I forgot one my favorites -- roast beets. Buy beets, shave the outsides with a carrot peeler, then slice approx 6-7mm thick. Roast on cookie tray with olive oil, salt, pepper. They get soft and sweet. The 3rd picture down shows about the right thickness.

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-roast-beets-in-the-oven-cook...

Again, 3 minutes of prep time for 2 or 3 roast beets. Both red and yellow beets are amazing. Just don't freak out the next morning when you pee.

And now that I think of it, these recipes work great for asparagus. It's a little trickier though: if overcooked, it gets mushy.

The one expensive thing you should buy is a good heavy knife. Buy good olive oil too; California Olive Ranch olive oil is widely available in CA and reasonably priced

http://lifehacker.com/the-most-and-least-fake-extra-virgin-o...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/dining/californias-olive-o...

While I'm raving about roast vegetables in general, roast fennel is one of the best things you've probably never eaten. Really, give it a try.

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/roasted_fennel/

Roasting veggies in general: http://www.marthastewart.com/270268/how-to-with-allie-roasti...