This year, as part of a plan to save more money, I’m pushing myself to bring lunch to work at least 4 days per week. For me, it saves a TON of cash (I work in an area where eating lunch out will cost you anywhere from $10-$20 per day, unfortunately), but the other benefit is that there’s a huge opportunity to eat healthfully more often too.

The only difficulty is coming up with dishes that can last a few days, because the reality is, I can’t cook every night and guarantee leftovers for myself. It can also be tough because dishes that hold especially well — namely, pastas and casseroles — tend to be refined carb heavy, which is something I’m trying to get away from. Soups are great, but I can only deal with so many weeks of soup before I’m ready for something else.

This week, I decided to make a simple bean salad, dressed with lemon and olive oil, which will hold at least until Wednesday. My plan is to bring a side serving of it each day, and then have it accompany a small sandwich or whatever leftovers I end up scrounging together from the previous night’s dinner (this would be great with some roasted chicken, or even atop a green salad). It’s colorful, flavorful, and filled with items that I specifically selected so that they wouldn’t be mushy by day 2 (I’m looking at you, cucumber).

You could easily take this idea and substitute whatever beans and herbs you have on hand. And if you’re eating it straight away, feel free to add in items like cucumber, tomato, even a little bit of feta cheese.

Get the (very easy!) recipe, after the jump.

Simple Bean Salad

1 can cannellini beans
1 can adzuki beans (these aren’t always in stores; substitute kidney beans instead)
1 can quartered artichoke hearts
2 carrots
1 bunch curly leaf parsley, washed
1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
2 lemons
1/4 cup + more to taste extra virgin olive oil
–kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

In a colander, pour out the beans and the artichoke hearts, and rinse under cool water. Set aside and allow to drain.

Using a box grater, grate the carrots. Add to a medium sized glass bowl. Cut away the leaves from the stems of the parsley, and quickly chop. Add this and the chopped onion to the bowl. Using a microplane, zest the lemons over the bowl, then cut and half, and juice them over the bowl. Add in the beans and artichoke hearts, pour in the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, then toss to combine. Taste the salad and season with more salt and pepper, lemon juice, olive oil, or even the vinegar of your choice (red wine, white wine, or even apple cider vinegar could work well here) until you like the way it tastes. Refrigerate for up to 3 or 4 days.

Remember, this is a plain salad meant to last me a few days for lunch. Spruce it up with more veggies, cheese, diced chicken — whatever you have on hand!

UPDATE: And, after eating this about 24 hours later, I can vouch that it’s even better after marinating in the lemon juice and olive oil. Lunch today = YUM.

I appreciate virtually all genre of foods, but one of my absolute favorites is Mediterranean. The textures, bright flavors and use of healthful ingredients (greens! citrus! herbs! olive oil!) make it easy to love. Last week, I woke up one morning with a big  craving for Mediterranean, and set out to make something to sate my appetite that evening. The catch? I’m going to Cabo this week. I needed it to be bikini friendly!

Now, lest you read the rest of this recipe and think “bikini friendly?!”, I should note that for me, that meant limited carbs and only healthy fats. I don’t mind being stuffed to the gills if it’s with mostly vegetables! But, my splurges in this recipe included the use of dark chicken meat (which, to be honest, I normally use anyway because I think it has so much more flavor and is easier to cook), as well as a little bit of feta cheese. But otherwise, I think I did pretty well!

Starting with a quick marinade of lemon juice, honey and herbs, I cooked the chicken legs to golden brown deliciousness. While they finished in the oven, I whipped together a side “Greek” salad with tomatoes, cucumber, shallot and feta cheese. I loved that this dinner packed so much flavor and nutrition, but since everything was cooked in one skillet, it was also a cinch to clean up!

