It’s a bit of a joke around our offices that I am a fan of what might politely be thought of as simple meal preparation. I love cooking dinner and excel at weekend breakfasts, but when it comes to lunch, I tend to plop a few things on a plate and make with the eating. It goes without saying that whole grains make an appearance – bulgur prepared in chicken broth one week, quinoa with herbs the next, so on and so forth. On a Sunday night, I’ll make a large batch of wholegrain something, and poof! There’s lunch for a week, sometimes beyond. One of the best things about whole grains is their value for the money. If it takes me about a month to cook my way through a bag of slow cooking brown rice or Kamut berries, you know they’re a smart choice in this time of rising food prices!

This a round-about way of introducing my latest kitchen experiment, inspired by this week’s trip to our local farmer’s market and my second ever garden harvest. That’s right, I can grow beans! Very exciting! Anyhow, I’m including the recipe below in case anyone else wants to try it. It made a delicious light dinner, and it was fantastic over cold buckwheat kasha for lunch today. It’s not a very formal recipe as far as things go, but I liked it so I thought I’d share. Enjoy! (Kara — July 17, 2008)

8 small patty pan squash
3 large carrots
2 cups fresh green beans
3 small boiling onions
2 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp coriander
⅛ tsp chili powder
⅛ tsp paprika
Dash of ground cloves

In a small bowl, mix the salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, chili powder, paprika, and cloves. Set aside.

Slice the boiling onions thin and mince the garlic. In a pan over medium heat, add the olive oil, onion slices, and minced garlic.

Peel the carrots and cut into thin coins. When the onions and garlic have browned a bit, add the carrots and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add green beans and water and let simmer another 5 minutes.

Cut the squash into quarters or eights if they’re a bit larger. Place in a bowl and pour the lemon juice over them, tossing gently to coat. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the squash, tossing gently to make the squash is evenly covered.

Add squash and any remaining liquid to the pan, stirring to combine all ingredients. Cover and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes or until all vegetables have reached preferred texture.