Yummy Vegetable Hodge-Podge

Last night I made a delicious dish based on (1) vegetables I had in the fridge that needed to be used and (2) my fond memories from the now-bygone restaurant La Montagne. You can use whatever vegetables you want in this...the main thing is to use a only little bit of each of a lot of things. Try to keep the colors varied and include some type of bean.

I served it over wild rice last night, then over couscous today with the leftovers. With the rice or couscous (or orzo or other pasta or whatever you want) and some bread, it's pretty much an entire meal. Last night we chose to eat it with toasted baguette. It was perfect!

2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 small jalepeno peppers, diced (Again, you can use what you want and don't have to use what you don't want, so don't let the jalepenos turn you off if you don't like spicy food. Maybe try half of a yellow bell pepper instead?)
1/2 onion, diced
2 handfuls frozen chopped broccoli
1 handful frozen green peas
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 medium zucchini, diced (Yellow squash would work just as well.)
2 handfuls chopped sundried tomatoes, reconstituted according to package directions (I freeze the water I use to reconstitute them. I pour it into ice trays then transfer the cubes to a freezer bag. Later I use them to add flavor when I make winter squash soup.)
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
salt and black pepper, to taste
about 2 T. olive oil
(I also used about 2 teaspoons of capers last night, but I think sliced black olives might have been better. Chopped mushrooms and/or asparagus and/or kale and/or Swiss chard and/or cherry tomatoes would be great in this, too.)

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-low heat. Add the carrots, peppers, onion, frozen broccoli, and frozen peas and sauté lightly until the onions are becoming transparent. Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute more. Add the zucchini and sauté until it is tender-crisp (or however you like it). Add the tomatoes, beans, salt, and pepper, and toss to coat. When the beans are heated through, serve this over a bed of your choice (rice, wild rice, couscous, orzo, other pasta, etc.) and with bread. Voila! Dinner!

PS - If it tastes bland, you probably didn't use enough salt. You can salt at your plate, too, to fix it. Enjoy!