Week of 1/4/21:

Bánh mi

My typical bánh mi, with French rolls, mayonnaise-chili paste spread, lunch meats, grated carrot salad, and cilantro, but with added cucumber for a change.

No photo this time! Our workplace opened back up to in-person instruction and there was much fuckery with regards to scheduling and stress-levels.

Week of 1/11/21:

Kale-Lentil Salad with Grilled Cheese

A combo I've packed before. No photo, again, for the same reasons!

Week of 1/19/21:

Veggie Tortellini

Tortellini and broccoli with garlic, olive oil, butter, lemon, red pepper flakes, and 21 seasoning salute. The side is roasted kabocha and orange bell peppers, with sesame oil.

Apricot-Beef Curry

This has become one of my go-to curries (from the Hermes House Indian book). Served as usual over spiced green lentils and rice, with a full complement of roasted cranberry chutney, banana raita (not pictured), and cilantro. Side is roasted kabocha and kale.

Week of 1/25/21:

Chickpea Burgers

These were so good last month that we wanted them again. Same recipe as before, but with a ton of garlic and cilantro in the patties. The burgers came together with harissa, roasted red bell peppers, and white cheddar on potato buns. The side salad is a riff on one of my mom's recipes, and is a mix of green cabbage, peanuts, and cubed pepper jack, with a honey-sesame vinaigrette.

I'm quarantining this week after a workplace exposure, so lunches were only packed for my partner. They get two days of burgers and two days of lunch from our freezer buffer. I get to eat whatever the hell I can cook or reheat in an hour.

#PackedLunches

Things I made for work lunches in December.

Week of 11/30/20:

Orzo with Spinach and Chévre, and Balsamic Beets

Previously posted here. Much the same as usual, but chèvre was cheaper than feta this week and I felt up to peeling an entire head of garlic. (We're wearing masks and social distancing at work, so why not gorge on garlic...) The beets were tossed in a little bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper.

Kabocha Chili Colorado with Roasted Broccoli

I was in the mood for this again. The broccoli was tossed with olive oil, salt, and 21 seasoning salute; they were in the same baking dish as the beets and ended up picking up a bit of their color.

Week of 12/7/20:

Chickpea Burgers with Smacked Cucumber Salad

These are falafel-ish burgers, tweaked from the basic bean burger template recipe from Pamela Anderson's Cook Without A Book: Meatless Meals. The filling ended up being two cans of (drained) chickpeas, 2 eggs, 1 cup of a barley-flax-coriander baking blend (I didn't realize I was out of breadcrumbs!!), a few tablespoons of chopped parsley, and dashes of paprika, cumin, coriander, black pepper, and homemade spearmint salt. Cook them off in a skillet with however much oil you want. If I'd been thinking when I shopped I would have made sure to have tahini for a sauce, but instead these went on potato buns with spinach and crumbled feta.

The side is the Smacked Cucumber Salad from Chinese Soul Food by Hsiao-Ching Chou.

Chicken Paprikash with Roasted Beets and Kabocha

This has been on my to-make list for a few years. I was going to try this version from Bon Appétit, but after forgetting to buy any tomato products at the store (I was on a roll this week) I ended up cribbing from that recipe, its comments, and the Beef Goulash recipe from Cook's Illustrated's Cover & Bake, which I'd made before, and using onions, garlic, butter, flour, and paprika for the base sauce ­— no heaping amount of tomatoes necessary. I served it over egg noodles tossed with butter, caraway seeds, and parsley. It turned out excellent, and in the future I'll be making something with the Cover & Bake ingredients and the BA paprikash technique.

The vegetables are the remnants of last week's beets (which needed a touch more roasting, to my partner's palate) and the other half of the kabocha used in last week's chili, tossed in soy sauce, sesame oil, and apple cider vinegar and roasted.

Week of 12/14/20:

Chickpea Pasta with Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

Easy pasta again. Penne with canned chickpeas, lemon, paprika, salt and pepper, olive oil and butter, and garnishes of parsley and tiny fruits from the tomato plant that is clinging to life inside my apartment.

