Quinoa Salad with Tofu, Beets, and Avocado

This is another installment of my "weekday lunch" series, where I offer suggestions for dishes that can hang out in your tupperware til 12:30 rolls around. For other weekday lunch options, see my weekday lunch archive page.

Here's a super-easy salad that holds up very well in the tupperware container. It came together late one night when the contents of my fridge were scarce and I needed lunch for the next day. Red quinoa -- available at Whole Foods and other similar stores, both in packages and in the bulk section -- is a wholesome and nutritious grain, actually a berry, that takes about 15 minutes to steam. I cooked some quinoa (about 1 cup raw), chopped up two small beets I'd roasted earlier in the week, sliced up one avocado and one small block of teriyaki-marinated baked tofu, tossed them all together, and drizzled some rice vinaigrette over the salad (recipe below). It doesn't get much easier than that. The bonus upside to bringing quinoa for lunch is that, unlike other grains, quinoa holds its shape and crunch very well even in the fridge overnight and in tupperware, and doesn't tend to clump together or get sticky.

If you're in a rush, this is really a perfect salad to throw together. And as always, feel free to improvise my recipe, adjusting for the contents of your fridge. I could imagine adding greens, red bell peppers, edamame, perhaps some raisins, even almonds or other sliced nuts for crunch. Get to it!

Rice Wine Vinaigrette

1 tsp. finely grated ginger or 1/2 tsp. powdered ginger 4 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar 1 tsp. sugar 1 tsp. soy sauce 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice 3 Tbsp. olive oil 1 Tbsp. sesame oil

Combine all ingredients except for oil, and whisk vigorously. Add oil in a steady stream, whisking all the while, until well combined. Drizzle several Tbsp. of the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Serve cool or at room temperature.

Strawberry Avocado Salad

Not exactly a recipe, but this was a part of my Sunday morning breakfast last week and I couldn't resist sharing it. It's a sign of the warmer days that are (I hope!) just around the corner, and it's a healthy and filling alternative to my usual morning grind. It's also dead simple to make. So what are you waiting for?

Strawberry Avocado Salad

1 lb. pea shoots, arugula, or other nice-looking salad greens 1 pint strawberries, washed and sliced 2 avocados, sliced champagne vinaigrette or other mild vinaigrette

Transfer the greens to a big salad bowl, and salt and pepper them. Distribute strawberry and avocado slices overtop. Drizzle the vinaigrette around the sides of the salad bowl, (in other words, dress the bowl, not the salad) and toss the salad around to coat very thinly with the dressing.

Serve with some crusty baguette, some good cheese, or even a bowl of good organic yogurt.

Edamame Cabbage Slaw with Sweet Potatoes

Hello from vacationland! We're in Israel for the next few days and beyond thrilled to be back. It's been way, way too long -- almost two years since I lived here. I've missed every bit of it. Yesterday, I spent the most lovely afternoon at the shuk (market) with my dear dear friend S. We met up in my favorite corner of the shuk... A little cafe tucked in the back portion that's locals only and serves up a mean cup of coffee. After lots of hugs, kisses and catch up, we ran around to the different vendors so that I could grab my favorite spices (more on those in a future post...) And met up with her mom, where I freshened up on my slightly-rough but actually not-too-bad Hebrew. We spent the past 24 hours hanging out with family and friends, relaxing and eating copious amounts of food. Tonight we're planning on hitting up another of my favorite restaurants, Tmol Shilshom. There's something at once familiar and refreshing about being in a place I used to call home; it's wonderful to be back.

But less about my getaway, more about the recipe -- which, indeed, is a fabulous lunch staple (I'm on a new kick, can you tell?). I've made cabbage slaw before, but this one's got a little bit more character and substance. It's got a new addiction of mine, edamame (frozen-shelled -- one of the easiest and tastiest sources of protein in the grocery store) and sweet potatoes, as well as some fake beef strips (feel free to use the real thing if you're so inclined). In all, it made a great one-dish dinner and was even better the next day for lunch. Just don't dress it all at once, or it'll go a bit mushy.

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend; I'm here until Sunday, and early Monday morning we leave for Paris, where we make the most of our 24-hour layover before heading back to DC. More recipes when I'm back....

