Roasted Root Vegetables w/Rosemary Sea Salt Q's Nuts

Does anyone else find it difficult to relax after a long work week?  I tend to wake up on Saturday morning with the same vigor as a work day with the need to fit in all I need to get done.  Morning run, errands, cleaning, and laundry..makes me tired just thinking about it. Luckily, my errands yesterday included the stopping by the last Winter Farmers Market, sampling some amazing salted caramel ice cream from Batch at Whole Foods and concluding the afternoon by tasting delectable ravioli from Nella Pasta at Sherman's...so I can't complain!

Anyway, after a late night Friday and running around Saturday morning/afternoon, I was happy to spend the rest of the day at home.  Since I was going to be in, I had all the time in the world to prepare a comforting, warm dinner.  I had some fantastic and colorful carrots from Winter Moon Farm that were in need of some slow roasting.  Since they are so fresh (even after being in my fridge for a week) and full of flavor, I really wanted to showcase them in the most natural form.  I sliced them thickly along with purple potatoes, some fresh butternut squash (from RI) and superb Spring onions (from GA).  I tossed them in a bowl with some extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.  I then laid them on a baking sheet.  The reason I laid it out on a sheet like this instead of a roasting pan is that I did not want to cook the veggies in oil.  This way, I tossed them in a bowl and left the excess oil behind.

So colorful it looks like art! 

I roasted these for 2 hours at 300 degrees.  If you live in a small lofty apartment like I do, you cannot escape the magnificent aroma.  Not a bad thing but it will make you hungry!  It is totally worth the wait to let them roast to perfection..they were perfect!  I could have just ate them as is but I already had the quinoa cooking so I stayed with the original plan of mixing them together.  I used quinoa because it is a nutrient packed super grain and not as heavy as brown rice.  It also has a mild flavor so it would be detract from the veggies.

Now, while I was at the Farmers Market I was chatting with my new favorite vendor Brian Quinn of Q's Nuts.  I first tried his product at a tasting a few weeks back at Dave's Fresh Pasta.  I believe he has the best job...he spends his day creating new flavors to put on various nuts!  He agreed.   I sampled many flavors and all are delicious.   He has a great savory creation of sea salt and rosemary cashews and almonds.  What better way to add a little extra kick to some already remarkable local veggies than with some local nuts (made here in Somerville!)?  He ran out of the cashew but he was nice enough to give me the remaining samples.  I also bought the almonds. I chopped up a good handful combination of both and added in some dried cranberries.

Crunchy, sweet, savory and fresh.  What a great combination of ingredients to mix together for a tasty dish.

As I mentioned, I had a sample of Batch ice cream while out shopping..which of course I had to purchase!  It was fabulous treat for dessert after this wonderfully healthy dinner.   I had a little piece of 60% Taza chocolate that I decided to grate over the ice cream...it was not necessary as the ice cream is flavorful and tasty as is...but little Taza chocolate never hurts!