Baked Brussels Sprouts and More

Hmm, how best to use this propitious pile of veggies I found in the fridge?
After spending 15 minutes online looking for a recipe, I gave up and turned to my own imagination.

Of course, these diminutive brassica were the main source of my imagination. They are just, ahem, "sprouting" out of the ground this time of the year, and I've heard that they gain a nice sweetness after the first frost! Sounds like I know what I'm talking about, but I've honestly never cooked Brussels Sprouts before. When I set them on the counter, I had this flashback of calling them "murdered cabbage patch kids" as a child. Yeah, real nice, I know.
Anyway, I did get two ingredient ideas online: dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar. Once I decided that my cooking method would be baking, I was ready to go. First, I mixed up in a bowl the following ingredients: garlic, leeks, olive oil, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and Grey Poupon (but of course).

This looked pretty good, but I wanted a little extra flavor, so I chose 1/4 cup of dried cranberries, 1/4 cup of almonds, and chopped them up.

That looked better. Next I mixed it all up...

Then I carried on with the very satisfying task of chopping up all the vegetables: 2 small yellow bell peppers, two carrots, six mushrooms, and about 6 brussels sprouts (cut just in half).

I greased a baking sheet with olive oil, put the veggies on it, then smeared the spices mix all over them.

Is there anything wrong with me calling this eye candy?
I covered the baking sheet with tin foil, which I'd rather avoid because it seems pretty wasteful, but I don't have any other ideas on how to bake vegetables without drying them out. Also, I think the tin foil covering reduces the baking time quite a bit. I let all of this bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees F, and they came out perfect.
While the baking was going on, I decided to add another layer to the meal: quinoa.

This only takes about 10 minutes to cook. How do you know when it's done? When the little grains open up a bit and reveal their inner white sprouts.

Yup, about like that. But I think with a few more minutes, they'd open up even more and not be quite as chewy as I had them! Oops!

Brussels sprouts and friends, fresh out of the oven and still steaming! This batch of veggies definitely baked a lot faster than some other ones I've done (Scarlet Roasted Vegetables - 40 minutes; and another vegetable mix I did with Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme - 45 minutes). And I'm glad twenty minutes was enough, because I was huuungry after being out in today's BEAUTIFUL weather walking the dogs all over the place!

Honestly, this patch of vegetables tasted great, just plated up fresh from the oven. The Brussels Sprouts were just right, a perfect texture balance of chewy and crunchy.

But just like in a great clothing outfit, a masterful layering of different elements produces a subtle but superior taste.

Did I just call myself a master? Ha!
Well, all the different components did come together nicely. But really, how can you go wrong with any baked vegetables combined with almost any collection of spices? A couple spoonfuls of quinoa and a few drizzles of balsamic vinegar, mixed together with the baked vegetables, and I had myself a warm and scrumptious meal.