By A man from Clay's unit died by suicide on Wednesday. Name was Sergeant Derek Price, twenty-eight years old, served with Clay in Afghanistan, was in the convoy the day of the IED. He was at Fort Campbell. He'd been struggling. Clay found out from another buddy in the unit and called me from the VA parking lot at four in the afternoon and his voice was flat, the way a voice goes flat when the emotion underneath is too large for sound. He said Derek's gone. I said I'm sorry, son. He said I know. He hung up. I sat at the kitchen table and stared at the wall and thought about a twenty-eight-year-old man who survived an IED and then didn't survive the coming home.
Clay didn't come to dinner Thursday. Didn't answer the phone Friday. Saturday morning I drove to his apartment — he's been living there since the court program started, independence being part of the plan — and knocked and he opened the door and I smelled it before I saw it. Bourbon. Not much, maybe, but enough. His eyes were red and his hands were unsteady and there were two empty pint bottles on the kitchen counter and I stood in his doorway and felt the floor drop out the same way it drops every time, every single time, and it never gets easier, the floor just drops and you stand there in the air and decide what to do next.
I didn't yell. I didn't lecture. I walked in and I picked up the bottles and put them in the trash and I sat down at his kitchen table, which was a card table with two folding chairs, and I said come sit. He sat. He looked at me and he said I'm sorry, Dad. I said there's nothing to be sorry for. He said Derek's dead. I said I know. He said it should have been me. I said no. I said it shouldn't have been anyone. He cried. My twenty-two-year-old son cried at a card table in a studio apartment in Lexington, Kentucky, and I put my hand on his shoulder and held it there and didn't move it until he stopped, which was a long time.
Brought him home. Connie had soup on the stove — she knew, somehow, the way Connie always knows, and she'd made vegetable soup, the simple kind, because simple food is what you serve when the world is complicated. Clay ate a bowl. He went to bed in the guest room. I sat at the kitchen table and Connie sat across from me and I said he's drinking again. She said I know. She said how bad. I said a week, maybe. She said that's shorter. I said that's what I'm holding onto. She said then hold on.
Connie’s soup that Saturday wasn’t fancy — it didn’t need to be. It was vegetables and broth and warmth, which is exactly what Clay could eat without having to think about it, and exactly what I could stand at the stove and make without having to think about it either. Simple food has always been how we hold each other up in this house, and these vegan dinners carry that same philosophy: real ingredients, no fuss, something nourishing on the table even when everything else feels impossible. If you’re feeding someone who’s been through it — or if you are the someone who’s been through it — these are the recipes you reach for.
29 Vegan Dinner Recipes
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 3 stalks celery, sliced
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
- 1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 cups fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup frozen corn
Instructions
- Build the base. Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 4–5 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook another minute until fragrant.
- Add the vegetables. Stir in carrots, celery, and potatoes. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, to begin softening.
- Add liquid and seasoning. Pour in the diced tomatoes with their juices and the vegetable broth. Stir in thyme, parsley, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.
- Simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are just tender.
- Finish with beans and corn. Add cannellini beans, green beans, and frozen corn. Simmer for another 8–10 minutes until green beans are tender but not mushy.
- Taste and serve. Adjust seasoning as needed. Ladle into bowls and serve with crusty bread if you have it — or just as it is.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 290 | Protein: 11g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 48g | Fiber: 10g | Sodium: 480mg