A Tasty Side or Snack

 I have discovered over the last couple of years, as I am trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle, that my favorite way to cook vegetables is roasting them.  I could never get on board the steamed vegetable bandwagon.  I tried, but really....blek!  The vegetables always tasted too 'green' for my liking.  Roasting just brings out so much flavor as the vegetables start to brown and they stay crispy & crunchy.  Roasted asparagus, roasted broccoli, and roasted sweet potatoes are regulars in our dinner rotation, and I've recently added roasted green beans.

This week I noticed a pre-packaged bag of sugar snap peas as I was strolling the grocery aisle sans children.  The key phrase being 'sans children', meaning I actually had time to lei-sure-ly stroll up and down the aisles looking at the groceries, instead of the usual Mario Andretti dash that I make trying to avoid the breakout of fisticuffs in the cart when the rugrats are with me.  The package gave directions for steaming them in the microwave or boiling them on the stove, but I thought I would give roasting the sugar snap peas a shot.

I made them this afternoon to go with my lunch AND THEY ARE DELICIOUS!!!  I tossed the (8 oz) bag of peas with 1/2 Tbsp of dark sesame oil and sprinkled with a little seasoned salt.  Put them in a 450 degree oven for 5 minutes, stirred them around a bit, and then back in the oven for 2 minutes.  They were perfect!

The peas have such a sweet, nutty flavor but are still crunchy, kinda like you are crunching on chips.  What a fantastic snack!  These are so quick, easy and delicious that they have earned themselves a spot in our regular rotation!