Meatless Monday - Roasted pineapple and sugar snap peas

Now that we are fully committed to eating meatless at least once a week, I bought a subscription to Vegetarian Times last December.  This past month there was a recipe that just jumped out at me.  It practically begged me to make it.  So...I did, of course.  The crazy thing about this dish, pulled from the book Supermarket Vegan:  225 Meat-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free recipes for Real People in the Real World, is that it's main component is pineapple.  With it's natural sweetness, Hawaiian-Style Sweet-and-Sour Roasted Pineapple and Bell Peppers definitely stretches how I define a main dish.  Served over brown rice, it works.  The only change I made to this dish was the addition of basil as a garnish.  The basil was a great addition and kind of cut the sweetness a bit.  I think that cilantro would work well as a garnish too.

Step out of your dinner comfort zone, dear children.  This is a thought that I express to my kids often.  If they had their way, it would be pizza and macaroni every night.  Alas, mom has different ideas about dinnertime.  My son thought that this dish was so-so.  He didn't love it, but he didn't hate it either.  My daughter steadfastly refused to eat it, but once she took her mandated bite, she declared that she liked it.  (She still didn't eat it all, though.)  My husband and I liked this pineapple dish a lot and will have it again.

We served the pineapple dish along with some sauteed sugar snap peas.  My kids seem to like raw sugar snap peas better than the sauteed version, but I think that they're both tasty.  To saute, simply heat a little butter or olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the sugar snap peas and saute until they turn a bright green.  Don't over cook or they'll be mushy!  Add salt to taste.

Hawaiian-Style Sweet-and-Sour Roasted Pineapple and Bell Peppers
closely adapted from Vegetarian Times magazine

3 cups cubed fresh pineapple
1 medium red bell pepper, cubed
1 medium red onion, cut into thin wedges
1 TBSP tasted sesame oil
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 TBSP sweetened coconut flakes (optional)
1 TBSP lime juice
finely chopped basil (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Arrange the pineapple, bell pepper, and onion on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with the sesame oil, olive oil, and brown sugar.  Add salt to taste.  Toss to coat

Roast pineapple mixture for 30 minutes or until lightly browned, turning once.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with coconut flakes and then drizzle lime juice.  Toss well.  Serve hot or at room temperature over rice.  Garnish with basil if desired.

Serves 6