I remember the 3:00pm slump being the biggest challenge of the 9-to-5 work day. Energy is low. I’ll have been working for more than half the day, but, with plenty of work still to do before the whistle blows, I won’t seem very close to going home. No matter what my productivity had been like, no matter how much I jostled between various pressing needs and priorities, at that very moment only one thing is on my mind: I must take a nap.

But sadly, a nap isn’t an option, at least it wasn’t for me. The next best is a snack and some fresh air. But during your quick walk around the block, be careful not to succumb to one of the more lucrative snack traps, which is a candy bar or some kind of pastry that will weigh you down and put you back in the mood for nap time. 

I was thrilled to recently be asked for some good afternoon snack recommendations. I’ve given snacks a lot of thought over the years. Figuring out how to satisfy the craving in a way that gets the balance right—fills you up but doesn’t weigh you down, and, most importantly, tastes really good—is a game that’s fun to win. Nowadays I work mostly at home, so I have the benefit  of unfettered access to my kitchen and all its amenities. But when I worked daily at an office, I learned that there’s no shame, and nothing to lose, in asking that your office get, say, a toaster oven for the kitchen.

So here’s a dozen of my favorite snacks. Some may seem more obvious than others. Most are meant to be packed up and taken with you to work. You’ll see that I skew toward snacks that aim to provide some energy via “whole” foods (ie, not processed too much), and that pack a bit of flavor. And while I do have a major sweet tooth, I only indulge it once below, and at the end. But this list is by no means comprehensive. I hope you’ll hit the comments with all the great snacks that I’ve overlooked or not thought of yet.

1. These Spicy Kale Chips are a slight variation on the standard method:  Preheat the oven to 300°. Clean 1 bunch of kale, dry thoroughly, and carefully cut out the center rib. I prefer leaving the leaves intact rather than cutting them into small pieces, since they have a tendency to crumble later anyway. Whisk together about a tablespoon of oil, 1 teaspoon harissa, and a few pinches of salt in a mixing bowl, then using your hands, add the kale and toss to coat. Spread out on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 25 minutes, stirring the pan once or twice, until crisp. Cool, then store in a sturdy airtight container (not a plastic bag—you’ll end up with kale chip dust).

2. Popcorn. Cheapest, easiest, most lightweight. I drizzle mine with olive oil and sprinkle it with some kind of seasoned salt—right now it’s the salt blend in this recipe, but in the past it’s been cumin salt, or curry salt, or just salt and pepper, or red pepper flakes, or whatever dry herb blend I have lying around plus salt. You can omit the salt, too! Why not?

3. Toast is my go-to snack. I eat it in the afternoon with olive oil or butter; with almond butter and apple jelly; with a smear of grainy mustard and a piece of sharp cheese; or a pillowy spread of ricotta, a drizzle of honey, sprinkle of flaky salt. And sometimes I eat toast completely unadorned.

4. Dips with Crudites. There can be something ceremonious about dips in the afternoon, sort of like tea time. I still enjoy my Feta and Radish Dip a lot, even if it may have struck readers here as strange—I use it for (freshly toasted) pita triangles, rice crackers, or carrot or celery sticks. I also especially love this vegan spread called Faux Gras, available in the New York City area (and by shipment if you write to The Regal Vegan directly). It’s a perfect blend of lentils, toasted walnuts, caramelized onions, miso, and some other stuff—so remarkably delicious you won’t think twice about the potentially confusing name. And then there’s hummus, nut butters, tzatziki, white bean dip, all of which are very simple to make at home or buy at the grocery store.

5. Curry-Roasted Chickpeas: I’d probably never have given notice to these crunchy little nuggets if my friend Izzy wasn’t obsessed with garbonzo beans. Preheat your oven to 400°. Drain a can of chickpeas and rinse with cold water, then blot dry with a paper towel or tea towel. Spread the beans on a small baking sheet or oven-safe skillet and toss with 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon of your favorite curry powder, and two pinches of Kosher salt. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until crispy, shaking the pan periodically. You can omit the curry if you’d like—Izzy likes them with just a sprinkle of salt—or take the spicing in a multitude of other directions: smoked paprika, cumin, even something like Old Bay. And, according to Izzy, these make a terrific addition to a home salad bar spread. (When was the last time you had a home salad bar spread?)

