Salad Days

Lunch can be so savage in New York.  We have thirty minutes to an hour to run out and claw our way through the long lunch lines for pre-packaged sandwiches and styrofoam-bound steam table foods.  We barely have time to wolf everything down before clocking back in, much less to digest and savor our food.  I've always thought that life would be wonderful if I could just take two hours off in the middle of the day everyday to prepare something fresh and hot, eat on real plates with real silverware, finish with a cup of tea, and slowly ease my way back into work.

If you're like me, those five places within walking distance of the office get pretty monotonous pretty quickly.  And I refuse to support work cafeterias and pour my paycheck back into the company in return for heat lamp-warmed institutional wares.

Even if you've only got 15 minutes to eat lunch while working at your desk, you should eat something that makes you happy.  That sustenance is going to have to carry you through the rest of your work day.  And treating yourself doesn't have to mean taking two hours for the prix-fixe at Jean Georges.  For me, it means freshly cut fruits or crisp veggies, and foods that don't scream, "I died of radiation poisoning in the microwave."

I love the variety you get from upscale salad bars at places like City Bakery and my local work eatery, Deb's.  But I'm always the loser that piles on way too much potato salad and winds up paying more for my lunch than I've earned working through the morning.  Now that summer is here, it's time to start packing my own lunches with fresh veggies. 

My problem with making lunch is that:
A.) I don't want to wake up early for any reason, so it better be easy to prepare and pack the night before;
B.) It better still taste good after being refrigerated for 20 hours; and
C.) Even though it's easiest to bring leftovers from the night before, I don't want to eat the exact same meal I did the night before.

Here are some hassle-free Sunday night recipes for lots of midday nosh choices that will keep well in your work fridge but won't break the bank.

Oven-roasted Tomatoes

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Halve lengthwise and remove the stem end of 4 plum tomatoes.  Pour 1 tbsp. olive oil into the bottom of a baking dish.  Place tomato halves in the dish, cut side up.  Dribble one teaspoon of honey, 1 tbsp. olive oil and sprinkle 2 cloves of chopped garlic, plenty of salt and pepper over the tomatoes.  Bake for 25 minutes.

Cucumber salad

Halve two Persian cucumbers lengthwise.  Thinly slice the cucumbers on a diagonal.  Thinly slice 1/4 of a red onion.  Toss together with 2 tbsp. chopped fresh dill, 1 tbsp. good quality rice vinegar, 1 tsp. honey, salt and pepper.  Refrigerate before serving.

Chickpeas with olive mash

Drain and rinse one can of chickpeas.  Mash 6-7 good quality (not canned California) black olives with a mortar and pestle.  Toss 1/2 chickpeas and olive mash with 1 tbsp. chopped parsley and a squirt of fresh lemon.  Save the other half of the chickpeas for later use.

No mayo tuna salad

Drain one can of tuna.  Add 1 tbsp. chopped dill, 8 chopped capers, 1 tsp. olive oil, 1 tbsp. minced red onion.

* Here's a tip -- keep a bottle of olive oil, a bottle of vinegar, and some dijon mustard at work to make fresh vinaigrettes.  It's easy, and I'm sure there's room in that little kitchenette for a couple of bottles.  That way, you can just pick up triple washed greens, radishes, carrots, and maybe a piece of smoked chicken or smoked trout at the Greenmarket on your way to work and have delicious, envy-inducing salads for lunch.  I'm bringing my Laguiole knife to work, which I plan on using on everything from paring fruit to slicing up cheese.  I'm even bringing my pepper mill.  My little desk larder's starting to fill out nicely.