Veg - please help me get un-bored

[Yorky]

I am bored of rotating peas, broad beans, sweetcorn and carrots which seem to dominate our side dishes. We occasionally have sweet potatoes mixed in with normal spuds as chips, or swede mashed into mashed potato , and I like roast parsnips if I do a full roast dinner (definitely not a regular weekly event)

DS is not fussy and DD will get fed anything anyway - please can you suggest some easy alternatives, I am bored!

Have you tried bean sprouts? fun to grow, and healthy... lots of beans will sprout, but whole lentils are great ( split lentils won't grow).. look up how to do it on the net, all you need is a jam jar and some lentils (and three days)!
But here is my fave recipe:

roast onions in cream and cheese sauce
It's really lovely side dish, but could be a main with some brown rice and a green veg.

get some large ish onions ( not the really huge ones though), at least one per person. skin them but keep whole. Keep a good amount of the root bit on to keep them together.

boil in a large pan at a bright simmer for 25 mins.

when cool enough, cut them in half through the root bit, and place cut side down one layer thick in baking tray. ( squeeze them out a bit first so they're not too wet)
pour over a large carton of double or whipping cream. salt n pepper and a large handful of parmesan and or other cheese. bake for 25 mins in oven preheated to 180- 200. should come out browned on top.

Go seasonal -

Savoy cabbage with bacon (sizzle chopped up bacon till brown, add shredded cabbage, put lid on and cook gently for 40 mins).

I get a big bag of wahtever is cheap on the market. I reckon cheap = glut.

At the moment its mixed peppers and avocados.

Roasted Veg (Courgettes, Tomatoes, Peppers, Onions) with Olive Oil, Roasted Celeriac, Braised celery in a white sauce, leeks sweated in butter, Roasted Fennel, Sweet Potato with Pine Nuts, Spinach, Spring Greens...etc..etc..

Check out Tasty Diaries on www.tastydiaries.com. This site has recipes written by a French mum, and she has really cool sides such as pureed artichoke hearts or a quickly made French ratatouille (mix of tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines).
She also regularly uses fruits in her savoury dishes which I really like.

If you are stuck with inspiration subscribe to her weekly newsletter, I absolutely love it. It comes every Thursday with simple and seasonal recipe ideas for the week to come. I tried a few and they were all delicious.

Elsa

Some of these sound lovely - anything that involves bacon is a winner with DH , and the roast onions sound like a great way to make veg feel unhealthy! I love 'Mediterranean veg' so must remember to put roast courgette etc on early enough - how long do you think they'd take?

Silverwood - how do you do your sweet potato and pine nuts? sounds interesting?

Thanks for the link Elsa, love the thought of new ideas dropping into the inbox regularly

This may be more work than you are looking for if you just want side dishes, but the dishes in Madhur Jaffrey's Eastern Vegetarian Cooking are awesome.

Yorky,

I roast the sweet potato and throw the pine nuts in towards the end, or at least that's how I did it the first time (had a few left over and thought I would try it out). They may benefit from being in the whole time as they may taste nuttier.

Peppers, onions, roasted tomatoes, butternut squash!

Courgette, aubergine if you like them (I do not)

cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, minted peas

chop a couple of large tomatoes in half. nuke them in the microwave for 1 minute. add a cheese triangle or two and mix it up when they've softened a bit. Hey presto, instant home made pasta sauce!! it really works