Bulgur with Black Eyed Peas, Spinach and Dates

Yet another installment of my weekday lunch series. You can never have enough work-lunch-friendly dishes, now can you?

I work on the ninth floor of my firm's office building. There are lots of conference rooms on our floor, and when a lunch meeting yields leftovers, they usually make their way into the ninth floor kitchen, which happens to be right across from my cubicle. When we hear the clomp-clomp of high heels in the kitchen and the rustling of plastic trays and wrap paper, we know it's going to be good. Within seconds, my entire pod will have descended on the kitchen, scavenging for the best wrap, the freshest-looking corner of the spinach salad, the last piece of baklava. After poking around for ourselves, we'll shoot out an email to our friends down the hall alerting them to the free food bonanza. We're that nice.

Yesterday, there were two big trays of spinach salad in the conference room. Spinach salad = dry baby spinach, quartered artichoke hearts, shavings of parmesan cheese and dressing on the side. After everyone had a go at the salad (and the baklava and brownies), I rinsed out my lunch tupperware and filled it to the rim with dry baby spinach. That stuff is good, and not cheap -- it'd be a shame to see it go to waste.

Around 11 last night, when I got to throwing lunch together, I remembered that spinach that I'd tucked in the fridge earlier in the evening. I decided to steam it for a few minutes and fold it into a bulgur salad, along with leftover mixed mushrooms and a couple of chopped, sauteed dates (one of my latest and greatest flavor-boosters). For some protein, I added half a can of black eyed peas; for background flavor, some caramelized onions. For zing, a dash of soy sauce, a hit of sherry vinegar, and some black pepper. That was really all it needed.

Much as I've enjoyed a week straight of Greek salad for lunch, I'm relieved that today's tupperware contains no feta, tomatoes, olives, or capers. I'm kind of excited for lunch!

Bulgur with Black Eyed Peas, Spinach, Dates, and Mushrooms makes 2 servings

1 cup bulgur, cooked and fluffed according to package directions (bulgur usually takes about 15 minutes in boiling water) 2 heaping cups raw baby spinach 2 Tbsp. olive oil 1 cup mixed mushrooms, chopped 4 dates, pitted and chopped 2 Tbsp. caramelized onions 1/2 can black eyed peas, or about 2/3 cup cooked black eyed peas (other beans, such as navy or cannellini, will do just fine) 1 tsp. soy sauce 1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar fresh cracked pepper Chopped fresh parsley or mint, optional

Cook bulgur according to package directions, and set aside.

In a large pot, heat enough water to come about 2 inches up the side of the pot. Rinse spinach and place in steamer. When water is boiling, place steamer inside pot and cover with lid. Steam spinach about 6 minutes, until tender but still bright green. Remove steamer from pot and transfer spinach to medium bowl. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Add mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they have given off their liquid and are fragrant. Salt to taste. Add chopped dates to the pan and cook one more minute, until dates are soft and warm. Turn off heat and transfer mushroom mixture to the bowl with the spinach. Add caramelized onions, black eyed peas and bulgur, and toss to incorporate. Add soy sauce, vinegar, and pepper and stir to coat. Taste and adjust, adding more salt, pepper, and vinegar as desired. Serve cold or room temperature. Sprinkle with chopped herbs just before serving.

Rigatoni with Broccoli Rabe

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know by now that I'm a self proclaimed ingredient-adder. I've got issues leaving things simple: I find myself constantly tempted to tinker, to add just one more spice or sauce or vegetable or seed or something. I've been working on it, folks, really I have, but it ain't easy.

As much as I'm inclined to clean out my pantry into a recipe, there are certain recipes that are not to be futzed with. One of those recipes is Marcella Hazan's pasta with broccoli rabe. Hazan is a legendary Italian cook and cookbook author. Her directions are so very precise, her knowledge and expertise so colossal, I'd be crazy to fiddle with her ingredients or proportions.

You've probably seen broccoli rabe in the grocery store or farmers' market: it's usually a medium-sized head of greens with a couple very young broccoli florets poking out the top. It's leafy and bitter, and according to Adam, the Amateur Gourmet (who quotes Lydia Bastianich and Julia Child, who am I to disagree?), it gets more complex with every chew. Broccoli rabe -- also known as rapini -- is absolutely delicious on pasta paired with anchovies, crushed chili peppers, and parmesan cheese. I used whole wheat rigatoni (see the smoke coming out of Marcella Hazan's ears? yikes) but as she says, the "natural match" for this sauce is orecchiete, which are shaped like miniature flying saucers. She also recommends using salt-preserved anchovy fillets, preferably prepared at home. While the idea of using fresh, home-prepped anchovies makes my mouth water, their very short shelf life has always deterred me from actually doing it, and I tend to stick with the high-quality oil-packed ones. They're available at most high-end markets; these days, most every grocery store has them, usually in oil-packed jars and in squeezable tubes. (I recommend the jars, not the tubes -- anchovy toothpaste isn't the hottest idea.)