This is my first time doing potatoes this way, but I think I like it. I kept the seasonings simple — salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Chicken Yassa with Carrot Salad

I've made this so many times this year; my partner requested it again. I don't mind because I never get tired of it, either. This incarnation of carrot salad is flavored with lemon juice, honey, coriander, cumin, spearmint salt, black pepper, roasted almonds, dried cranberries, and golden raisins.

....And that's it for the year! I have two weeks of time off of work so my next work lunches will be eaten in 2021. I'll publish a wrap-up post sometime soon.

#PackedLunches

Things I made for work lunches in November.

Week of 11/2/20:

Chicken Yassa with Carrot Salad

Again, one of my favorites... I gave a recipe for both the stew and the salad here. This week's yassa has three habaneros (it was that kind of a week) and the salad has golden raisins, coriander, honey, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.

Bean Quesadillas & Roasted Veggies

My partner made the giant pile of quesadillas, and I roasted the sesame-soy broccoli and green beans. (Amount pictured is intended to be eaten for two lunches.)

Week of 11/9/20:

Beef Sambal Noodles & Roasted Romanesco Broccoli

I made these noodles again, substituting beef for the pork, substituting 3rd steeping lapsang souchong for the water, and adding a big handful of basil and cilantro to the sauce. Garnishes here are more cilantro and sliced Serrano peppers (my plant is still alive and producing!). On the side, Romanesco broccoli florets roasted with olive oil, salt, and black pepper.

Kale & Lentil Salad with Grilled Ham & Cheese on Dark Rye

This salad has become a favorite. It pairs well with a sandwich for a lunch that hits all your nutritional needs. (Amount pictured will probably be eaten over two lunches.)

Week of 11/16/20:

Aloo Gobi and Eggs

Last week there was a holiday on a Wednesday, which fucked up the shape of my usual workweek and cut my weekend short. Two days of this week's lunches were filled by my emergency freezer stash (chicken yassa, veggie pasta), and two were Aloo Gobi with a side of eggs — yet another failed attempt at tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelette). I like aloo gobi with eggs — it fills you up. I've previously made really good wraps with aloo gobi, scrambled eggs, homemade ricotta, and a sweet chutney.

Week of 11/23/20:

I had a short week (two days!) because of the holiday, so my lunches were leftover cleanups, and because each was packed the night before after it had gotten too dark there are no photos. Monday was chicken lentil stew with rice and yogurt, and Tuesday was another round of the burritos I'd made for the previous week's dinners ­— Mexican rice with mixed veggies, homemade refried beans, stewed and shredded chicken with citrus and dried chilis, and a mix of sharp cheddar, pepper jack, and cotija.

#PackedLunches

Things I made for work lunches in October.

Week of 10/5/20:

Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Roasted Broccoli

My partner and I made mac 'n' cheese from scratch (béchamel with sharp cheddar and parmesan, broiled with breadcrumbs and extra cheese on top) and I roasted some broccoli to go on the side.

Picadillo

I followed this recipe, and after looking up pictures of different versions this one doesn't seem “minced” like the name of the dish implies, but it is really good! After reading the comments on the recipe I was cautious with the amounts of added stock; I ended up not adding any, because between the fat from the meat and the moisture from the vegetables I had quite enough to cook the potatoes.

Week of 10/12/20:

Barley and Orzo with Leeks & Feta, with Mustard-Roasted Parsnips, Kale, and Linguiça Sausage

The main dish here is my recreation of a workshop dinner I had at OAEC back in 2011; it was a rich, flavorful mix of barley, leeks, and feta. I tried it with both pearled barley and orzo this time because I wasn't sure how my partner would feel about the barley. I sauteed one large leek in olive oil with salt and black pepper, and kept it warm while I cooked 2 cups of barley and 1 cup of orzo (consecutively, using the same pot; not together). After both the barley and pasta were done and drained I sauteed everything together with about a tablespoon of butter and more black pepper. I let it cool down a bit and then mixed in the feta. Yum.

I used a rolling cut on the parsnips and sausage and cut the kale into thick ribbons, then tossed everything in the roasting pan with black pepper, salt, a few spoonfuls of my homemade whole-grain mustard, and a bit of olive oil. I also tucked a few purple sweet potatoes into the pan for lunch, while the oven was going. I like these dishes together.

Curried Apple-Chicken Wraps

I hadn't made these in a while; my partner remembered them out of nowhere and enthusiastically requested them for lunch. I saw a recipe for curried apple chicken wraps a few years ago, read the recipe, didn't like what I saw, and made up my own thing.

To make these: cut up some chicken thighs, ginger, and garlic; put over medium heat, cover, and cook until chicken is about halfway done; add spices (turmeric, garam masala, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt this time) and a chutney or marmalade (I used the two year old orange marmalade that has crystalized in the back of my fridge) and continue cooking, stirring occasionally; uncover, and cook off some of the liquid — you should get a nice sauce thanks to the sugar in the chutney/marmalade — adding corn starch if you want it glossy or you want it thicker; take off heat and let cool to room temp; while the chicken is cooking and cooling, cut apples into small pieces and toss with lemon juice, to prevent browning; when chicken is cooled, mix with the apple in a bowl with a few spoonfuls of plain greek yogurt; wrap in flour tortillas. Eat cold or at room temp.

Week of 10/19/20:

Pasta with Green Vegetables

A simple pasta. Broccoli, green beans, leek, and green bell pepper, with garlic, basil, red pepper flakes, black pepper, basil salt, lemon juice, olive oil, and butter for flavorings.

Karē Raisu with Fukujinzuke

This is modified from Just One Cookbook's version, either because I don't keep certain ingredients around or don't like them. I omitted the milk, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, and mushrooms; more than doubled the amounts of potato, carrot, and apple so it wouldn't be so meat-heavy; used garam masala as the curry powder, vegetable Better Than Bouillon for the stock, and a package of hot Golden Curry for the roux; and replaced the red wine with a generous splash of blackstrap rum (I have in the past used a beer or hard cider, but I haven't hit the liquor store in a while).

My fukujinzuke isn't the most authentic thing, and this batch is kind of a bastardized mix of a few different tsukemono techniques — honestly, wanting it to be bright red was my driving factor here! I cut up a small daikon and a small beet, very briefly blanched them, and then marinated them in the fridge in a mix of vinegar, mirin, salt, soy sauce, and water. It tastes really good and is a nice contrast to the rich curry, and it looks great on the plate.

Week of 10/26/20:

Barley with Feta, and Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Marinated Lentils

Guess what, I wanted to have that barley and feta dish again. My green onion plants needed a trim so I used those instead of leeks. The sweet potatoes and lentils were supposed to be this dish, but I got lazy because I had guests, so I just roasted the sweet potatoes and threw all the flavorings into the marinated lentils. I also overcooked the lentils because I was talking instead of monitoring the pot, but someone has to eat them anyway.

Apple-Chicken Curry

I made this up a few years ago after seeing a recipe for an apple-chicken curry in a 1960's cookbook, and loving the idea, but feeling nauseous at the thought of a milk- or cream-based curry. I can do coconut milk, though.

To make: Chop up onion, garlic, ginger, and some chicken. Cook, covered, until mostly done. Add spices (a yellow curry powder, or b;end your own — this time I used turmeric, coriander, cardamom, cumin, and paprika; if using whole spices, add them first with the aromatics) and salt, stir to coat, and sautee a few more minutes. Add apple chopped into bite-sized chunks and a can or two of coconut milk/coconut cream (depending on how much you made and how much liquid you want). Cook gently until apple is soft enough for your tastes; adjust spices. Serve with white rice, and something as a counterpoint to the richness.

Side: Broccoli, green beans, and green bell pepper roasted with sesame

#PackedLunches

Things I made for work lunches in September.

The school where I work has reopened (minus students) so I'm packing lunches again.

Week of 8/31/20:

Turkey Meatballs with Roasted Chickpeas and Cherry Tomatoes

Again with the sheet pan meatballs, but closer to the original recipe because tomatoes are in season. I used a combination of red cherry tomatoes from the store and yellow pear tomatoes from my balcony, and for the herbs I substituted in cilantro and the flowering tops that I needed to trim from my basil plants.

Side 1: Persian-style Carrots with Dried Apricots from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian (made by my partner). Side 2: Broccoli and Red Bell Pepper roasted with lemon juice, salt and pepper, and 21 seasoning salute.

Beef & Dried Apricot Curry with Spiced Lentils & Rice

Funnily enough, I hit 2/3 of the same meals as my last packed lunches post in March without planning it that way. This is from the Hermes House Indian cookbook. I substituted beef for the lamb because $30 for 2lbs of meat is ridiculous. I had planned on serving banana raita as a side but I forgot to buy plain yogurt at the store, so it doesn't have an abundance of sauces and sides like a proper indian meal.

Side: Broccoli and Red Bell Pepper roasted with lemon juice, salt and pepper, and 21 seasoning salute.

Peanut Noodles with Cabbage and Carrot

My partner did most of the work on this one. The sauce is based on an Indonesian recipe from the Sunset Oriental Cookbook; I described the basic method I use for these noodles in February.

Side: Broccoli and Red Bell Pepper roasted with lemon juice, salt and pepper, and 21 seasoning salute.

Week of 9/8

Green Curry with Chicken, Carrot, and Red Bell Pepper

My partner cooked our standby green curry. This week's had chicken, carrot, red bell pepper, ginger, garlic, onion, curry paste, lime juice, and coconut milk, with garnishes of green onion and cilantro.

Side: Broccoli and Cherry Tomatoes roasted with 21 seasoning salute.

Lemon-Basil Chickpea Pasta

An easy pasta. I cooked a can of chickpeas (with liquid) in a skillet with olive oil, garlic, black pepper, and red pepper flakes until it had thickened into a sauce; when the pasta was finished I added it, some of its cooking liquid, the juice and zest of a lemon, basil salt, and plenty of butter to the skillet and stirred to create a glossy coating; I topped it with fresh basil and more black pepper.

Side: Broccoli and Cherry Tomatoes roasted with 21 seasoning salute.

Week of 9/14

Bánh Mi

Bánh mi is Vietnam's all-purpose sandwich — its endless variations cover just about anything crammed inside French bread. My partner and I like to make them with a mixture of lunch meats, a quick carrot pickle, plenty of cilantro, and chunky chili garlic paste blended with mayonnaise or butter.

We were close to one of the current Oregon wildfires, so this week's prepared lunch was meant to be flexible: if our workplace were closed due to hazardous smoke levels or imminent fire threat we could eat the bánh mi at home; if asked to evacuate, the sandwiches could be thrown in the car with our already-packed emergency supplies and they'd get us through a few meals. Our workplace did, in fact, shut down, so we ended up only eating one lunch at work that week.

Mocha Mochi Cake

This week's snack/dessert is the mochi cake I made last week — it takes the two of us about two weeks to finish the pan. I don't particularly like this cake when it's fresh, but at about day three the flavors meld and the cake softens, and it only improves from there. The recipe I've been using is a chocolate butter mochi, and I've been messing around and adding other ingredients to it (cardamom, espresso powder, and almond extract in this batch).

Week of 9/21

Sambal Noodles

I helped my partner cook this noodle recipe that we're in love with, substituting some sake we didn't like the flavor of for the water and beef for the pork. I garnished the servings with cilantro and 'Yellow Pear' tomatoes, ripe Serrano peppers, and purple Thai basil from my balcony garden.

Sides: — Roasted broccoli with garam masala and cilantro — Roasted Okinawan sweet potato with sweet chili sauce — Chocolate bread

Chicken & Lentil Soup

This soup has become a favorite. I was using boneless and skinless chicken thighs this time, so I used homemade chicken stock instead of water; I also slightly increased the amounts of everything so I'd have leftovers, added a heaping spoonful of my homemade wholegrain mustard, and left the caramelized onions and garlic in the soup rather than reserving them for a garnish. The soup is served over rice with plenty of parsley and plain yogurt on top. Sides and dessert are the same as above.

Week of 9/27

Chicken Yassa

I'm not even going to link to the recipe I originally used for this, because the way I make chicken yassa has diverged enough and I'm planning on writing up my recipe. In brief, I marinade chicken thighs with onion, habanero, lemon juice, and mustard overnight, brown the thighs, saute the onions and juices, and then barely cover everything with water and cook until I can pull the bones right out of the pot. I serve this over rice with olives on top, and I like grated carrot salad as a side. This salad has golden raisins, parsley, lemon juice, and coriander in addition to the carrots.