6. A Hard-Boiled Egg is another snack I rely heavily on. Most of the time, I quarter it lengthwise and sprinkle with a little salt and smoked paprika. To hard-boil eggs, cover eggs with cold water in a small saucepan. Place over high heat. When the water comes to a rolling boil, put a lid on the pan, remove it from the heat, and let stand for 11 minutes. Immediately transfer the eggs to an ice bath until completely cooled. I find that letting them sit in the cold water for 15 to 20 minutes, or more, makes them easier to peel.

7. Yogurt is probably a no-brainer, but a heaping spoonful of good plain yogurt over a diced up crisp apple, dusted with a bit of cinnamon, allspice, and/or nutmeg is a satisfying and successful way to appease my sweet tooth.

8. Pickled Carrots are for when you need a bright and salty pick-me-up. I recently learned this method, which requires some advance planning, from Hiroko Shimbo’s excellent book The Japanese Kitchen. Chop 2 medium to large carrots, peeled if desired, in half, and then cut each piece into lengthwise quarters to make carrot sticks. Toss with 1-1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt, then arrange in a single layer on on a wide, rimmed plate. Now place a second plate on top of the carrots and balance some kind of weight—a few canned goods, or a large liquid measuring cup filled with water—on top of the top plate to weigh the carrots down. This will soften and flavor the carrots, as well as extract moisture. Let stand for about 3 hours at room temperature. Remove the carrots from the extracted liquid (discard the liquid), then place them in a a big resealable plastic bag. Whisk together 1/4 cup mirin, 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar, and 1 tablespoon sugar until the sugar is dissoved, and pour this liquid over the carrots. Seal up the bag, squeezing out as much air as possible without making a mess, and store in the refrigerator overnight. Give the bag a gentle shake periodically to redistribute the liquid. These will keep for 3 or 4 days, stored in the vinegary liquid.

9. I’ve loved Avocados for my whole life, and they’ve always been a reliable snack. I like to eat them plain, one half at a time, with a spoon, right out of the shell. But they’re also good with a spritz of lemon juice and coarse black pepper, or a drizzle of dark soy sauce.

10. Edamame Salad. I used to seek out the edamame salad from the Whole Foods salad bar, the one with the sesame oil and sesame seeds and, if I remember correctly, little strips of nori. Just a few bites packs a good dose of protein and some satisfying savoriness. When I make it at home, it’s usually very improvisational but it goes something like this: Cook a package of frozen edamame beans according to the package instructions and then shock in ice water. Drain. Whisk together 1 tablespoon light olive oil or other neutral oil, 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, 2 teaspoons brown rice vinegar, 1-1/2 teaspoons dark soy sauce, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of sugar. Taste the dressing and adjust if necessary, then toss with the edamame. Add a tablespoon or two of toasted white or black sesame seeds. Add any other adornments you like: a finely minced shallot; a handful of minced chives; a pinch of freshly grated ginger; little strips of nori; a chopped up apple, diced cucumber, or thin slices of radish. This will keep for a few days in an airtight container.

11. Tomato Juice. A few years ago, at a previous job, I worked on a book in which the author references a V8 diet: her doctor instructs her to drink V8 exclusively, to carry it around in her purse and crack one open whenever she gets hungry, promising that the pounds will melt off. I have no idea why it appealed to me—I wasn’t looking to go on a diet, and usually this kind of thing strikes me as silly—but it did. Tomato juice and other vegetable juice blends—it obviously doesn’t necessarily have to specifically be the V8 brand, there are some good organic brands out there—are filling and easy to have on hand. (But watch out for salt levels, if that’s a concern.) If you’re interested in fussing it up, I like mine bloody mary style, with a wedge of lime, a few dashes of hot sauce, and maybe a celery stick.

12. And finally, if you need something sweet: Bittersweet Chocolate with a Few Drops of Good Balsamic Vinegar on It—it may or may not surprise you that I learned this one at the Fancy Food Show—is surefire way to bring a little class to your desk. These Peanut Butter Cookies are a hit at my apartment, and quick; I’ve been able to throw the dough together in the window of time between getting dinner into the oven and out on the table. And if you need a little square of a really indulgent brownie, these Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts will fit the bill.

Vegetarian Tonight with Lukas Volger: Mushroom Burgers with Barley

Previously, Vegetarian Tonight with Lukas Volger: Weeknight Fritatta

When I think of fried rice, I think of, well, takeout containers, but I also think of vegetables that have a lot of crunch. This is one of the primary principles behind the stir-fry method: vegetables get a shock of very high heat, are tossed—literally tossed in a wok by a flick of the wrist—and that’s about it.

