These days, many people are following diets that are gluten free, vegetarian or vegan, or they simply like to limit their carbs. It’s nice to have an appetizer that you can make and serve in different ways to appeal to everyone at your gathering.

Simply spiralize a few vegetables including an onion. Yesterday, I used a red bell pepper, a zucchini, carrots, parsnips, and an onion. Toss the veggies with a little olive oil and salt and pepper and roast them on a sheet pan in a 425 oven for around 20 minutes. Or saute them in a little olive oil until they are very soft. The consistency of caramelized onions. Season with salt, pepper, and a shake of red pepper flakes.

In the meantime, cut a baguette into thin slices. Brush with olive oil and toast in a 425 oven until crisp. Pile the veggies onto the baguette slices and drizzle with a bit of good balsamic.

An alternative, using the same spiralized vegetables, is to make veggie stuffed mushrooms. I cleaned and de-stemmed a few mushrooms and sautéed them very briefly in a little butter. I put a tiny bit of pesto in each mushroom “cup” and filled them with the roasted veggies. Sprinkled a bit of Parmesan on the tops and put them in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes.