lunch box: sandwich sushi

contents:

carrot, sprout and hummus rolls
cucumber and tofu cream cheese rolls
rainbow goldfish (yes, they taste the same)
grapefruit slices

My friend Debbie has this adorable habit of giving presents 4-6 months after the actual holiday in question. I love it becuase it's like you get a second holiday out of nowhere, and you can never predict when it's going to happen. She recently gave me this great bento cookbook as a Christmas present. There are a few of these little wrap "sushi" rolls in there, usually with lunch meat and slices of cheese, and so I thought I'd give a vegan version a try. The rolling is tricky, I have to admit. I think it would have been easier if I had one of those little bamboo sushi rollers, but I managed alright by hand. Check out these sushi instructions to get the basic idea.

ingredients:

whole wheat wraps
carrots
sprouts
hummus
cucumber
tofu cream cheese

Cut rounded corners off opposite edges of the wrap so that you have a longer straight edge to roll from.

Spread thin layer of hummus or tofu cream cheese filling across entire wrap

Slice the carrots and cucumbers into long thin pieces

Leaving a small amount of plain wrap to one side lay your ingredients in straight line at one edge of your wrap

Fold wrap over ingredients and begin rolling tightly until you've used up the whole wrap

Cut into sushi sized rolls. You will probably need to discard (snack on) the rolls at the far edges since they will be pretty loose and hard to keep together. If there is a gap in the center of a roll you can always cheat in some extra filling to make it rounder. I had to do this for a couple of them.

lunch box: black bean burgers

contents:

mini black bean burgers
wild rice with corn
kale salad
avocado

Black bean burgers might be my sister's favorite thing I make (is that true Olivia?). At least it seems that way since she always requests them when I cook for her. I thought this would be one of the first recipes I'd post on the blog, but for some reason it took until now to make them. Usually I make regular sized burgers, but for the purposes of a lunch box I think it's more fun to have a few small ones. This recipe will make about 4 or 5 regular sized burgers and 12 or so small ones. Sorry in advance for the not-so-exact measurements on this, but I don't think it's really necessary. Once you have the basic burger mixture, the add-ins can be flexible to your taste without messing anything up. Also I'm trying a one tupperware lunchbox this time around, which is a little trickier, but ends up a looking nicer. What do you think?

ingredients:

1 15oz can black beans
1 egg
bread crumbs
fresh cilantro, salsa, and cumin to taste
vegetable or olive oil for frying

If you don't own a food processor this first step can be pretty annoying. You want to mash the black beans until they are fairly smooth, but still have texture. The easiest way is of course to give them a couple zaps in the food processor. A potato masher also works very well. In the years when my "kitchen tools" consisted of things like one cutting board a few steak knives, I would mash them with a large spoon in a soup bowl. I wouldn't recommend it, but the point is you don't need gadgets, just a little patience.

Stir egg into the black bean mixture. Add about 2 large tbs of salsa (maybe more), a large handful of chopped cilantro, and cumin (maybe 5 or 6 shakes?). Mix well.

Add breadcrumbs until mixture thickens and you can form burgers. If I was a good food blogger I guess I would have measured this for you, but it all depends on how smoothly you've mashed your beans and the wateriness of your salsa.

Heat oil in large frying pan

Now usually I fill a dish with more bread crumbs and add an outside crust to the burgers before frying, but I ran out when I was cooking this time. I debated putting off the posting, but in the end I just photographed it anyway. Maybe you can just imagine the above above picture with a layer of crumbs.

Fry until brown and crispy on both sides. Drain on paper towel covered plate to soak up excess oil.

These are great with more salsa or sour cream as a topping. I almost never eat them on a bun like a regular burger, but my coworker saw my lunchbox and was really excited having them with melted swiss and onion rolls, so now I want to try that. Tell me what you do!

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The kale salad recipe can be found here. I took out the red cabbage and almonds this time and added sesame seeds in addition to the flax. The wild rice, I have to admit, is from a box with frozen corn added in.

lunch box: asparagus, artichoke and feta bow-ties

contents:

asparagus, artichoke and feta bow-ties
cucumber, beet and carrot salad
blueberries

We had a burst of warm weather over the weekend and all the sunshine inspired me to make a spring themed lunch for myself this week. Then of course the temperature dropped back down, the winter coat was back off the hanger and all I wanted for lunch was soup. I probably should have seen that coming. Luckily the pasta heats up well.

