Kasha With Vegetables

I wish I could sing from the rooftops about how much I love kasha. I was first exposed to it at a restaurant in the old Jewish section of a small Czech town that I visited when I was interning at an agency in Prague. All warm and rich and mildly nutty, I think it's a sadly overlooked grain that is equal parts delicious and healthy. So here is the world's easiest recipe, taken straight off the box, and slightly refashioned with exact ingredient proportions. If there are other suggestions for delicious things that can be done with kasha, I would love to know. While I enjoyed a serving of this yesterday with a chicken thigh, I feel like it could be a great side salad at a party for a couscous-type salad during the colder months.

Kasha with Vegetables
serves 4 (or 6, as a side dish)

1 cup kasha
1 egg
2 tbsp butter
2 cups water or chicken stock
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic
2 carrot sticks, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
15 button mushrooms (although I'm sure crimini would taste splendid here), sliced
1/2 bell pepper (red would be prettier, but green was on sale), diced
1/4 cup chopped, fresh parsley

(I followed the package's instructions slightly incorrectly but everything turned out fine.)
In a saucepan, heat water, butter, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.

Lightly beat egg in a bowl. Add kasha and stir to coat kernels.

In a medium-sized skillet or saucepan, add egg-coated kasha. Cook over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly until the egg has dried on kasha and the kernels separate.

Quickly stir into the boiling liquid. Cover tightly and simmer 7 to 10 minutes, until kasha kernels are tender and liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, in the medium-sized skillet, gently heat oil (I actually used about a tablespoon of the juice and oil that was leftover from cooking 4 skinless chicken thighs in a half tablespoon of olive oil) and add the garlic, onion, celery and carrot. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent, then add bell pepper and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes. Add sliced mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes.

When the vegetables are cooked, add the cooked kasha and stir. Heat through, and add the fresh parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Nutritional info (for 4 servings, including about a 1/4 tbsp of olive oil that was in the juices added to the vegetables): 229 calories, 9g fat, 8g protein, 6g fiber