Oven "Grilled" Vegetables

I made this, from What Einstein Told His Cook, with dinner the other night:

2 large sweet onions, peeled and scored across the top
1 whole red pepper, halved, cored, ribs and seeds removed
1 whole yellow pepper, halved, cored, ribs and seeds removed
1 whole medium green zucchini, stem removed
1 whole med. yellow squash, stem removed
4 ripe plum tomatoes, halved and seeded
3 large whole carrots, peeled
6 thick asparagus spears
1 head of garlic, top sliced off
EVOO
coarse salt
thyme sprigs and basil leaves

1. Preheat oven to 400. Wash all vegetables and arrange attractively in a shallow, wide ovenproof dish that is pretty enough for the table. Or arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet with sides. Drizzle all over with olive oil.

2. Roast on a low shelf in the oven for about 50 minutes to an hour, until the edges of the vegetables are somewhat browned. Remove the baking dish or tray and allow the vegetables to cool.

3. If you used a baking sheet, transfer the vegetables to a serving platter. To arrange for serving, cut the onions into quarters. Rub off the skins of the peppers with your fingers, and cut the flesh into large segments. Slice the zucchini, squash, tomatoes, and carrots into chunks or strips. Leave the asparagus and garlic head whole. Be sure to save all the accumulated juices and spoon them back over the vegetables.

4. Drizzle the vegetables with extra olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Garnish with the herbs. Serve at room temperature or warm, with toast made from a hearty bread. Butter the bread with the soft, roasted garlic cloves.

I'm sure there are better ways to arrange this and everything, but you get the idea. I mostly just love how colorful it is! (I think I used way more olive oil than was necessary, also, but oh, well. It was still yummy!) I have to admit, I was kind of proud of this meal-- I even had a loaf of Italian bread for the roasted garlic! Craig had never tried eating roasted garlic like that before and it was fun to watch him eat it and the doubt on his face turn to a look of happy surprise. Roasted garlic is amazing...


Anyway, now I'm just rambling, but while I'm uploading pictures, I may as well share these two, also:

Told you he likes sucking his thumb!

It's hard to catch those smiles on film, so I have to share what I have!

And one last, also unrelated thing: Bentley is coughing again and last night Craig said his throat was sore. Will this never end? I thought we were finally getting healthy! Aggh!