In other news, I keep reading about how frozen fruits and vegetables are actually far more nutritious then the produce at your grocery store. Here is one article that was mentioned on a great vegan blog Dawn recommended to me. Depending on what you're making, frozen vegetables can kind of kill a dish (they do have a weird texture and taste thing going on you have to admit), but there are plenty of times where it makes no difference. Usually I feel lazy for buying frozen vegetables, but I guess I've secretly been taking the healthier option. Seems backwards though, doesn't it? I'm definitely going to start buying frozen fruit instead of the blah tasting stuff that needed to immigrate all the way from Bolivia (or whenever it's still summer right now). Actually I liked snacking on the blueberries while they were still frozen, but they gave me a brain freeze,

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1/2 box whole wheat bot-tie pasta
one large bunch asparagus
one small jar of marinated artichoke hearts
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
lemon juice and pepper to taste

Boil pasta, drain and allow to cool

Snap tough bottoms off asparagus and cut the rest into small bite sized pieces. Steam for 5 minutes or until the asparagus turns bright green. Allow to cool.

Chop artichoke hearts. Don't worry about how much oil they bring with them, it will add to the pasta.

(Side tangent... just saying artichoke hearts cracks me up. It makes me feel like a Disney villain or something. Bring me the hearts of twenty artichokes!! Muah ha ha!!)

In a large mixing bowl combine pasta, asparagus, artichoke hearts and feta (to be honest I probably used a little more then 1 cup, but that seems close). Add lemon juice and salt to taste. As I said earlier the artichoke hearts soak up a lot of olive oil which ends up getting into the pasta, but you can always add a splash more if you think the salad tastes too dry. The marinade they come in the jar with is a pretty delicious addition too.

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I forgot to measure my exact veggie proportions for the salad. Sorry about that. I know I used one cucumber, 3 or 4 grated carrots, and as much pickled beets as seemed proportionate. Slice all of them as thin as possible. Add a large handful of chopped dill and a splash of vinegar.

I think I should add that whenever I cook with beets (even though you'd think I would have other associations by now) I always think of this. You can use it for your cooking music.

lunch box: palak not paneer

contents:

palak not paneer (tofu instead of cheese)
brown rice
cherry tomatoes
melon


I am going to attempt real palak panner one of these days, but this past Sunday I was not in the mood to try and make cheese for the first time. I looked at a bunch of recipes before settling on a combination version for my lunch. The tofu substitution was recommended on Epicurus and turned out surprisingly well.

ingredients:

1 block tofu
1/2 cup or so of flour
1 16oz bag of frozen spinach
2 garlic cloves chopped
2 small dried red chillies or chili powder to taste
2 tbs ginger powder (or fresh)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 medium onion chopped small
2 tsp garam masala
3/4 cup plain yogurt
vegetable oil

Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in large frying pan

Cut tofu into 1 inch square chunks. Roll in flour until covered on all sides.

Fry tofu pieces until crispy and golden.

Remove from pan and drain on paper towel

In your food processor or blender, combine cooked spinach, garlic, and chillies. If you're using fresh ginger add it here. Puree until smooth (or close to it). I personally could not bring myself to totally blenderize the spinach to baby food, but it needs to be slightly creamy in order for the recipie to work. There's a compromise texture I think.

Reheat frying pan and add more oil if necessary (you should have a couple tbs worth in the pan).

Fry onions until clear. Add ginger (if powder) and turmeric, stirring well to keep from burning.

Stir in spinach mixture and tofu. Cook for a few minutes before adding garam masala and yogurt.

lunch box: vegan casserole

contents:

vegan casserole with tofu crust
sesame brown rice (with sesame oil and seeds)

Sometimes I see a recipe that is so super-vegetarian that its almost as if someone went inside James' brain, picked out all his most hated things to eat, and figured out how to combine them into one dish. This casserole on Epicurious is just such a gem. I figured since there was no way in hell he was going to partake in this week's lunch food, I might as well go all out and try to substitute the cheese for something vegan. Up until now nutritional yeast has been like some friend of a friend you're always hearing about, but never actual meet in person. It's possible I've eaten it at restaurants and not known, but I've certainly never cooked with it before. It came highly recommended though, so I bought some to use instead of parmesan in this recipe. It's defiantly not cheese, but it is sort of cheese-like in a powdered mac and cheese packet kind of way.

