Wild Rice Pilaf, heavy on the veggies

Here is my second recipe that is good on the cleanse, as well as off.  We still make this almost weekly, even without a specific food diet.  This is something my kids love, and it is a great way to get your veggies and grains all in one pan, which honestly, some nights is a bigger deal than others!  It goes really well as a side to trout or salmon.
Wild Rice Pilaf

1C wild rice, cooked according to package directions.
1 red onion, diced
1-2 shallots, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 fennel bulb, fronds removed and bulb diced
(you can chop up some of the fronds as well like you would dill)
2-3 carrots, diced
1 sweet potato, diced
2 parsnips, diced
2-3 celery stalks, diced
8oz package baby Bella (brown) mushrooms, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 zucchini, diced (one yellow, one green gives the dish nice color
2-3 hot peppers, finely chopped (totally optional-we like hot food!)
Fresh Thyme
Fresh Parsley
Olive Oil

In a separate pan, cook the mushrooms until done to your liking.  Only turn once, otherwise they will be soft.

Over medium heat, add 1 tsp olive oil to the pan.  Add root vegetables first (carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips).  Cook for just a few minutes, stirring often so they don't burn.  Add in onions, garlic, shallots, fennel, peppers.  Cook until just opaque.  Add herbs and zucchini.  Cook a few minutes so zucchini is still firm.  Add wild rice (if on the cleanse diet, add enough for about 4-6 servings, you will have plenty of leftovers.) and heat through.  Add more olive oil to taste if needed at any time during cooking.

Add salt and pepper to taste.  I like to use Truffle Salt at the end too-but that's only if you really like the wild mushroom flavor.  You can use dried herbs in place of the fresh, but you need to add them with the first veggies so they have time to work in.  In my opinion, you can't beat the fresh herbs.  Their cost isn't as hard to stomach when you realize you can use one of the small packages for multiple recipes.

With this recipe, you can add or take out any vegetable you like (some we have added include leeks, peas, pea pods, cabbage, artichoke hearts).  I like it all diced for consistency, but that's just me :-)  You can also cook longer if you prefer the veggies softer.  We liked a little texture to it-I cook the veggies so they were still crisp.

You could also replace the wild rice with lentils (another approved grain on the cleanse)  Both work quite well with this dish.