Mediterranean Chicken with Honey, Lemon and Oregano, Quick-braised Chard and Greek Salad

Easily serves 2 hungry people; Difficulty Level: Intermediate-Beginner

For the Chicken:

• 3 Meyer lemons (see note at bottom)
• 5 sprigs oregano, leaves stripped, minced
• 1 tbsp honey (more to taste, see note at bottom)
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 for cooking
• –kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
• Two whole skin on, bone in chicken legs, split between leg and thigh (you can also buy separately if whole legs are not available), cleaned and pat dry with paper towels

For the Salad:

• 4 extra small vine cluster tomatoes (look for ones a slightly bigger than golf balls — I used the Campari variety), cut into eighths
• 5″ piece of organic cucumber, washed well, sliced however you prefer (I did quarter rounds. Note: you can peel the cucumber if you like, but I personally like the rind, as long as it’s from an organic cuc)
• 1 medium shallot, outer paper peeled and roughly chopped 
• 2 sprigs oregano, leaves stripped and minced
• 0.2 oz feta
• Juice of half a lemon (use the leftover lemon half from the marinade, above)
• extra virgin olive oil to taste (I used about 3 tbsp)
• –kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

For the Chard:

• 1 whole bunch white Swiss Chard, cleaned, tough white stems removed and leafy greens chopped into large pieces

For the chicken:

Preheat your oven to 375°. Zest two of the lemons and place the zest in a small bowl. Cut all three lemons in half and juice 5 of the halves (2.5 lemons total) into the bowl, taking care to not let any seeds fall in. Reserve the last half of lemon for the Greek salad. Add in the minced oregano, the honey, 3 tbsp of the extra virgin olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Stir until the honey and lemon juice are well emulsified into the oil.

Place the chicken pieces in a shallow baking dish. Pour the marinade over the chicken. If you have time, you can let this sit for 20-30 minutes, otherwise, let it sit for five (I was in a hurry and did the quick marinade, and it turned out great). In a medium oven-safe skillet, heat the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat until very hot, but not smoking. Add in the chicken pieces skin side down with tongs (do not pour in the marinade yet) and allow to brown on the first side, about 2 minutes. Try not to move the meat around, so it will turn brown without tearing. The honey will cause things to brown more quickly, so keep an eye on it.

When the meat has browned on the first side, quickly turn all the pieces over with tongs and pour in the marinade from the baking dish. Quickly stir with the tongs to release any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. If you are using a pan that has a wider diameter and the amount of liquid looks low, add in a few tablespoons of water. You want the total amount of liquid to be about 1/4″ deep, maybe a tiny bit more. Immediately move the entire pan to the oven. Cook for 15-20 minutes, uncovered, or until the chicken is just cooked through, depending on the size of your pieces and your oven. The juices/sauce will have reduced down.

Remove the chicken from the oven, and transfer the pieces onto a heat proof plate. Using oven mitts (careful!), pick up the skillet and pour about 2/3 of the leftover juices over the chicken on the plate. Tent with foil until ready to serve.

For the salad:

While the chicken is cooking (or marinating, you can do this step during either break), combine all the ingredients for the Greek salad, toss, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Having this extra time will allow the ingredients to meld a bit.

For the chard:

Okay, so your cooked chicken should be resting on the plate and now you have the skillet with a bit of the marinade leftover. Using an oven mitt (’cause remember, the pan is hot since you just took it from the oven!), place the skillet with the chicken juices and reduced marinade onto the stove over medium heat. It should begin simmering quickly, since the pan is already so hot from being in the oven. Add the chopped chard into the skillet, turning with the tongs until it is wilted and cooked through, about 5 minutes. You shouldn’t need to season this very much since the juices in the pan already had seasoning.

To plate, mound a bit of the greens up, place one or two of the chicken pieces on top, and garnish with the salad on the side. Pour as much of the reserved chicken juices over the meat as you’d like.

NOTES: If you can’t find Meyer lemons, use regular lemons instead. You might want to taste the marinade and see if you want to add in more honey, as Meyer lemons tend to be sweeter than regular lemons. You can also try this recipe with chicken breasts if you don’t want to use dark meat, just be SURE not to overcook them, because the moist heat in the oven will quickly make the meat tough if you don’t watch it. Finally, if you have any leftovers and store this in the fridge, don’t forget to pour any reserved sauce over the chicken. It’ll continue to marinate overnight and be extra delicious when you heat it up tomorrow (I did this and trust me, it’s good stuff).