To accomplish this, each ingredient is cooked separately. This may seem tedious on paper, but trust me, it’s so not a big deal. The only real elbow grease required in a dish like this is to chop all the vegetables, and if you eat vegetables with any frequency at all, those are some familiar muscles you’ll be flexing.

That said, this isn’t traditional fried rice. It diverges because a lot of its bulk comes from leftover roasted vegetables, which you probably know are not known for their snappy texture or quick-cooking method. But for a few weeks now I’ve been in creative leftovers mode. With my CSA delivering a weekly lot of beets, turnips, and parsnips, I’ve been getting in the habit of roasting a tray, and then using them up in a few different meals throughout the week.

I’ve repeated this fried rice a few times now, using those leftover roasted veggies, as well as leftover cooked rice. It’s pretty quick to throw together, but what I like best is that it demands you to improvise. My version has roasted beets, turnips, parsnips, and broccoli, as well as a few handfuls of kale in it—that’s what happened to be in my fridge. Your version will likely be a little different. Just follow the method below for the seasoning sauce, assemble it in a similar manner, and you’re set. No takeout containers in sight, and your leftovers will be so transformed by the facelift that you’ll greet them anew.

Roasted Winter Vegetable Fried Rice

The sauce here may look familiar if you’ve made the Pad Thai in Vegetarian Entrees that Won’t Leave You Hungry. My brother gave me the great idea to repurpose that sauce for fried rice. 

Serves 2 or 3

1 tablespoon lime juice (from about half a lime)
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
4 teaspoons soy sauce (GF tamari for the gluten intolerant)
1 heaping teaspoon chili paste, such as sambal oelek
1 teaspoon white or rice vinegar
Neutral, high-smoke-point oil
1 egg, lightly beaten (optional)
2 cups leftover roasted root vegetables, like beets, turnips, parsnips, or winter squash**
2 handfuls leafy greens, such as kale, chard, beet greens, or spinach
1 medium shallot, minced
2 plump garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 cups leftover cooked rice *
1/2 cup mung bean sprouts
2 tablespoons fresh herbs, such as cilantro, basil, or chives

1. Whisk together the lime juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, chili paste, and vinegar in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup.

2. If using egg, heat about a tablespoon of the oil in a deep skillet (or wok) over medium-high heat. Pour it in and quickly scramble (you can use chopsticks to do this if you’d like). Transfer to a plate or a bowl.

3. Wipe out the pan if necessary, raise the heat a touch, and add a splash of oil. Add the cooked vegetables and toss, cooking just until heated through, then add them to the plate with the eggs. Add the greens to the pan and cook until wilted as you like. Transfer to the plate.

4. If the pan seems dry, add another splash of oil. Add the shallots, garlic, and ginger and cook just until tender and fragrant, a minute or two. Swirl in the soy sauce mixture, so that it coats as much surface area of the pan as possible (this helps it caramelize slightly). Add the rice, toss quickly to heat up, and then stir in the vegetables. Lastly stir in the eggs, bean sprouts, and herbs. Serve hot.

* How to cook rice: Rice is so temperamental it can drive me mad. I go back and forth on the best way to steam it. One moment I’ll think I’ve got it figured out, but then I step up to the stove (confidence having made me cocky) and it comes out undercooked, just to spite me. When I stick with 1 cup of uncooked (rinsed) (brown) rice to 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water, steam it for 45 minutes, let it stand for 5, it’s perfect. But if I up that to 2 cups rice and follow the same formula, something will go haywire. So here’s what I do when I’m not feeling confident: I boil it. Bring a pot of water to boil, add salt, add rice, and cook: 15 minutes for white rice, 35 minutes for brown rice. Taste it at the end of that time. If it’s underdone, keep cooking it. If it’s perfect, just pour the contents into fine-mesh strainer to drain thoroughly.

** How to roast vegetables: Preheat your oven to 400° F. Peel the vegetables for which you don’t want to eat the skin. Chop into uniformly sized pieces, toss with a bit of olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. If roasting multiple types of vegetables on a single baking sheet, try to keep them separated so that it will be easy enough to remove the one that cooks more quickly than the others. Roast, checking every 10 minutes or so, until tender, removing the ones that cook first.

