while it bakes.

Pull out what you’ve got. I had onions that I’d already cut and used about 1/2 of each, Then carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, potatoes, some walnuts. If you have peas, beans, turnips or anything else from the garden go ahead and toss those in, too. Maybe I should have tossed in a few tomatoes? Oh, well, there’s always next time. Don’t forge the meat, which this time was kielbasa. Whatever you happen to have will do, whether other sausages, leftover chops, steaks, roasts, pork, lamb, beef, chicken, turkey…or none at all and you can turn this into a lovely vegetarian main course or a vegetable side-dish.

Sprinkle with pepper, salt, basil and any seasoning you feel like, then drizzle with melted bacon fat, olive oil, butter, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, truffle oil or whatever tickles your fancy. Toss it well and bake for about an hour while you shower and settle in front of the TV, help the kids with their homework, do the dishes, fold the laundry, check the mail…

When it’s about half done, pull it out and mix it up so everything gets a good dose of the oils and juices that have seeped out and about in the pan. At this point you can also throw together a batch of biscuits, scones or soda bread or open a roll of biscuits if you have one and feel lazy. Toss it in and everything should be ready about the same time.

Serve with a lovely glass of milk, beer, wine or soda of your choice, even tea is nice. Maybe a salad from the garden, too. That’s where the tomatoes are going now.