Two weekends ago when I was in LA, we closed out the weekend with a lovely brunch at Square One. Located on the eastern edge of Hollywood (and in the shadow of a very spooky looking Scientology building…no, really), the menu is filled with cure-alls to late night rabble rousing: brioche French toast, eggs benedict, omelets made with chorizo and cheese, and strips of bacon so thick they cost $2 per piece.

Having just spent the weekend doing a lot of good eating and drinking though, I decided to do what I knew my body would appreciate in the long run. I ordered a big salad. On the special menu that day was a warm farro salad, made with arugula, grilled corn, sugar snap peas, avocado, feta cheese and a lemony vinaigrette. Mmm.

Sure enough, the salad was satisfying — maybe not so much as a big, cheesy omelet, but I certainly felt great afterwards. Whole grain, greens and a little dose of cheese make anyone feel like they can take on the world.

Joe and I are always looking for new ways to make a regular old salad interesting (and of course, actually leave us full), so I was inspired to re-create my own version of the Square One salad back here in San Francisco. I inadvertently left the corn out, but with the addition of cherry tomatoes, it was the perfect meal this last Saturday night, one of the warmest nights we’ve had all year.

Warm Farro Salad with Mixed Greens

• scant 1/4 cup best quality extra virgin olive oil (may need more or less depending on preferences)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup semi-pearled farro (look for varieties that cook in around 20 minutes)
• 2 big handfuls sugar snap peas, washed
• 1 1/2 cups whole cherry tomatoes, any variety, washed, stemmed and halved
• 1 large avocado, diced
• 4 big handfuls of mixed greens or arugula (a little less than you would serve for two people)
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• Zest and juice of one lemon
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup loosely packed basil, washed and roughly chopped
• – sea or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 oz feta cheese (I like the kind that is soaking in brine versus the pre-crumbled variety)

In a medium sized pot, bring several cups of water to a boil. Add in 1 tbsp of the olive oil, a few dashes of sea salt, a sprinkling of freshly ground pepper, and the bay leaf. Pour in the farro and cook for 20 minutes, or as the package directs.

While the farro cooks, chop the snap peas into 1/2 – 3/4-inch pieces. Add to a large mixing bowl. Add in the tomatoes, avocado pieces, and the greens.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the mustard, lemon zest, lemon juice, the red wine vinegar, and the chopped basil, and whisk until combined. Season well with salt and pepper, then pour in the remaining olive oil — more or less depending on your preference for vinaigrette (I tend to like mine with a little tang and punch). Let this sit for at least a few minutes, so that the flavors can marry and the basil can breakdown a little bit.

Drain the farro very well. Pour as much of the vinaigrette as you’d like over the salad, and gently toss. Divide the salad by half and pile it onto two plates or in shallow bowls (be sure to divide up all the garnishes equally!), then top each serving with half of the warm farro. Crumble a bit of the feta cheese on top, and serve.

Recently though, Joe and some of his co-workers went in together on part of a cow. Have you heard of these awesome programs? Actually, the concept and practice of animal/meat sharing has been around for a while (see one this very early VMAC + Cheese post), but I still think it’s great. If you have enough room in a freezer, you, individually, can purchase part or all of a farm-raised animal, thus eliminating the need for a middle man (your grocer), thereby lowering your cost on high quality meat and giving you a freezer full of cuts to use over the course of a year or so. More logical for us big city folk without garages and extra freezers is to share part of an animal with friends (or co-workers). So that’s what we did. We invested in part of a 98% grass fed* steer, and were able to bring home a bunch of ground beef (which I turned into burgers, meatloaf and meatballs), sirloin steaks (steak salads, tacos), stew meat (obvious) and a large tri-tip, which the processor had labeled as London Broil.

