This weekend Paul has been feeling a bit under the weather, and after a few too many bland 'sick meals' of rice and bananas noted that his taste buds were crying out for flavor. I responded with this warmly spiced Beef and Apricot Tangine. Two bowls in, Paul claimed optimism about his imminent recovery. North African tangines are traditionally cooked in an eponymous earthenware pot and often rather complex. By virtue of the necessity of (calmly and serenely) cooking between gleeful crawling baby and voluble toddler chatter, our simplified take of a Beef and Apricot Tangine takes inspiration from Morocco's tangines, while simplifying the cooking process and ingredient list. This stew is rich in texture, deeply spiced, and a lovely balance of sweet and sour; a perfect late February weekend meal.

Paul and I work at the same hospital, and often get to eat our lunches together. This also means that we both share equally in the misery that is a bad lunch day. A few weeks ago, one memorably mediocre lunch involved a leftover potato soup, which turned a nasty viscous texture when reheated. Disgusted, we foraged in our desks and put together a 'desk picnic' of stale pretzels and pastel mints, that tasted faintly of the ‘spring grass’ candle they were sitting beside in my desk drawer. Shuddering at the thought of that big batch of potato soup waiting at home as future lunches, I went on a lunch-making-blitz. My goal was a flavorful and colorful mix of filling grains, beans, vegetables, herbs, nuts and cheese that would energize us throughout the day. I started experimenting and prepping big bunches of grains, beans, veggies and vinaigrettes on the weekends for ready-made lunches for the week. This recipe for Hearty Quinoa and Chickpea Salad is a delicious variation that we have been happily eating all week.

Roasted Eggplant and Chickpea Spread is the result of a food fight, one which resulted in this delicious hybrid dish somewhere between Baba Ganoush and Hummus. Our food disagreement started with a vague plan for a Mediterranean inspired meal, but quickly morphed into a debate about the true king of dips. On the one hand, the dusky sweet flavors of Baba Ganoush  appealed to Paul, whereas I had a strong inclination towards classic hummus,  a creamy chickpea puree, perked up with garlic and lemon.  In the end, we were pretty pleased with our compromise dish, Roasted Eggplant and Chickpea Spread, a transcendent dip with an eggplant and chickpea base, infused with roasted garlic and onions, and the smoky spiciness of charred jalapeno.