Maple Balsamic Roasted Vegetables

Atlanta is bracing for a winter storm this afternoon.  The Governor even issued a state of emergency for 50 counties in Georgia starting at 2:00 this afternoon! 

In lieu of this information - I made a gigantic mistake - I went to the grocery store!!!  (Along with several hundred panicked Georgians.)  At nine o'clock this morning, there were only a few loaves of bread left on the shelf and less than 6 gallons of whole milk was all the remained in the dairy case.

Most of the shoppers had carts full of soup and bread and I was pushing my cart full of Cheerios and dog food through the supermarket.  I also picked up a few vegetables because nothing tastes better to me on a cold winter night and a plate full of roasted root vegetables. 

Serve these veggies along side a nice big pot roast or roasted chicken and you've got yourself a warm, hearty dinner - perfect for a cold February night. 

Maple Balsamic Roasted Vegetables
5 thin carrots, peeled and cut
3 small white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
1red onion, sliced thickly
1 pound parsnips, peeled and sliced
3 zucchini, peeled and cut into 1/2" disks
1 eggplant, peeled and cut into cubes
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Herb De Provence
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl combine all of the vegetables.

Combine oil, salt, pepper and herbs and toss to coat well.

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Pour over vegetables and toss to coat.

Transfer to a cookie sheet.

Place in the oven and cook for about 45 minutes, checking that the point of a sharp knife spears the vegetables easily.

White vegetables are roasting, prepare sauce.  Combine maple syrup and balsamic vinegar.

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Place the maple syrup and balsamic vinegar in a pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer slowly until it has reduced by about half and is nice and thick.

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Once the vegetables are ready, lightly drizzle some of the syrup over them and return to the oven for 5 more minutes.

Serve with fresh rosemary.

Stay warm tonight friends and with any luck, I'll be posting some snow pictures tomorrow. 

Ciao!