Roasted Veggies

I came home today to a pan of roasted vegetables, with a note from my housemate inviting me to eat them.  Which I did.  Roasted vegetables are delicious.  It's just a fact.  Roasting stuff is so versatile, and easy, and the results are always wonderful.  While I did not actually prepare the veggies tonight, this winter has been full of roasted vegetables of various sorts, so it seemed necessary to document.

Almost all vegetables are roast-able, but my favorites are potato, carrot, string beans, asparagus, and zucchini.  And garlic, although it's not a vegetable....I think?  Anyway, roasting stuff is pretty easy: 
1. Cut up whatever veggies you want
2. Toss em around in some olive oil, salt, and garlic (either fresh or powder, if you're feeling lazy), so that everything is well coated.  Obviously the amount of garlic can be altered depending on your taste.  I like lots and lots of garlic, but just because I have an unhealthy obsession with garlic doesn't mean everyone else does. 
3. Pop them in the oven. I usually set the oven around 375, but so far haven't come to a decision as to exactly what temperature is best.   Something to note is that different vegetables have different cooking times, so you'll want to add certain veggies later on in the cooking process.  I'm terrible at timing things well, but approximate cooking times:
   Potatoes, carrots, and garlic (possibly other root vegetables?) go in first.  Set the timer for about 20 min.
   Next comes string beans and asparagus, maybe peppers.  Set the timer for another 10/15 min.
   Lastly I would add zucchini, because I don't like overcooked zucchini. It's mushy.  Cook for another 10/15 min.

My main MO for cooking vegetables is to put them in the oven and then every so often take them out, toss them around so they don't stick too much to the pan, and poke them with a fork to see if they're done.  It's really precise and scientific.

One thing I have experimented with is roasting wrapped in tin foil vs. roasting on a pan or a glass dish.  Tin foil is awesome because it's an easier clean-up, even though the oil usually seeps out and has to be cleaned off later anyway.  Wrapping the veggies in tin foil also keeps them soft, and pseudo-steams them.  Leaving the vegetables exposed on a pan makes them slightly crunchy on the outside, but you have to  be careful that they don't burn.  Also, then there's more clean-up because sometimes the veggies stick slightly to the pan.  I usually prefer to roast on a pan because I like the crispy texture, but if I'm lazy then tin foil is definitely the way to go.