Cranberry-Walnut-Chicken Wraps

My partner very strongly requested these again and we made them together. We roasted chicken breasts; let the cream cheese soften and mixed it with just a bit of jam (cranberry sauce would be preferred); chopped the chicken and toasted and chopped the walnuts; mixed the chicken, walnuts, and dried cranberries with the cream cheese in a big bowl; and then spread the filling onto tortillas, rolled them up, and cut big slices. This isn't necessarily “healthy” but it's completely packed with protein and fat, which is what I actually need in the middle of a work day.

#PackedLunches

Week of 3/2/20:

Turkey Meatballs with Roasted Chickpeas and Beets

I've been trying endless variations on this recipe for sheet pan meatballs. Sweet potatoes have been a great seasonal substitute for cherry tomatoes, and I wanted to try it with beets. A combination of spicy meatballs, chickpeas, beets, feta, parsley, and pasta is very satisfying.

Week of 3/7/20:

Lamb & Dried Apricot Curry

This curry recipe is from the Hermes House Indian cookbook, as is the spiced lentils and rice — both have complementary spicing, and both recipes are very easy (the rice cooks exactly like mujaddara, which I can do in my sleep by now). I first tried these last summer and now they're part of my longer-term rotation. Here I served the curry with cilantro, a roasted cranberry sauce that I spiced as I would peach or mango chutney, and yogurt on the side.

Pupusas with Curtido and Fried Plantain

Nice, hot masa cakes stuffed with cheese; a cabbage salad with oregano, red pepper, pineapple juice, and vinegar that's been pickling in the back of my fridge for a few months; and some simple fried plantains. Everything is very brown, but whatever.

...After this point, my workplace was ordered to shut down and I switched to eating everything at home.

#PackedLunches

Week of 2/3/20:

Spinach-Feta Orzo with Miso-Mustard Beets

This pasta dish is heavily modified from a recipe that a friend recommended last year. I've never made the recipe as written, because dirtying up three pots for what's supposed to be an easy 30-minute pasta dish offends me, but I like my tweaked version. I use a lot of garlic and onion, skip the browned butter altogether because two fats is enough, and add black pepper, red pepper flakes, and paprika; this time I tried it with feta instead of chèvre. The beets on the side were tossed in a combination of olive oil, akamiso, homemade whole-grain mustard, and salt & pepper, and then roasted until done.

Chicken Yassa with Jasmine Rice and Grated Carrot Salad

My recipe is based on this version of Chicken Yassa; I haven't altered it much, but I use 2 or 3 habaneros (because I like it spicy), and I pull the chicken bones out of the pot once the meat starts falling off of them (because I'm a lazy eater). I forgot to put the olives on top!! This is another dish that I like with a grated carrot salad on the side (with toasted pepitas, dried apricot, honey, lemon, coriander, cumin, basil salt, and black pepper).

This week's snack: a back-of-the-box Hershey's Chocolate Sheet Cake with a Peanut Butter Buttercream, made by my partner.

Week of 2/10/20:

Digaag Qumbe

I'd never tried Somali food before, but this looked similar to curries I made and seemed fairly easy. As per the suggestions in the comments and in the accompanying video, I used Fresno chiles instead of jalapeños, increased all the spices, more than doubled the amounts of vegetables, and served it with fresh spinach, rice, and banana. I really liked the flavor profile!

Peanut Noodles

My usual peanut sauce is based on one in the Sunset Oriental Cookbook; it has peanut butter, water, garlic, ginger, citrus juice, soy sauce, chile paste, and brown sugar. To make noodles like this I usually get water for the noodles going, get the peanut sauce going, and then thinly slice some cabbage and grate some carrots and place them in a large bowl. When the noodles are done I drain them, quickly transfer them to the large bowl before all of the cooking water has dripped/steamed off, and then stir them together with the vegetables (the heat very barely cooks the veggies). When the peanut sauce has thickened enough I dump it into the bowl, too, and mix. My toppings this week were sliced cucumber, pickled ginger, sesame seeds, cilantro, and a delicious failure of a sauce that would have worked perfectly if I'd had a blender instead of a food processor.

Snack: Another cake like above, because we wanted more!