Also I just have to say how much I hate when people write out recipes by weight. I get it. Vegetables are all different sizes. They are individual snowflakes. But, does this author really think I'm in my kitchen with a scale weighing a 1/2 lb of carrots? Just tell me 3-5 carrots and I'll wing it from there.

ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil
2 medium onions
1 medium sized cabbage
1 bunch of kale
4 carrots
1/2 cup water
2 tbs soy sauce (conveniently about the amount that comes in one of those Chinese food take out packages)

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 package of firm tofu
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 chopped garlic clove

It will be easier if you chop all your vegetables first, since you don't want to over-cook one veggie in the frying pan while you're chopping another. Remove core from cabbage and cut into slices. Peel and cut carrots into thin matchsticks. Remove heavy stems from kale and lightly chop leaves. Slice onions. With all the vegetables, try to keep your slices on the larger size.

In large frying pan cook onion slices in oil until clear

Add kale, cabbage and carrots. You may need to add the cabbage and kale in sections since it takes up a lot of space before it cooks down. Add water and soy sauce. Cook until carrots begin to get soft.

Transfer veggies to large casserole pan.

Preheat oven to 350

In a food processor combine your topping ingredients-- bread crumbs, tofu, nutritional yeast, oil, garlic and spices. I buy seasoned breadcrumbs, so I opted out of adding additional salt, oregano and basil here. Paprika, I couldn't turn down and also added a little cayenne pepper for extra flavor. Blend ingredients thoroughly. The resulting mixture will be very doughy in texture.

I wont lie to you, getting this sticky dough on top of the casserole is a hassle. The best system I worked out was to keep wetting my hands with water and make small pancake shapes to lay on top. Once you have a full layer of dough you can pinch together the sections to make it more even. No matter what, you'll end up with a crumbly looking crust, but I think that's the idea anyway.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until crust browns nicely

lunch box: pasta frittata

contents:

pasta frittata with peas
cannellini and spinach salad
olives

I can never make the right amount of salad or pasta. I know there are tricks (like a handful of spaghetti for each person), but every time I start portioning things out I either under or over estimate how many people are eating and how hungry we are. So I was really excited when I saw this pasta frittata recipe in my new Bittman cookbook, because it gave me somewhere to use the extra spaghetti that would otherwise just be staring at me pathetically from the strainer. He recommends using long pasta, but I think you could probably use any kind and it wouldn't kill the dish. Obviously this is an excuse to dump in whatever veggies you happen to have in the fridge. Tomatoes are definitely needed in future versions.

ingredients:

2 tb butter
5 eggs
1 cup green peas
leftover long pasta (I think I had somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 of a box)
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper flakes to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

If you have the right sized frying pan this couldn't get simpler. Cook eggs (whisked first) and pasta in butter over medium heat. Stir in peas, cheese, and spices making sure pasta is evenly distributed in the pan.

Continue cooking until bottom sets, then place whole pan in the oven until top has cooked through.

Now the problem is...I own two frying pans, one too big and one too small for this to work. I ended up letting the eggs cook for awhile in the larger frying pan and then transferring the mixture to a casserole dish. So if you also suffer from lack of a 'mama bear' sized frying pan, any baking dish should work out fine. You'll just need to cook it a little longer in the oven.

