Quinoa and Roasted Veggies (or, what to do with all the remnants of the CSA box)

A few weeks ago, I attended “Apples in the Orchard,” a potluck/ cider press on this darling Island on which I grew up. Like most potlucks I go to, I wanted to make a dish that could feed a lot, tasted great, and didn’t cost much. I also wanted to use up all the little remnants of vegetables in the fridge from my mother’s CSA subscription that had yet to find a dish. There were a few yellow squash, some chard, mustard greens, and a red pepper. After 15 minutes of standing in front of an open fridge, ignoring my mother’s voice in my head going “Close the door! You’re wasting energy and killing the planet!” I decided to fall back on my trusted standby “I don’t know what the hell to do with these veggies!” dish. Roasted veggies and quinoa. Fast, simple, and fucking delish! Bring it to a potluck and your omni friends minds will be blown, or just make a batch and eat the leftovers for lunch throughout the week. 

Roasted Veggies and Quinoa
For a potluck, I double the recipe
 

Enough veggies to fill up a large casserole pan (about 8 cups. The veggies should be heaped into the pan) I generally use about 2 bunches of bitter greens, and 2 cups of cherry or grape tomatoes. Then I just add in whatever I have laying around. Root vegetables, squash, peppers… really, this will work with just about anything.
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 faux sausages, chopped (I generally use Field Roast. Apple Sage if I have a lot of bitter greens, but chipotle and Italian are good too. Just depends on your veggies)
Olive oil to coat. No more than a few tsp should do.
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup dry quinoa
 

Set oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix vegetables (sans squash or other water heavy veggies. See note below), garlic, faux sausage, salt and pepper. Spread in a large baking pan and roast in the oven for 35-45 min. While the veggies are roasting, make the quinoa. Once both are done, mix together until quinoa is well incorporated.

Roast squash separately, as it will get watery. If it’s in the same pan as the other ingredients, the bitter greens and “sausage” won’t crisp. Or, if you don’t want crispy roasted veggies, go ahead and roast them all together. That’s your prerogative.