• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, crushed or pressed
• 1/2 cup rice of choice
• 1/2 cup pearled barley
• 1/2 cup red lentils
• 1/2 cup brown lentilsj
• 1/2 cup black-eyed peas soaked for 3 hours, and quinoa (optional)
• 2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup vegan white wine (optional)
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• salt and pepper to taste
• Non Fat cooking spray or 1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 350F. Heat cooking spray or olive oil in heavy pan over medium-high heat. Gently saute onions and garlic for approx 3-4 minutes or until soft but not transparent. Add herbs, lemon zest and the rice. Saute until rice becomes opaque (you'll know). Be careful to control the heat and stir often so rice does not burn. Add other grains, vegan white wine, lemon juice and seasonings. Saute gently for another minute or so. At this point you have a choice: if your pan is oven proof, go ahead and add enough water to cover grains plus 1/2 inch, cover TIGHTLY (put a sheet of foil in between the pan and the lid if you need to) and bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes (check at the 30 minute mark--this is not an exact science, you may need to add more water at this point). Personally, I like to transfer the sauted grains to one of those ceramic bean-baking pots and bake the pilaf that way, for the same amount of time as above, and observing the same percautions.

Voila! Enjoy with a big plate of steamed asparagus and a nice lemony-mustardy-yogurt sauce.

Serves: 4-6

Preparation time: 10 minutes prep, 40 minutes unsupervised