Make-ahead treasures

Ease the chore of stay-at-home lunches by preparing meals you can mine later

My collection of brown paper sacks, insulated lunch bags and reusable salad containers fill a drawer in my kitchen. For decades, we have carved out a little morning time to pack lunch for school and work. This fall, few of us will tote a sack lunch to an actual school or office building. Instead, we’ll open the fridge a dozen times a day in search of satisfaction and distraction.

Planning proves the key to nourishing lunches squeezed into busy schedules. Mostly, I cook ahead adding extra chicken breasts, salmon fillets, pork tenderloin or sliced eggplants to Sunday dinner plans. Likewise, I’ll cook an extra sweet potato or head of broccoli to have cooked vegetables at the ready. I’m so happy to turn these items into lunch.

To ease salad preparation, I rinse and spin a variety of lettuces, then store the greens in a covered container lined with a piece of paper towel for a mix that will last all week. A bag of cut-up raw vegetables saves me from relying on salty snacks for crunch.

Over the weekend, I spend time hard-cooking a dozen eggs for easy, high-protein snacking or a simple sandwich with a slice of tomato or pickle. Keep egg salad feeling fresh by offering various flavor additions or a crunchy topping.

These days, our pantry shelves hold plenty of nut butters, jams, tinned fish such as tuna, salmon and sardines, along with interesting mustards and mayonnaise. I rely on these staples when fresh supplies run low.

I stock interesting breads in the freezer — including pitas from the local bakery, whole wheat flour tortillas, whole grain buns and take-andbake ciabatta and pretzel rolls.

Staples, such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches feel fresh when I pair a thick jam with a bit of fruit. Check out the nut butter and jam recipe that follows, which tucks fresh blueberries into blueberry jam and crunchy nut butter. When we’re lunching at home, we butter the outside of the sandwiches and grill them on the panini press. Just don’t overload the jam or it will ooze out onto the hot surface and cause a mess.

My spice drawer proves inspiration for keeping our everyday cooking thrilling without a huge time commitment. Turmeric, a warm-tasting spice, pairs beautifully with earthy paprika and cumin — spices I always have on hand. Mixed with a bit of grated onion and garlic, I make a marinade that does double duty as a seasoning for fish fillets and the basis of a no-cook creamy sauce.

I serve the salmon and sauce for dinner and pile leftovers onto toasted pita the next day for lunch. The fish and yogurt sauce also taste great cold served over Boston or bibb lettuce. The turmeric marinade tastes equally delicious with boneless chicken breasts and pork tenderloin. If you butterfly the chicken breasts and the pork tenderloin, the cook time will be about the same as the salmon — about 10 minutes.

BRIAN CASSELLA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE; SHANNON KINSELLA/FOOD STYLING Turmeric, a warm-tasting spice, pairs beautifully with earthy paprika and cumin to make a marinade for fish fillets.