Week of 2/18/20:

Suugo Suqaar

Another Somali dish from the same chef. I made this almost exactly as the video described, and served it with a roasted sweet potato and a banana on the side.

Green Curry with Jasmine Rice

Green curry again! My partner made it this week. It has chicken thighs, carrots, rainbow peppers, and frozen peas, with a ton of cilantro on top.

Snack: Cardamom Mocha Mochi Cake, adding salt, espresso powder, and cardamom to this recipe.

Week of 2/24/20:

Pork & Green Chile Stew with Roasted Broccoli

A simple stew my mom makes. I pulled the bone half of a pork shoulder from my freezer, cooked it with onion, garlic, black pepper, cumin, oregano, and mayacoba beans, shredded the meat when it was done, and added roasted Hatch chiles back with the meat. It's lighter on heat and chiles than I like this time, because the Hatch chiles from my grocery store have tended to be so spicy that I actually had this stew turn out inedible once... The ones I happened to take from the freezer this time had no heat. Side: Broccoli roasted with 21 Seasoning Salute.

Mujaddara with Roasted Beets

Mujaddara from World Vegetarian again. I've been very in the mood for roasted beets lately, and I also served this with the usual caramelized onions and plain yogurt.

Snack: Pepita-Chocolate Chip Cookies, adapted from Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies in The Best Recipe.

#PackedLunches

Week of 1/6/20:

Over winter break I packed and froze enough work lunches to get us through the first week back, and it was nice to revisit meals from the two previous weeks.

Macaroni & Cheese with Roasted Broccoli

A simple, from-scratch mac'n'cheese with a béchamel base. Side: roasted broccoli.

Sambal Noodles

My first time trying out this recipe; substituted turkey for the pork, and cilantro for the basil. Side: roasted broccoli.

West African Peanut Stew

I make this regularly. It started off as a Saveur recipe, but I no longer follow the ingredients list. I usually add way more okra and substitute sweet potato for the eggplant.

Turkey Meatballs with Penne, Chickpeas, and Sweet Potato

Heavily modified from a Bon Appétit recipe. Per a commenter's suggestion I use sweet potato when tomatoes are out of season, and I also add fresh peppers into the meatballs and serve it all over pasta. Side: roasted broccoli.

Week of 1/13/20:

Sambal Noodles

My second time messing around with that noodle recipe; my grocery store never seems to have ground pork, so I used ground beef this time and I substituted green onion for the basil. Side dish: roasted broccoli.

Green Curry

I don't use a recipe for this style of curry. This time I cooked some sliced chicken thighs until mostly done, added onion, ginger, garlic, and curry paste and cooked until softer and fragrant, added carrot, orange bell pepper, and coconut milk, and cooked until the vegetables were tender. I served it over sticky Japanese rice.

Week of 1/21/20:

Mujaddara with Carrot Salad and Yogurt

I've seen a lot of fancy mujaddaras online the last few years, but I still make the plain-and-simple version from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: rice, lentils, onion, olive oil, cumin, pepper, salt. This time I packed a line of grated carrot salad (with toasted pepitas, dried cranberries, lemon juice, honey, cumin and coriander) down the side, topped half of the rice with caramelized onions, and left the other half ready for a glop of plain yogurt that I packed separately.

Kabocha Chili Colorado

I recently gave the recipe for this here, and I am so mad at myself for not photographing it like I meant to. Here I served the chili over rice.

Week of 1/27/20:

Chicken-Lentil Soup

This is a recipe from Bon Appétit that I tried for the first time, with the only alterations being that I used green lentils instead of red, I increased the amounts by half (yielding two packed lunches and two at-home dinners for two people), and I had to increase the cook time slightly to make sure the chicken was cooked through. The soup itself is great, but would be a little one-note without the garnishes. With the garnishes it has lovely contrasts. I'll be making it again.

Mulligatawny Soup

This is one of my standbys. I make the version from Lost Recipes by Marion Cunningham, and she cites the Fannie Farmer Cookbook as an older instance of the dish. It's a pleasing curry with onion, carrot, celery, onion, bell pepper, tomato, and apple, with curry powder, clove, and nutmeg, and plenty of butter. I really like it on rainy days.

#PackedLunches