A super easy, hearty, vegetarian dish to serve this fall! For variation use butternut squash in place of carrots.

3 large carrots, peeled & diced
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 cup lentils, rinsed
1 large onion, chopped
olive oil
salt
3 cups vegetable stock or water

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In an oven proof casserole dish mix carrots, lentils, and quinoa together. Toss with about 3 tbsp olive oil or enough to coat everything. Put mixture in the oven to roast, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, stirring once during that time. Roast longer if needed; mixture should be sizzling and carrots should be somewhat browned. While the mixture is roasting, saute chopped onions in 1-2 tbsp olive oil until slightly caramelized. Add vegetable stock or water to onion pan to heat and deglaze the yummy caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan. When stock is heated and carrot/lentil/quinoa mixture is roasted, pour stock into casserole dish. Bake for another 20-30 minutes or until quinoa and lentils are cooked through and moisture is absorbed. Enjoy with a vegetarian gravy or by itself!

Making pancakes out of vegetables is a fun way to get your children to eat vegetables. Pancakes can be made from all kinds of vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, corn, spinach and other greens, and squash. The basic recipe for using any of these vegetables in pancakes is 4 eggs, 2 cups of veggies (shredded works best for the harder ones, greens should be cooked and chopped) about a cup of flour or more to make the batter thick enough, seasonings such as herbs, salt, pepper, onions, or garlic powder, and lastly oil for frying the pancakes. The following recipe is a different variation of a vegetable pancake that uses corn as the main vegetable, but could be replaced by any of the aforementioned vegetables.

Corn and Cornmeal Pancakes

2 cups corn kernels ( if frozen, thaw a little) pulsed in food processor 10-12 times or chopped with a knife until coarsely chopped
4 large eggs
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup silken tofu
1/4 cup minced onion or 1/2 cup scallions thinly sliced
1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
chopped parsley and/or diced red peppers can be added for color but are not necessary

Put corn in to a big bowl; add ingredients up to Tabasco sauce and mix. Add dry ingredients and stir until moistened. Pour small amount of oil on a hot pan and spoon scant 1/4 cup batter and brown on both sides.

Ratatouille is so easy to make this time of year when most people have all the vegetables and herbs growing in their garden or can get them fresh at the farmer's market. Yesterday I made ratatouille and told at least 3 people what I made and none of them knew what it was. If you like eggplant, zucchini, peppers, onions, and tomatoes you will love this dish. For some protein as a vegetarian meal I would reccomend adding chickpeas to the ratatouille.

1-2 large onions, sliced thin
2-4 peppers, depending on size, red & green, diced large
1 medium zucchini, diced large
1 eggplant, peeled, diced large
5 large cloves garlic, chopped or pressed
about 8 fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced large (or a can of diced tomatoes if fresh are not available)
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried
1/2 tsp oregano

To slice onions, peel, and cut in half at the root end. Place flat side down on cutting board and slice. This way the onion won't roll about.

To peel fresh tomatoes, boil a small pot of water. Cut out the stem of the tomato and score the bottom with a paring knife making an x. When water boils drop tomatoes in one at a time for 30 seconds or so. Remove tomato with a slotted spoon to a colander and let cool. When cool, remove skin and dice.

Heat a large pot or dutch oven, add 2-3 tbsp olive oil, let heat, then add onions and cook until soft. Add diced peppers, zucchini, and eggplant and stir to combine. Cook on high heat until heated through, stirring every few minutes. Add diced tomatoes, bring to a simmer, lower heat, cover and cook about 15-20 minutes until tomatoes have broken up. Uncover and simmer to reduce liquid, add garlic, herbs, and season with salt and pepper. Eat the Ratatouille alone or served over rice or pasta.