Vegetable Korma

Vegetable Korma is a wonderful winter dish. It's good in the summer, too, but I love its heartiness.

Ingredients:
oil

½ onion, diced
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
2 carrots, diced
4-oz green beans, trimmed
1 potato, diced
½ can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp turmeric
½ cup tomato sauce
½ cup peas
¼ tsp garam masala
dash cayenne pepper
rice

Directions:

1. Sauté onions and garlic in oil until translucent.
2. Add carrots, green beans, and potatoes, and cook 3-5 minutes more.
3. Stir in coriander, cumin, and turmeric to coat.
4. Add tomato sauce, cover, and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to low and simmer until vegetables are fork tender, adding water as needed. (You want to
6. keep a thin layer of liquid along the bottom).
7. Stir in chickpeas and peas and heat over low until thoroughly warm.
8. Add garam masala and stir to combine.
9. Rest 5 minutes then taste, adding salt or more garam masala if desired. You can also add cayenne
10. pepper for a spicy dish. 
11. Serve with rice (or on warmed pita) 

Notes:

• Serves 2
• Per serving: 394 calories, 3.5g fat, 78.2g carbohydrates, 17.6g fiber, 13.8g sugars, 17.3g protein
• You can add ¼-cup coconut milk for a creamy curry version.

Green Bean-Potato Salad

If you do Meatless Mondays, how about Salad Mondays? I am such a fan of Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor salads. I put salads as sides, because that's how many folks think of them, but this could be eaten as an entree, which is what I did.

Ingredients:
½ cup corn 
1½ cups fresh green beans, cut into 1” pieces 
½ cup dry couscous or 2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
2 cooked potatoes, diced 
1 tomato, diced 
½ cup fresh basil, chopped 
1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped 

Lemon Dressing 
2 tbsp vegetable broth 
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 
1 tbsp red wine vinegar 
garlic powder 
½ tsp agave nectar
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Make Dressing: Whisk ingredients together. Taste, adding more garlic as desired plus salt and black pepper.
2. Warm or thaw corn if frozen. Set aside. 
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add green beans and cook 5 minutes or until tender but still crisp. 
4. Pour ⅔-cup of the hot water over couscous in a mixing bowl and set aside. 
5. Drain green beans and immediately rinse under cold water, until they're cool.
6. After 5 minutes of soaking couscous in hot water, fluff couscous. 
7. In a large bowl, toss fluffed couscous with potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, corn, basil, and oregano. Toss with dressing until well mixed.

Notes:

• If serving as entree, serves 2.
• Per serving: 380 calories, 1.4g fat, 81.9g carbs, 11.3g fiber, 6.3g sugars, 12.8g protein
• Can add white beans or chickpeas. 

Pizzoccheri (Italian Buckwheat Noodle Casserole)

This dish came from Robin Asbell's The New Whole Grain Cookbook. I consider it a vegetarian main dish. In the notes, I have the tips to make it vegan. 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter (use vegan butter)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

14 ounces savoy cabbage, thinly sliced (6 cups)

4 ounces thin French beans or green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch slices

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

1 8-ounce package soba noodles

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Freshly cracked black pepper

6 ounces aged fontina cheese, shredded (skip for vegan)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. 
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. 
3. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large saute pan and cook the cabbage and French beans over medium heat. (French beans will cook more quickly than green beans.) When tender and golden , about 5 minutes, add the garlic and sage, and cook for a few more minutes. 
4. Take the pan off the heat. 
5. Cook the soba in the boiling water according to the package directions, drain, then mix with the cabbage in the pan, adding the salt and pepper to taste.
6. Lightly oil a shallow 1 1/2-quart baking dish, and put half of the noodle mixture in the bottom. Top with half of the cheese, then the remaining noodles, and finally the remaining cheese. 
7. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until melted and golden. 

Notes:

• For vegan option, use vegan butter and skip the cheese. (Or if you know of a good vegan Fontina-like cheese, use that.)
• You can also make this a day ahead, refrigerate, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
• Serves 6.
• A whole wheat spaghetti could also be used if you can't find soba. If you want to be true to the Italian tradition, use a homemade buckwheat pasta and roll it out by hand.
• Ryan made the suggestion to add chicken to the casserole to make it "feel more complete" for the omnivores in the family.