veggies!

i’ve been so busy lately that i’m starting to get in a real “quick food” rut at home, subsisting mainly on peanut butter, eggs, bread and cheese. notice the complete lack of vegetables. i mean, occasionally, i can scrape together a small salad (fresh from a bag) on the side, but i’m really struggling to get vegetables on my plate now that summer is over. so, tonight we went out to eat. we chose to eat at a place that i’ve always known has great food, but it’s seat-yourself and the few times i’ve been there it’s been packed and i don’t like the vulture aspect of fighting for free tables. friday night at 7:00 didn’t seem like it was a great time to avoid that scene, but we decided to try it anyway. when we arrived, there were actually two free tables-for-two right away (i think we’d always gone with friends in the past and needed a larger table) and we got to choose the less breezy one. the menu is small, but everything on it is a sure thing, so i waffled. i wanted something warm (did i mention that it snowed today? brrr…) but the list of roasted vegetables on one of their salads looked so tempting! i asked the waiter if the salad was indeed served cold and he confirmed that it was, but pointed out that one of the sandwiches had a “roasted vegetables” instead of meat option and that the veggies were the same as the ones listed for the salad and it was a hot sandwich. with avocado and chipotle mayonnaise. sold! it arrived at the table, spilling over with roasted carrots, beets, sweet potatoes and artichokes (along with giant chunks of avocado–drool) and a small pile of salad greens with a spicy dressing on the side. oh man. it was soooooo tasty. and now, i’ve finally gotten some vegetables! maybe that should be my rule during the winter–if i eat out, i have to find the most veggie-intense item on the menu and order that. anyone else have any winter vegetable tips? recipes?