Vegetables for dinner

There are two ways to eat vegetables. The first way is out of a sense of duty. These I’ll-eat-it-because-it’s-good-for-me dishes include iceberg lettuce salad and veggie platters. There’s nothing wrong with these dishes, per say. They’re just not going to stand a chance if there’s anything else on the table.

Then there are vegetable dishes so delicious and filling that they serve as a main course. Our dinners are usually so full of veggies that I have to stop and think of a bread or grain dish to go along with them. Here are three ways we fill up on veggies…and stay full until breakfast.

BIG OL’ SALAD
Mixed greens like baby romaine, baby spinach or arugala
Assorted chopped veggies like raw beets, kohlrabi, cucumber, carrots, avocado and tomatoes
Sprigs of steamed asparagus
1/2 cup cooked wheatberries
1/2 cup white beans or chickpeas
1/4 cup roasted nuts like sunflower seeds, almonds or peanuts
1 block tofu (marinate in a mixture of tahini paste, soy sauce and olive oil and broil until browned and crispy at edges)

Toss the greens and veggies. Add the wheatberries and beans and then nuts and tofu on top. Dress with almond butter dressing or balsamic vinaigrette. Serve with homemade bread, like naan or soup. Or both.

CHICKPEAS AND GREENS
2 cups chickpeas
1/2lb. of fresh greens like spinach, swiss chard, yo choy, gai choy, choy sum
1 red onion
3 cloves garlic
3T olive oil or butter
1 block tofu (marinate in a mixture of tahini paste, soy sauce and olive oil and broil until browned and crispy at edges)
1/2 block feta cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Saute the garlic and bread crumbs in a little bit of olive oil or butter until brown and bread crumbs are crunchy (this is a great use for leftover challah). Set aside. Saute the greens and onion in olive oil or butter until they just begin to wilt. Toss greens with tofu and feta and sprinkle generously with bread crumbs.

CHINESE STIR FRY
2 cups brown rice, cooked according to package
1 block tofu (marinate in a mixture of tahini paste, soy sauce and olive oil and
broil until browned and crispy at edges)
1 onion
3T oil
2 cloves chopped garlic
T chopped ginger
1 bunch roughly chopped green onions
An assortment of veggies: handful of assorted mushrooms, thin strips of carrots (use a peeler to create them), snap peas, broccoli, finely chopped hot pepper
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
2T soy sauce
T fresh lemon
2T peanut butter
T sesame oil

Saute the onion in olive oil until soft and brown. Add garlic, ginger, green onions and the other assorted vegetables. Stir fry until brown and soft. When close to done, add the soy sauce, lemon, peanut butter and sesame oil. Saute for two more minutes. Mix in rice and stir fry for 2 more minutes. Add peanuts to the top and serve over brown rice.