Vegetarian Tonight with Lukas Volger: Weeknight Fritatta

I just had a long holiday vacation where I visited friends and family in Reno, San Francisco, and South Lake Tahoe, and when I arrived home last night, it seemed ever clear that 2012 is going to be spelled b-u-d-g-e-t. This soup—which ought to get me through a couple meals—is one of the first things I made.

If on first glance it doesn’t strike you as very cheap, that’s probably just because we outfit our kitchens differently. I always have these ingredients, aside from the chard and maybe the beans, on hand. Harissa, a spicy North African pepper paste, goes into many dishes, sometimes with unorthadox flair: stirred into some olive oil as a drizzling or bread-dipping sauce, added to scrambled eggs, and even to carbonara-style pasta. And whole cumin seeds, rather than ground, turn up in most savory dishes that I cook. Neither are all that expensive, and if you take to these ingredients as I have, you’ll find yourself cooking with them often.

Here, the bean cooking liquid doubles as the soup stock. This not only saves stock as an ingredient, but it adds richness and body to the soup. And the bean cooking method, which I mentioned in Veggie Burgers Every Which Way, is one I read about in a New York Times article by Amanda Hesser. You simmer the beans in just enough water to cover them, and then use a heat-proof bowl containing some water as the lid to the pot. As the beans begin absorb the water and rise above the water level, pour in—using oven mittens! the bowl will get hot!—just a bit of the simmering water from the bowl into the pot. It results in a rich and concentrated liquid. If the method seems too fussy to you, I suppose you could just use a regular old lid, and then add piping hot tap water to the pot as needed.

I don’t have too many photos for this soup, so I’m including some from my trip. We went on a hike while we were in Lake Tahoe—there’s no snow so far this year—and came across this beautiful, frozen mountain lake. It was a dynamic start to 2012. I’m wishing you the best for new year!

A Cheap and Satisfying Red Bean Soup

Serves 4 or 5

3/4 pound (scant 2 cups) dry red beans, soaked overnight (I used “Red Merlot Beans” from my CSA, but kidney beans, or any other red or even black ones you have on hand, would be fine)
Olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 medium white onion, diced
1 bunch chard
4 or 5 plump garlic cloves, slivered
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon harissa
1 tablespoon tomato paste

1. Place the soaked beans in a pot. Add enough water so that they are just covered—this will probably be between 4 and 5 cups water. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, add a few cups of water to a large, heat-safe mixing bowl (I use a cheap metal one) that’s wide enough to act as a lid to the pot the beans are in. After the pot is boiling, add a glug—a tablespoon or so—of olive oil, and reduce the heat so that the liquid is simmering. Cover the pot with the bowl of water. Check on the beans every 15 minutes, using oven mittens as you pick up the bowl, and as the beans begin to plump up and rise above the water level, pour water from the bowl into the pot so as to keep them covered. Cook for 45 minutes and taste. They should be getting close. Add the salt then cover the pan and continue cooking, adding more water if necessary, until totally tender. Don’t undercook the beans—as Cathy Erway wrote on her blog a while ago, “there’s little attraction to ‘al dente’ beans.”

2. When the beans are tender, turn off the heat. Use an immersion blender and puree for a few pulses, just to give the liquid a creamy consistency; leave most of the beans whole. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, puree a ladleful or two of the beans in a blender or a food processor with some cooking liquid until creamy, then scoop the mixture back into the pot.)

3. As the beans cook, separate the chard leaves from their stems. Slice the stems thinly, as you would celery, and set aside. Slice the leaves into thin ribbons and set them aside.

4. After you add the salt to the beans, heat a generous amount of oil—I used 3 to 4 tablespoons, but you can use less—in a skillet over medium or medium-high heat. Add the onion and the chard stems and cook until caramelized, adjusting the heat if they begin to burn. This will take 20 to 30 minutes. Taste them and make sure they’re tender and sweet. Add the garlic, cumin, harissa, tomato paste, and a big pinch of salt to the pan and cook for 2 or 3 minutes more, until fragrant. Add a ladleful of the bean cooking liquid to the skillet and deglaze it, using a wooden spoon to scrape up all the browned bits. Transfer this mixture to the pot of perfectly cooked beans.

5. Bring the pot back to a boil, then reduce to an active simmer. Add the chard leaves, cover, and cook until the chard is silky and tender, another 3 to 5 mintues. If the soup seems too thick, add a bit of water to thin it out. Taste for salt and acid—you may want to add a few drops of lemon juice to brighten it up.