[*NOTE: Why 98% grass fed? I believe in the last two weeks of its life, they finished the animal on corn to amp up the marbling. Many, many producers--even small time farms--do this because most Americans are unaccustomed to 100% grass fed beef, and can sometimes be put off by the intense, gamey flavors it produces. I happen to love it, but a few weeks of grain feeding was okay, too.]

The tri-tip was the last thing to go, simply because it was so big and I wasn’t sure what I should make with it. Then I realized, I should just (under)roast the damn thing, and use it throughout the week, however I saw fit. So that’s what I did. I seasoned it heavily, threw it in the oven, and wa-la. The cost of the roast was around $15 or $16, but it provided 4 meals for us: obscenely huge and decadent steak sandwiches with caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, and melted cheddar on ciabatta; two types of steak salad; and simply sliced with a salad served alongside. Considering the quality of the meat, I couldn’t be happier.

Inspired by the ease and speed with which I was able to put together 4 dinners, I purchased a similar cut of buffalo at the market last week. The key with both of these cuts was to underroast the meat. That’s because when you re-heat it, the meat will cook a bit more, so if you were to prefer your meat medium well (um, why?), and cooked it to medium well, your re-heated meat would be well done or beyond. For the beef, I cooked the meat to just rare, so that subsequent meals would see us eating perfectly done medium rare meat. For the buffalo, I cooked it to just beyond blue, because buffalo tends to be super lean, and overcooking it means you’ll be dining on a rubber chew toy.

One of the buffalo meals I swiftly put together this week included the sliced meat, with a balsamic sauce and steamed veggies (Obviously, we were trying to be a bit more healthful during the week so I could do things like dim sum, cocktails and mac and cheese over the weekend. 2 of these 3 things were part of my Friday night.). The balsamic sauce is one of the quickest, easiest sauces you can make, and people universally love it since the flavor is so familiar, just made more luxurious with the addition of butter. A1 steak sauce? Who needs it?

Completely awful photo of roasted buffalo with balsamic sauce. I had already started eating, realized I should take a picture, then realized my camera was out of battery. I charged the battery for ONE MINUTE, which was just enough to take three very hasty shots of this, by which time the sauce had saturated the meat and begun to cool on the plate. And yes, I was eating on the living room floor that night. We need to move into an apartment that actually has room for a dining table. And, I need a new camera. Ooh, foreshadowing!

You know, I meant to write this post just about the balsamic sauce itself, but I think this turned out better. I have three really great recipes for you. They will all serve two very hungry people. After the jump.

Big Mouth Steak Sandwiches

Preheat the broiler in your oven. In a medium saute pan, heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil over medium heat. Once shimmering, add in the onions, and season with salt, pepper and the sugar. Allow to cook, moving them around occasionally, until they are beginning to brown (but not burn) on the edges. The sugar should help expedite the process, especially if this is for a quick weeknight meal. If you want to make balsamic caramelized onions, carefully add in the vinegar and allow to reduce until syrupy and coating the onions. Once caramelized, remove from the heat and set aside.

On a sheet pan, lay the ciabatta face up, and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Toast under the broiler until the crumb is just beginning to brown. Remove from the oven, and if using, spread condiments on the bread. Layer each side of the bread with cheddar cheese, and put back under the broiler until bubbling and gooey. Remove from the oven.

Layer the bottom half of the bread with the sliced tomato and red pepper, then the meat, then the arugula and onions. Top with the other half of the bread, slice into eatable portions, and serve.

Fiesta Steak Salad (Jeff, you’ll love the vinaigrette in this)

Preheat your oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce and spinach and corn.

In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, yellow onion and jalapeno. Season well with salt and pepper, and gently toss. Allow to sit, so that the tomatoes give up their juices and the mixture becomes a quick, simple salsa.

On a large sheet pan, toss the cubed bread with enough olive oil to coat each piece. Sprinkle the bread with salt and pepper, as much cayenne as you’d like, and the zest of one of your limes. Toss together. Bake the croutons for 10 minutes, or until they are crisp and golden.

