Baked Potatoes and Roast Veggies

Apologies for the picture; I started eating before I had taken it! And anyway, I think it is more real to see what I actually cooked rather than a stylised version with napkins and old cutlery and stuff to create a mood. I mean, there is a beauty to that, an art, but sometimes it can put me off because the end product looks so perfect. I want my food to be accessible to everyone, especially me! (And now, I couldn't even upload the pic anyway!!)
Tonight, we had baked potatoes, with the ususal tuna/mayonnaise, baked beans, grated cheese combination for the children. But I had a lot of winter vegetables in the 'fridge which really needed eating, so I opted to do a kind of winter ratatouille. I saw this recipe years ago in a magazine and use it in times such as these. You can just throw in whatever you have lying around in the bottom of the 'fridge, and it tastes wholesome and gorgeous!

Winter Ratatouille (serves about 6 as a side-dish)

1 onion
half a butternut squash
2 carrots
1 parsnip
1 fennel bulb
1 small celeriac.......... all chopped
1 head of garlic
a good slug of olive oil
1 tin tomatoes
150ml veggie stock
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
seasoning

Heat the oven to 190 degrees/Gas mk 5. Bung in the pricked baking potatoes.
Tip the chopped vegetables into a large roasting tin, add enough olive oil to coat all the pieces and add the whole garlic bulb. Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and break them up. Add the stock, balsamic vinegar, season and mix.
Bake for a further 30 minutes or so, adding a little more liquid if they start to catch.

Serve with the baked potatoes. Yum!

We also had home-made 'trifles'. Make up raspberry jelly, add 5-6 raspberries to 4-6 glasses and pour the jelly over the top. Leave to set, then add some custard and whipped cream to the top.