Cabbage: Sesame Noodle Salad

Photo by Emily Mills

This dish is one of my favorite things to bring to potlucks because it can be served hot, cold, or room temperature. It's also vegan and not spicy so a large number of people can eat it. (You could even switch to rice noodles and tamari instead of soy sauce to make this gluten-free). The best thing about this type of dish is that you can make it in stages rather than trying to time out cooking a bunch of vegetables that take wildly different amounts of heat and caramelization. Just put on music or an episode of True Blood and don't stress out about doing too many things at one time.

Butternut Squash: Red Curry with Squash and Tofu

Photos by Meghan Rose

Squash and tofu in red curry is a common menu item in Thai restaurants and is easy to recreate at home. It can be served over rice, rice noodles, or on its own as a soup. This pictured bowl would have been prettier with a fresh basil garnish, but it was a winter night in Wisconsin and I didn't feel like making a run to Asian Midway Foods for fresh basil.