Morning Star is our favorite brand when it comes to vegetarian meat. They have everything from corn dogs to bacon. For this recipe we will use the Sausage Patties. Simply toast them in your toaster oven (or regular oven) for about 15 minutes at 400oF.  Immediately take out and let them cool.  After they are cool, slice them in half on the sides so you have 2 circular, half-thick patties. Then cut the each piece in to six pieces. This way you will end up with 12 slices. Your meat is ready to be marinated. The BBQ sauce recipe calls for more meat, because fake meat absorbs juices more readily, we altered the proportions for this recipe. Mix the BBQ sauce with the meat, and leave it for at least half an hour. The longer you leave it, the better is gets marinated and less hot it tastes.  Ignore the recipe instructions on the seasoning packet to grill the meat.

Put the the garlic cloves, chopped peppers, and onions in a large zip lock bag.  Pour in a generous amount of olive oil and salt (do not skimp on either).  Mix in the bag to coat all the veggies well. After they are all marinated, place all the veggies in a crowded, single layer on a baking sheet. Avoid putting onions near the corners as they tend to burn there. Bake them for 15 minutes at 425oF. Turn the pieces over with a spatula (if the pieces in the corner are burning, move them to center), put back the pan back in the oven, and bake for another 15 minutes, or until they are wilted, browned on the edges, and bubbling in their own juice.  Take the veggies out of the oven.  After they are cooled, remove and discard the garlic peels.

*Roasted veggies are so simple, yet so delicious and versatile. You can use them for many different purposes, as a flavor addition to many recipes, and they also make great side dish.  We often make a large batch and then add the finished veggies to various dishes we make throughout the week (mix with scrambled eggs to make a breakfast burrito, add to pasta with cheese, olives and capers for Mediterranean pasta, etc.).

Pho Rice noodles are the easiest, but can be tricky as some of the packages on the market do not provide instructions on how to prepare them.  Soak the noodles in cold water for 30 minutes. Then boil the noodles until soft. Drain and rinse.