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For the bean salad I sauteed a few handfuls of fresh spinach in 3 cloves of garlic and olive oil. Let spinach cool, then toss with 1 can of cannellini beans, 1/2 of a small red onion (chopped finely), and a little pepper.

lunch box: thai red curry

contents:
thai red curry
brown rice
ginger roasted carrots
pineapple

I'm disappointed with how this picture turned out. The curry looked so beautiful the night I made it, but after sitting overnight it turned into a reddish grey mush. It tastes just as good, but aesthetically I could wish for a better lunch box. Oh well. At least I've discovered that it's quite easy to make food that I've up to now been considering a splurge take-out treat. I've been a little afraid of Thai recipes after a debacle a year or so ago trying to make green papaya salad that turned out smelling (according to James) "like tuna fish can water". Yeah, that was gross. Oh but speaking of fish, make sure to read the label on your curry paste, since some can contain fish.

ingredients:

1 14oz can coconut milk
1/2 cup water
2 tbs thai red curry paste
two handfuls of unsalted peanuts (1 cup?)
10-15 fresh basil leaves
1 large potato cubed (precooked in the microwave)
1 red pepper chopped
3 small blocks of firm tofu cubed
large handful of string beans
1 small onion

In large frying pan cook onion in a few tbs of olive oil on medium heat until clear.

Drain as much water as possible from the tofu before cubing and adding to pan. I buy the kind my produce place sells in little cartons, which is much thinner and smaller in size then the store bought tubs. If you're using one of those, I'd say maybe a 1/2 a tub would do. Keep stirring tofu while it cooks to keep from sticking.

Add red pepper and string beans. Cook for a few minutes until pepper begins to soften and string beans turn a brighter green.

Push veggies to one side of your pan. If you have a sloped kitchen like me, make sure to move it uphill. Pour coconut milk and 1/2 cup of water on the other half of your pan. Stir curry paste into coconut milk letting it dissolve fully before mixing sauce into the veggies. Bring to low boil.

Add peanuts, (precooked) potatoes, and fresh basil. Serve over rice.

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ingredients:

6 carrots
2 large tbs of finely chopped fresh ginger
olive oil (in retrospect, sesame oil would have been great)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Toss chopped carrots, ginger, and dash of olive oil in large mixing bowl

Cover a baking tray with tin foil and spread out carrots in single layer

Bake for about 20 minutes. Turn carrots at least a couple times to keep from burning.

lunch box: thanksgiving leftovers

Despite the lack of comments (hint! hint!), it turns out I do in fact have some readers, since I've been getting regular complaints the past few weeks about my lack of postings. Sorry everyone. I'll let you know exactly what is to blame...



O Thanksgiving Leftovers! Triumph after awkward family politics! What you lack in beauty and freshness you make up for with taste.

I didn't actually cook a thing in this lunch box, so if you want recipes I'll have to refer you to my parents. One of the many things I like about Thanksgiving food, is that everyone has their own system for eating it. My sister, even though she eats turkey, thinks of mashed potatoes as the main course. Each year she piles an even larger mountain on her plate, like a one person Iron Man contest for potato intake. James lives for the "Thanksgiving Sandwich" which is turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy on a roll. I have never attempted a vegetarian version of this. Maybe next year. I'm not sure if I have a Thanksgiving system, but I can tell you that it's entirely possible to overeat on Thanksgiving if you don't eat turkey.

contents:

mashed potatoes
cornbread stuffing with mushrooms and fennel
steamed zucchini and broccoli
sweet potatoes

lunch box: spanakopita

contents:

spanakopita
baked chick peas
olives

This was my first time making anything with filo dough and it was definitely a learning experience. Despite the very simple instructions on the box, I didn't believe that it actually had to defrost for a full 2 hours before you could unroll it. Well as it turns out, the defrost time is not a suggestion. If you try to unwrap the dough too soon the thin layers will break apart and crumble. In the end I was able to cobble together a workable (and tasty) crust, but the finished pan didn't look as pretty as it could have. Also I clearly need a pastry brush, because trying to brush on olive oil with a paper towel/my hands is way more complicated then necessary.

Interesting fact: gmail spell check does not recognize the word spanakopita. It recommends replacing it with spanking, Spanglish, Spaniard, or spandrels.

ingredients:

3 leeks
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 boxes of frozen spinach
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
frozen filo dough (cough fully defrosted cough)

Cut off very bottom and top dark leaves of leeks. Chop and rise well. The inside of leeks are like some kind of sand and dirt sponge.

In a large frying pan cook garlic and leeks in olive oil until leeks are soft. Mix in defrosted and drained spinach.

Turn off heat and let cool. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Beat eggs in large mixing bowl. Mix in cooled spinach mixture, feta, salt, pepper, dill, and mint.

