Last weekend I finally had time to go grocery shopping and to cook! What a novel idea. I scoured the vegetable aisle for things to jump out at me, and blocked out sometime on Sunday to do my thing. Somehow, in just one hour, I had made four original dishes and had lots of food for the week.
The first dish almost doesn't count because I make it all the time. Roasted brussel sprouts.
I took 4 cups of brussel sprouts, halved or quartered depending on the size, and discarded the stem. I placed them in a pyrex dish with kosher salt, some grapeseed oil, a little extra virgin olive oil too, and some dried rosemary (fresh would have been better but I didn't have any on hand.) Toss it all well with your hands, and roast at 450 on the top rack, until crispy and the leaves start to brown. (Stir every ten minutes so browning doesn't become burning...)
The next dish was new. I bought a package of petite carrots. I lay them in a loaf pan atop a little grapeseed oil. To them I added 1/3 c maple syrup, 2 TBSP vegan butter (but in teaspoon size pats I placed in different places) and then I sprinkled cinnamon, dried dill, and a little kosher salt. I roasted them in the same oven, at the same time, as the brussel sprouts, but on the lower rack. You should turn them after 20 minutes and cook until tender.
Into the same oven I also put some gorgeous french green beans, 1 lb of them. To them I added 1 c of chopped pecans, and tossed it all with extra virgin olive oil and kosher salt. Once again, turn these with tongs every 10 minutes or so. You want them to brown but not burn. 
Lastly, turn on your stove to medium high heat. Put some extra virgin olive oil in a large stock pot, with a pinch of kosher salt and add 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced, to sautee. Once it starts to carmelize, add 4 oz. of chopped, mixed mushrooms (I used baby bella, shiitake and oyster) and 8 artichoke hearts, chopped (use the ones packed in water, not oil.) Once those all start to cook down, add 1/3 c high quality red wine (I used Malbec) and 2.5 c of your favorite marinara sauce (I used Rao's.) When that all starts to come together, add 4 c zucchini noodles (or another pasta of your choice but that has to have been cooked in advance.) Cook until the noodles are tender, mix in 2 TBSP of chopped flat leaf parsley and serve!
There are multiple servings in each of these dishes so you can serve friends and family or dole it out over your week. Lentils are a great addition to the string beans if you want to add some protein, and you can surely add some vegan cheese to the pasta - sprinkling on some vegan parmesan or even melting some other kind right on top. As the sauce is simmering, for an even more robust, protein-filled dish, you could add some TVP (textured vegetable protein or defatted soy) or chopped seitan. 
