Renee's Vegan Roasted Root Vegetables

Roasted Root Vegetables (vegan recipe, and I seriously don't even remember what magazine I cut this out of...This is a perfect earthy, autumn dish. Maybe serve it with a big salad or sauteed kale, crusty European bread, and glasses of red wine!)

2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 turnips (or rutabagas), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

4 beets, peeled and cut into halves or quarters, depeneding on size

2 onions, peeled and cut into quarters

6 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly mashed with the side of a knife

extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

fresh or dried herbs (like rosemary!)

salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Put all root vegetables and the garlic cloves in an uncovered roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil over all for a crispier luster and to keep vegetables from sticking to the pan; mix to distribute oil, then sprinkle with herbs. Cook in the lower 1/3 of the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, or until deeply browned. Don't be alarmed if the beets turn almost black, which is normal. Every 20 minutes or so during cooking, remove the pan from the oven and use a spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen the starchy vegetables.