One final note about this recipe before you run out to grab that anchovy toothpaste. This one's for the anchovy-haters -- I know you're out there. If you're even still reading this, I'm impressed that you didn't see the word "anchovy" and run away. Point is, please don't hate on the anchovies. They're so, so delicious, and they really are mashed into a paste in many recipes, so you don't have to see them. And frankly, nothing can replace that unmistakable taste of anchovy. So take a big breath and give'em a try. If you hate'em, sorry, and I guess I owe you a few bucks. If you love'em, you can thank me for giving you the extra nudge.

Rigatoni with Broccoli Rabe from Marcella Hazan

1 pound dried orecchiette or other pasta 2 cups water 1 teaspoon salt 1 bunch rapini, about 1 pound, trimmed 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided 3 anchovy fillets, chopped 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1/2 cup grated pecorino Romano cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions, in well-salted water; drain, reserving some of the pasta water, and set aside. Meanwhile, heat water and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rapini; cook until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain in colander; cool under cold running water, drain, and set aside.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in anchovies, pressing lightly with a spatula to help break up the fillets. Cook 1 minute. Stir in rapini, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring constantly, until garlic softens, about 5 minutes.

3. Toss pasta with rapini mixture in a large serving bowl. If extra liquid is necessary to unclump pasta or make rapini more easily integrated, add pasta water by the 1/4 cup. Drizzle with remaining 2 Tbsp of the olive oil and cheese; toss.

The Best Tea Cookies on the Planet

I've always loved the idea of having a local baker -- someone whose shop was within a short walk of my apartment, where I could drop by in the morning for a baguette or a scone, pick up a loaf or two of fresh bread, and pop in on a lazy Sunday afternoon for tea and cookies. Sadly, I don't live in Paris. I do, however, read an excellent blog of someone who does -- that's David Lebovitz, my friends -- and his many posts about local bakers regularly elicit pavlovian responses from my growling tummy. The one that most recently got my attention was about Flo Braker, one of his all-time favorite bakers. (Don't you just love that she's Flo Braker, the Baker? Hardy har.) Among the many recipes in her arsenal is one for thin,, crispy, buttery almond cookies called "pain d'amande" (almond bread). While I'd never heard of Braker before reading David's post, after tasting these cookies, I can assure you that now she's one of my favorite bakers, too.

These aren't just any almond cookies; they benefit from having become an obsession of Braker's -- she's literally made the recipe countless times, each time adjusting the proportions of raw sugar and flour by slight amounts until she achieved the perfect ratio of each. As I said, we benefit from her rigor and perfectionism: these cookies are absolutely flawless, and I wouldn't change a darn thing.

As if the perfect flavor isn't enough to get you running kitchenward, these cookies are among the most practical ones I've made. You form the dough into a loaf, chill it, and slice slivers off the loaf to bake. The loaf of dough keeps its shape wonderfully once formed and can be stored in the fridge for a couple of weeks, allowing you to slice and bake just a few of these whenever you get the craving. I err on the side of caution and bake up about 10 at a time -- you know, just in case.

Flo Braker's Pain D'amande

Pain d'amande 80-90 cookies

Adapted from Sweet Miniatures by Flo Braker

David recommends to use parchment instead of silpat, because otherwise they won't get as crispy. He also suggests that you not let the sugar melt all the way, because the raw crystals add serious crunch to the cookies. I dutifully obeyed his orders and can attest to this: love the raw sugar, it really adds.

8 tablespoons (115g) butter, salted or unsalted, cubed 1 1/3 cups (300g) coarse crystal golden sugar (see Note) 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/3 cup (80ml) water 2 1/3 cups (325g) flour 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup (85g) sliced almonds, blanched or unblanched

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat with the sugar, cinnamon, and water. Stir until the butter just melts but don't allow to boil: most of the sugar should not be dissolved.

2. Remove from heat and stir in the flour, baking soda, and almonds until well mixed.

3. Line a 9-inch (23cm) loaf pan with plastic wrap and press the dough into the pan so the top is smooth. Chill until firm.

4. To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 325º (160ºC.)

5. Using a very sharp chef's knife, slice the dough crosswise, as thin as possible, into rectangles. If you can get them as thin as a coin, all the better. The thinner they are, the more delicate and crisp they'll be.

6. Space the cookies on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the cookies feel slightly firm and the undersides are golden brown. Flip the cookies over and bake an additional 10-15 minutes, until the cookies are crisp and deep golden-brown on top. The baking times depend on how thin you cut the cookies.

Cool completely, then store in an airtight bin until ready to serve.

Storage: Once baked, the cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to three days. The dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four days, or frozen for up to two months, if well-wrapped.

Note: Large-crystal golden sugar, as shown, is available in specialty food stores, natural food stores, or online.

Depending on where you live, Hawaiian Washed Sugar from C & H, is available in grocery stores.

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.