Edamame Cabbage Slaw with Sweet Potatoes

1 savoy cabbage, shredded (by hand) 2 scallions, chopped 2 sweet potatoes, sliced into matchsticks 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 cups (ish) frozen edamame, cooked according to package directions and left at room temp 1 package Morningstar Farms, TJ's or other brand fake meat strips Handful sliced toasted almonds (to be added just before eating)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the sweet potato sticks in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and drizzle olive oil overtop. Toss to incorporate; roast for approximately 30 minutes, until soft and browned in spots.

Cook fake meat in a frying pan with a drizzle or two of olive oil until browned in certain spots. I also like to add a few drops of soy sauce and/or pomegranate syrup, date syrup, tamarind paste, honey and rice wine vinegar, etc -- something to give it that sweet/savory taste. Bottled teriyaki will do the trick, but don't overdo it -- a Tbsp or so max.

Mix all ingredients in large salad bowl; top with almonds and dressing (recipe below). Toss to incorporate. Serve in big, deep bowls. Enjoy.

Dressing 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar 1/4 cup mirin (if no mirin, substitute 1/8 cup plus 1 Tbsp brown sugar) several dashes sesame oil

Mix; shake. Note: in place of sesame oil, feel free to experiment with walnut oil or other nutty-flavored oil.

Yam, Zucchini, and Chickpea Salad

I'm definitely a bag-luncher. While I enjoy the occasional salad-bar salad or panini, I find that bringing my lunch to work is often healthier and more cost-efficient than the alternative. Especially since I work in Georgetown, where lunch joints are pretty high-end, and (as you all surely know) I'm not the biggest fan of Subway, bag lunches are my speed.

As someone who routinely brings my lunch to work, and I'm always on the lookout for recipes that are simple to make, easy to nuke or tasty at room temperature, and pack in servings of carbs, vegetables, and protein. Needless to say, there are plenty of these recipes floating around the blogosphere, which has given me ample opportunity to experiment.

I was poking around on 101 cookbooks, which is a truly fabulous source for healthful and vegetarian recipes, and I found this chickpea and zucchini stir-fry recipe that looked great: lemon was the main seasoning ingredient, and the flavors looked clean and fresh. I'd been chomping on the recipe for a few days, mentally adding a few more elements and dressing up the whole thing a bit more complexly. Yams for sweetness and substance, scallions and parsley for color, "green" flavor and bite, and tahini and garlic to add to the lemon for a thicker, protein-filled dressing. I also figured I'd slow-roast the vegetables in order to caramelize them.

The resulting salad was everything I look for in a pack-your-own lunch dish: it had plenty of carbs and protein, pronounced caramel undertones from the browned vegetables, and a tangy, nutty bite. Honestly, I could take this for lunch several days in a row and not get bored (much like the cauliflower I took last week). In fact, I took it last Friday and yesterday, and I'll be taking it again, you can bet on it.

Yam, Zucchini, and Chickpea Salad inspired by 101 Cookbooks

For the salad:

2 yams or sweet potatoes, diced into 1-inch pieces 1 zucchini, diced into 1-inch pieces 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 2 garlic cloves 3 sprigs parsley, leaves finely chopped 2 scallions, thinly sliced on bias olive oil

For the dressing:

1 tablespoon tahini zest and juice of 1 lemon salt and pepper 1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment or silicone.

Spread diced sweet potatoes in a single layer on prepared baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Roast 35-40 minutes, then add zucchini and roast an additional 10-15 minutes, until both vegetables are softened inside and caramelized in spots. If vegetables haven't caramelized at that point, pop them under the broiler for 3 minutes, and they'll brown plenty.

In a small frying pan over medium heat, saute chickpeas and whole garlic cloves in 1 tablespoon of olive oil (just enough to moisten) for about 3 minutes, until the chickpeas dry out a bit and are warmed through. Remove garlic cloves, chop finely, and reserve for dressing.

In a medium bowl, mix chickpeas with yams and zucchini. Add parsley and scallions, and toss to combine.

In a small bowl, combine tahini, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, and half of chopped garlic. Add water by the teaspoon until the dressing is smooth and runny. Taste, and add additional chopped garlic if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over vegetables, toss to coat, and serve warm or room temperature.