Brush bottom and sides of 9 X 13 in baking pan with olive oil. Now if I had done this correctly, I would have been able to lay down the filo dough 1 sheet at a time to fit the pan until half of the filo dough was used up. You will hopefully learn from my mistake and be more patient.

Spread spinach mixture evenly over dough.

Cover with remaining filo dough. Brush with more olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes or until top crush turns a deep golden brown.

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This chickpea recipie was first recommended to me as an idea for party snacks. It seemed like a good compliment to my spanakopita and a way to add some extra protein to my lunch.

In a large mixing bowl toss two cans of chickpeas (drained of course) with olive oil, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, and paprika. Bake on a covered baking sheet for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

lunch box: wheel primavera

I had a lot of leftover ingredients from my soup, so i decided to make a sort of pasta primavera for lunch this week. I know that this isn't the most sophisticated looking meal. The only thing holding it back from a full on elementary school lunch box impersonation is a small carton of chocolate milk. To the haters I say-- did you not get a sudden craving for celery sticks with peanut butter? That's what I thought.

contents:
wheel primavera
peanut butter celery sticks
grapes

For the pasta I fried 3 cloves of chopped garlic, a large leek, one zucchini, two medium tomatoes, 2 roasted red peppers (from a jar), and the remainder of my cannolini beans from the soup in a large frying pan. Then I tossed the veggies in with pasta and added olive oil, parmesan, pepper, dried basil, and a dash of balsamic vinegar

lunch box: egg fried tofu and carrot rice

contents:

egg fried tofu
carrot rice
red cabbage and apple slaw
cucumber kimchi (bought pre-made)


My lunch only looked exactly like this for one day last week, because I discovered the pre-made kimchi had fish oil in the seasoning. After 18 years how do my taste buds know what fish even tastes like? Who knows, but I took a bite and knew instantly that something in there tasted alien to all the foods I eat. I stopped eating it right away (I always follow possible meat-in-food leads seriously because I get really sick if I do accidentally eat something) and sure enough when I asked the lady at the produce place where I bought it, she told me they use fish oil in the brine. So-- no more pre-made cucumber kimchi for me (or at least not from there and without asking ingredients first). I've been trying to talk James into eating it since it's basically a spicier version of pickles, but so far I'm not winning the argument.

The rest of lunch was successfully delicious and lasted me well through the week. This was sort of a "clean out the refrigerator" lunch since I had some leftover carrots, red cabbage, and a bag of apples from my visit home to NJ.

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The egg batter for the tofu was 1 egg plus 2 tbs flour whisked together. Make sure to drain the tofu before you batter and fry it since the water makes it crumble.

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The rice I made by adding 1 shredded carrot in the last few minutes of cooking my brown rice then recovering the pot to let it soften. For seasoning I mixed in some sesame seeds, sesame oil, and a little curry powder.

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The red cabbage is actually equally good hot or cold. I had maybe 3/4 of a head of red cabbage leftover, but most recipes call for a full head. Cook the chopped cabbage with a little olive oil in a thick sauce pot. Once the Cabbage softens and starts to turn that amazing bright purple color, add 1 shredded apple, 2 tbs water, then cover and simmer for a half hour. Once its cooked you can add brown sugar and vinegar to taste. Apple cider vinegar would have been ideal, but I didn't have any at home so I had to use white wine vinegar.

lunch box: quiche

contents:

fennel mushroom quiche
sweet potato home fries
white rabbit salad


Quiche is one of my stand by meals for when I don't feel like cooking and/or when I have annoyingly small amounts of veggies leftover from other dishes I need to use. I buy frozen crusts, which make the whole thing that much easier. The basic formula is 2 eggs + 3/4 cup milk and then whatever veggies, cheese, and spices you want to add. This time I cooked some chopped fennel and mushrooms stove top first before adding it to the eggs. Some other favorite quiche combos are: sweet potato chili pepper cheddar, broccoli swiss, and tomato spinach parmesan. Just be careful you're not adding in lots of water or juice from the veggies into your egg mixture. Bake your quiche at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the eggs are cooked through. Let the quiche cool for a few minutes before you start cutting slices.


