Lunches

Tunisian-Inspired Chickpea and Potato Salad

November 28, 2012
Tunisian-Inspired Chickpea and Potato Salad

Though I love the tastes of Thanksgiving–gravies and dressings cozy with the flavors of sage and thyme–once the big day is over, I feel the need to shock my palate with seasonings and spices that would have made a pilgrim flush a bright Christmas red. So as I was thumbing through the November issue of [...]

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Savory Lentil-Mushroom Burgers

September 12, 2012
Savory Lentil-Mushroom Burgers

I had a craving for a burger burger. Not a beet burger, or a falafel burger, or a black bean burger, or a curried eggplant burger–just a plain old burger that I could put on a bun with ketchup and pickles and not have the flavors clash or my daughter give me that look that [...]

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Farro Salad with Tomatoes and Grilled Zucchini

August 27, 2012
Farro Salad with Tomatoes and Grilled Zucchini

I hate to say it, but I’ve grown a little tired of quinoa lately. While it will always be one of my favorite grains/seeds (it has that split personality thing going on), lately I’ve been craving something more sturdy and robust, a grain that can stand up next to all the flavorful summer produce and [...]

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Old Fashioned (Tofu) Chicken Salad

June 6, 2012
Tofu Chicken Salad

It’s chicken salad the way my mom used to make it–but with no chicken, mayo, or hard-boiled eggs. So maybe it’s not exactly my mom’s chicken salad, but it’s close enough to satisfy my craving for something savory and crunchy to put between two slices of bread.

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Spicy Apple-Walnut Salad with Fat-Free Balsamic-Raisin Dressing

March 28, 2012
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There’s an unwritten rule of food blogging that says, “When you don’t have anything else to write about, blog your lunch.” Or at least that’s been my formerly unwritten rule, and it’s served me well because it’s led me to create some of my favorite lunches: Balsamic-Glazed Chickpeas and Mustard Greens, Hot Skillet Salad, and [...]

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Hot Skillet Salad

February 8, 2011
Hot Skillet Salad

I’m on a diet healthy eating plan.  Those of you who just stumbled on this blog are probably now looking at its name and going, “Well, duh!”  But the fact is, I never really talk about my struggles with my weight here because that’s a long and personal discussion, and my writing style is fast [...]

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Sea-sational Chickpea Salad

September 8, 2010
Sea-sational Chickpea Salad

Eaten any good algae lately?  Chances are you have, even if you didn’t know it.  Algae, or sea vegetables, are used as stabilizers or thickeners in everything from mayo to ice cream, and even if you avoid processed foods, you’ve probably enjoyed sushi wrapped up in nori or miso soup flavored with wakame.  But if [...]

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Thai-Inspired Chickpea Salad

April 18, 2010
Thai-Inspired Chickpea Salad

A couple of days ago, I set up a little game.  I gave you 5 ingredients (tamarind concentrate, green onions, red bell pepper, and jalapeno pepper) and asked you to identify which one of my old recipes I was using as the basis for a new recipe. The trick: The old recipe used only 4 [...]

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Balsamic-Glazed Chickpeas and Mustard Greens

July 21, 2009
Balsamic-Glazed Chickpeas and Mustard Greens

If necessity is the mother of invention, hunger is the mother of new recipes. Well, hunger, laziness, and a sadly depleted refrigerator. On a recent Sunday, I was out of everything I would normally eat for lunch–no lettuce, no spinach, no cabbage, nothing fresh and green and salad-worthy. I was also sadly lacking the desire [...]

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Spicy Kasha Vegetable Salad

May 13, 2009
Spicy Kasha Vegetable Salad

If you’re having trouble fitting a whole grain into your busy schedule, I have a suggestion for you: Pick up a package of Wolff’s kasha. It can be used pretty much anywhere you’d use rice, quinoa, or millet, it cooks up faster than any of them, and best of all, it’s safe for your gluten-free [...]

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Two Chickpea Salads

October 11, 2008
Creamy Chickpea Salad

October may seem like a strange time to be writing about salads, but even in the cooler months, I like to eat salads for lunch. I load up on raw vegetables for my midday meal and concentrate on cooked veggies, beans, and grains for dinner. But raw vegetables don’t really fill me up or keep [...]

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Ridiculously Easy Lunchbox Enchilada Casserole

February 24, 2008
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All cooked out, all blogged out: That’s how I’ve been feeling lately, which explains my unprecedented 6 day absence from blogging–even longer since posting one of my own recipes. Though I’ve been spending lots of time reading cookbooks and finding recipes that give me plenty of inspiration, when it comes time to actually go into [...]

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Dal Bhaji–A Recipe Redux

June 14, 2007
Dal Bhaji

Think of it as the Indian version of sloppy joes. Pav Bhaji, the wonderful street food of Mumbai, traditionally consists of a potato and vegetable curry (or bhaji) served on a bun (or pav). I’ve never had the pleasure of sampling Pav Bhaji in Mumbai, but I did cook up my own version last year, [...]

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Totoro Bento Box

October 23, 2006

My daughter E. received an exciting package in the mail this weekend: a My Neighbor Totoro bento box all the way from Japan. She was so excited that she insisted that I show it to you here.My Neighbor Totoro is her favorite movie, and I have to admit that I love it, too. So, when [...]

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Tostadas

March 9, 2006

This qualifies as a “Fatfree Tip” rather than a real recipe. Many of you already know this, but for those of you who don’t, you can make a great, almost fat-free tostada by taking an uncooked corn tortilla and crisping it in the oven for a few minutes. I baked mine at 400 F for [...]

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Pav Bhaji (Spicy Mixed Vegetables on Buns)

March 4, 2006
Pav Bhaji

Sailu’s Food recently posted this amazing recipe for Pav Bhaji, which she describes as “the quintessential Mumbai street food,” and I couldn’t wait to try it. After all, I love Indian food, and this recipe contains bunches of vegetables and lots of spiciness. So last night, while daughter E. (aka “the spice hater”) was off [...]

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Mexican Sushi

January 26, 2006
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Even kids aren’t immune to the power of the internet. Ever since my daughter saw the Vegan Lunch Box blog, she’s wanted me to post a photo of her lunch. Today she took this photo of her favorite lunch-box meal, which we call Mexican Sushi (because she wishes she had a mother who would get [...]

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Cajun 15-Bean Soup

January 26, 2006
Cajun 15-Bean Soup

Last night, along with the collard greens, I served Cajun 15-Bean Soup. I made it a little differently than my usual recipe, so here’s my updated version. (The old version used Gimme Lean sausage, so if you’re into fake meats, you might want to check it out on the FFV website.

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Hash Browns and Black Bean Burgers

January 21, 2006
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Our meal time keeps getting later and later. Last night it was closing in on 7:30, and I still didn’t have a clue what I was going to fix. I just knew that it was Friday night, and I did not want to be in the kitchen all night. (My husband, who does the dishes, [...]

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