How to eat every day

How to eat every day: cook up a large batch of grains and legumes (beans, lentils) sometime in the week you’ve got time and you’re in the mood for it (the weekend, maybe). Go to the market, get excited about the produce, buy some veggies, get home and cook some of them right away: grill some eggplant or peppers, roast some roots, steam some greens… At some point when you’re out, swing by a supermarket and grab any staples you may need that don’t go bad like oil, vinegar, nut butter or tahini, cans of chickpeas, spices, etc.  Maybe a couple of fresh things as well, like tofu or nut/soy milk.

During the week, when hunger strikes, make a quick random dressing or sauce: no recipe, just put shit together that may potentially somehow taste good. If you were too lazy to cook those legumes, crack open a can instead or slice up some tofu. Toss that with the grains and cooked veggies and any other fresh thing you’ve got hanging around like tomatoes, sprouts, herbs, etc. This last step is essential: eat the whole thing right out of the tupperware container.

It may not be gourmet, but following this rough guideline should help get some quick, cheap, healthy, tasty meals on the table – good for weekday lunches or hurried dinners or when you’re just too lazy to turn the stove on. And by randomly throwing stuff together you learn: lovage does not go well with ginger, for example. But miso dressing and fresh mint ain’t bad.

For the curious, here’s today’s mix: cooked buckwheat, sauteed eggplant (both from a few days ago), spring onion, mung beans sprout, a very random herb mix (lovage, parsley, mint, chives), and the dressing: in a tahini jar that was just about finished, drizzled in some olive oil and pumpkin seed oil, some lemon juice, some chili flakes, some smoked paprika, some bulgarian spice mix, and some fresh ginger (a bad idea, in retrospect). Shook it all up, tossed with the rest of the stuff, and devoured.