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There are a lot of recipes for White Rabbit Salad online, and each one is a little different. My final salad included:

2 cups cottage cheese
2 mackintosh apples
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp honey
juice from 1/2 a lemon

I think this is is going to be my new favorite snack, at least for as long as apple season lasts.


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Because I was trying to time it with quiche I pre-baked the sweet potatoes in the microwave first, then peeled and chopped them. If you have more time you can start with the raw potatoes and let them cook fully in the oven. Toss potatoes with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, paprika, and one chopped onion. Cover a cooking sheet in tin foil and lay out potatoes in a single layer. Bake until crispy.

lunch box: kale salad with spicy lentil-quinoa snacks

contents:

kale salad
spicy lentil-quinoa snacks
lemon ginger yogurt

This kale salad is a loose recreation of one I love from a health food store in Princeton. Usually I put tempeh in it, brown rice, or both, but I left it out this time because I figured I was protein covered already with the lentil-quinoa snacks. The kale absorbs dressing like crazy (maybe because its raw?), so if you're making a big tub to use over the course of the week you may want to add extra dressing at some point.

ingredients:

kale
carrot
red cabbage
flax seed
almonds
lemon juice
olive oil
tahini

Wash kale and cut or pull apart leaves with your hands into small salad like pieces. You are definitely going to want to remove the stalks and use only the leaves for this recipe since you wont be cooking it.

In a small bowl add one or two spoonfuls of tahini and equal parts water to make a paste. Then add a splash of olive oil and mix again until the tahini starts to thin out. If I had to guess I would say maybe a 1/4 cup of olive oil. Then add lemon juice to taste. I usually use about a half a lemon, depending on it's juiciness. This will make a very thick almost mayonnaise-like dressing.

In a large bowl pour your dressing over the kale and massage into the leaves with your hands. I'm not kidding, this is actually what people call it- massaging. If you have a wisecracking boyfriend at home, they will probably take this time to make a series of jokes about your kale being stressed. Also I'm going to admit something here, which is that I time most of my cooking to music instead of a watch. I think technically you're supposed to massage the kale for about 5 minutes or so until it wilts, but a medium length song is usually fine.

Add two or three grated carrots, red cabbage chopped finely, flax seeds, and almonds. I like to chop the almonds at least into halves to get them spread through the salad better, but that may be too picky for you. This is where you would add rice or tempeh if you're using it. Mix with your hands (why not? they are already covered in tahini dressing).

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I found this lentil snack recipe through JustBento.com and made it for the first time this past weekend. My process definitely needs some tweaking. The recipe called for bulgar wheat, but for some reason there wasn't a grocery store or bodega near me that had it, so I had to substitute with quinoa. I'm not sure if this is where the problem came from, but I ended up having to add more water after the lentils were done to make the quinoa cook in the same pot. The end result was delicious, but I think maybe a little too soft. I'm going to try this again either cooking the quinoa separately, or after I can get my hands on some bulgar (which for the record I didn't realize was so exotic), and report back to you.

Also a note about the cupcake paper system for storing yogurt: though adorable, it's not a good idea for anything wet. By lunchtime my precious little yogurt cup looked more like the Wicked Witch of the West- post water. For Tuesday's lunch I cut a plastic cup and used just the bottom for keeping yogurt in. Much better.

ingredients:

1 cup lentils
1/2 cup quinoa
3 tsp tomato paste
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 roasted red pepper (pre-made in jar)
chopped cilantro, cumin,curry powder, red pepper flakes, lemon juice

In a medium sized pot bring lentils and 2 /12 cups of water to a boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until lentils are soft.

Add tomato paste and quinoa to pot. Now, the recipe says you can just let this sit for a half hour and if you were using bulgar it would absorb. I, with my usual inability to cook grains or beans correctly, had no excess water in the pot at this point and needed to add an extra cup and re-simmer the quinoa to get it to cook. Like I said, I'll get back to you on this one.

In a large frying pan saute onion and garlic until onion is clear. Add chopped red pepper and saute for a few more minutes. Add your quinoa lentil mixture to the frying pan and stir in spices, cilantro, and lemon juice. Remove from heat and let cool.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Now that your mixture is cool (you did let it cool, right?) roll into small golf sized balls and and place on a greased cookie sheet. Yes I'm making a stink about this cooling thing because, you guessed it- I was impatient and burned my fingers.