Meanwhile, combine the lime juice, lemon juice, cilantro, garlic, honey, EVOO and salt and pepper in a blender. Blend until completely smooth, and almost creamy (go Vita Mix!).

Pour as much of the dressing as you want over the lettuce, and toss. Plate the salad on serving plates. Garnish with the avocado, the sliced meat, and cheddar. Top with the salsa, sprinkle a few croutons around the dish, and serve.

Balsamic sauce

In a slope-sided saucepan or saute pan, heat 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar with 1 tsp sugar. Bring to a simmer, and reduce the mixture until only 1/4 remains. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and whisk in 1 to 2 tbsp of cold butter, one tbsp at a time. The sauce should thicken, and easily coat the back of a spoon. Serve over roast beef, roast buffalo, vegetables, chicken, on sandwiches–pretty much anywhere that you need a little balsamic pick-me-up.

“I’ve got one full flat left,” Tory Sr. had told me just minutes earlier at the market, “Do you have something to do with all of them?” 

In my mind, I knew Joe was on a diet, so delectable baked goods like cobblers and crisps were probably out, unless I wanted to consume the entire thing myself (an option only when it’s NOT bikini season).  But I knew straight away there would be no refusing, no questioning — you just don’t turn down a flat of peaches.  You find something to do with them, come hell or high water.  I’d happily and gratefully accepted the fruit from Tory Sr, and flounced home.

So here I was tonight, a good 15 peaches still leftover from Saturday, quickly ripening and needing to be consumed.  My solution?  Spinach salad with grilled peaches and bacon.  Sweet + salty + smoky + bitter = an amazing warm summer salad.  It didn’t use up all the peaches, but it’s another 2 resting peacefully in my belly.  Recipe and photos after the jump.

Spinach salad with grilled peaches, bacon and balsamic glaze vinaigrette

• 4 cups loosely packed baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
• 1/2 small head radicchio, cored and coarsely chopped
• 1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
• few sprigs fresh lemon thyme
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• –kosher salt and pepper to taste
• 4 strips good quality bacon (I like Prather Ranch’s bacon – it’s ridiculously expensive, but worth every penny, especially since the hogs are all pasture raised.  The bacon comes out tasting creamy — really!  It’s just so delicious, and so decadent.)
• 2 tbsp canola oil, or vegetable oil
• 2 ripe Sweet Scarlet peaches, or other freestone white-fleshed peach, halved and pit removed

Preheat oven to 400° F.  Combine the spinach, shallot and the radicchio in a large bowl, and toss to evenly distribute.

getting mise en place together for the salad...

In a small saucepan, heat the balsamic vinegar and the sugar until the mixture is simmering.  Reduce by half.  While the mixture is reducing, strip the lemon thyme of its leaves, and place them in a small bowl.  Once the balsamic mixture has reduced, pour it directly into the bowl, over the lemon thyme.  The heat will help steep the leaves.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, add in the water, then set aside to cool.

Line a baking sheet with parchment or tin foil.  Lay the strips of bacon on it, then bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the bacon is cooked all the way through.  It should have shrunk in size quite noticeably.  Remove from the baking sheet and set on paper towels to drain.  You may need to dab the bacon with another sheet of paper towel to absorb any excess grease.

While the bacon cooks, heat a small grill pan over medium high heat, and brush it lightly with the canola oil.  Once hot, grill the four peach halves until the cut side is browned with grill marks.  Remove from the grill and set aside.

To plate, whisk the olive oil into the cooled balsamic-thyme mixture until it’s well emulsified.  Pour the dressing over the greens, tossing to coat.  Mound the greens up on your serving platter or plate.  Chop the bacon into large pieces, then sprinkle over the salad.  Garnish with the peach halves and serve.

Reducing the balsamic for the vinaigrette

Gorgeous lemon thyme

Peach perfection

Delish!

No, really. DELISH.