photo from www.herbivoracious.com

by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

There were six hungry vegans trying to decide on dinner. The first person disliked mushrooms. The second abhorred black olives. The third followed a strict gluten-free diet and avoided onions and garlic. The fourth didn’t feel like eating dried beans. The fifth and sixth didn’t have strong feelings as long as it didn’t take too long to make dinner. We didn’t have time to go to the store, so we decided to use what was on hand.

Polenta with several toppings worked for everyone! Prepared simply by following the package instructions (boil salted water, whisk in polenta, reduce heat, cook stirring occasionally), the polenta was quick, gluten-free, filling, and was compatible with several sauces. We made one sauce with canned, diced tomatoes, chopped onions, garlic, frozen pepper strips, olive oil, nutritional yeast, and seasonings. The second sauce also featured canned, diced tomatoes along with frozen chopped spinach, sliced kalamata olives, and sautéed mushrooms. While the sauces and polenta cooked, we roasted chickpeas which had been tossed with olive oil, nutritional yeast, and salt. In about half an hour, dinner was on the table and everyone could eat happily.