Bake for about 15 minutes until the balls get a thin crust to them.

The dressing is just plain yogurt with lemon juice and ginger powder.

lunch box: hummus and "pickled" eggplant

contents:

hummus
"pickled" eggplant with feta
dipping veggies- carrot, zucchini, and radishes
whole wheat pita


This hummus recipe is based on one from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food, although I have a feeling she would not approve of my using canned chick peas. Sorry Alice! She recommends adding some of the bean cooking liquid if you want to thin out the texture, but since in my case that would have meant the juice from the can (and you know how I feel about that) I just added some extra olive oil and lemon juice to compensate.

ingredients:

1 16oz can chick peas
1/4 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/4 cup lemon juice (one lemon)
1/4 cup olive oil
cumin and cayenne pepper to taste

Mix in food processor until smooth.

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Phil made this eggplant last time I was over for dinner and I've been meaning to try it since. It's an easy way to make a pickled tasting side in a few minutes. That being said, the flavor does get better the longer it sits. My mid week lunch definitely tasted better then the first day I made it. Now that I know how simple this is, I have plans to try this with some other veggies soon. Next up, mushrooms!

2 cups water
1 cup red wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic
1 medium eggplant
red pepper flakes and olive oil to taste

Cut eggplant into medium sized slices (about 1 1/2 inch thick)

Bring water, vinegar and garlic to boil in large pot

Add as much eggplant as can all be submerged in the liquid. Cook for around 10 or until eggplant is soft, stirring from time to time making sure the eggplant cooks evenly.

Remove eggplant with slotted spoon and put in mixing bowl to cool

Repeat until all eggplant is cooked. It took two batches for me

Once eggplant has cooled add olive oil and red pepper to taste

lunch box: curry stew

contents:

potato,carrot, and green bean curry
brown rice with sesame oil
radishes
strawberries




So... I bought this curry mix from a Korean grocery store on 32nd street and although I made sure to read the ingredients at least twice to make sure it didn't have any fish or meat in it, I neglected to notice that the instructions for the mix were entirely in Korean. Not my smartest hour. Luckily the internet was able to tell me it was a just add water kind of thing, but I wasn't able to get an exact translation of the packet I bought. I ended up adding 4 large spoonfuls to a bowl and then adding small amounts of water until it seemed to be the right consistency. I'm not sure if this is at all what the package intended, but it tasted delicious so I couldn't be all wrong. The mix makes a thick curry sauce, almost more like a gravy, and not spicy at all. It was perfect for a fall stew.



Radishes as a snack is something I've picked up from Leela. She soaks them in salt water for a bit to let them absorb the salt (and I suspect like with onions it takes out some of their acidity) before cutting them into smaller pieces.

lunch box: spinach and broccoli croquettes

contents:

spinach and broccoli croquettes
brown rice with cashews and green peas (spiced with curry, turmeric, and a little chili pepper)
cucumber carrot and dill salad (dressing is just vinegar, olive oil, and paprika)
grapes



spinach and broccoli croquettes:

Spinach croquettes were one of those house staple dishes my Dad used to make all the time. I even brought them in my bag lunches for school, although once someone did say it looked like I was "eating lawn sandwich". Being a vegetarian in the 4th grade does not get you as many cool points as you would think. Anyway! The recipe couldn't be easier to make, or cheaper, and they adapt really nicely if you throw in whatever leftover veggies you have lying around from other meals. This is the first time I've used broccoli and it turned out really well, although it made the pancakes more delicate in the frying process. It probably would have helped if I had pre-steamed the broccoli which I did not do.

Basically you want to use one egg to every box of frozen spinach (or other proportional amount of veggie you use). Then add breadcrumbs until you can form patties with your hands. One box of spinach usually makes about 4 burger sized patties. Make sure you drain the spinach after you defrost it or the excess water will make the patties too soggy. I buy the seasoned breadcrumbs, but if you're using unseasoned then you probably want to add some salt, pepper, and oregano into the mix. Fry in oil until slightly brown on both sides. This is the kind of thing you want to avoid flipping more then you need to. You will also want to let them drain on a paper towel covered plate for a bit to avoid being too greasy.