This week’s theme: fancy toasts. Yesterday, I spread cream cheese over a slice of whole wheat bread, and topped with sliced strawberries and a pinch of sugar.

Today, I spread half a long dinner roll with butter, and alternated slices of hardboiled egg with radishes. Finish with salt.

Plus, my beloved avocado bread has made an appearance.

If you just have a slice, all of these snacks are relatively low calorie, satisfying and good for using up random fridge ingredients.

1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 (3-pound) chickens, butterflied
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges, for garnish

Whisk together the oil, lemon juice, garlic and rosemary in a large baking dish. Optional: Reserve half of marinade for later. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or up to 4 hours.

Preheat the grill to medium. Wrap 4 bricks in aluminum foil and set aside. Remove the chickens from the marinade, blot off excess oil, and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the chickens on the grill, skin-side down, and place 2 bricks on top of each chicken. Grill the chicken for 8 to 10 minutes, then turn over, and return the bricks to the chickens. Close the cover and continue cooking for 8 to 10 minutes or until cooked through. Now, we cooked the chicken 20-25 minutes per side, so basically just cook until internal temperature reaches 160-165 degrees. Let rest for 10 minutes and cut into quarters. Serve with lemon wedges.

1 pound ground turkey

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

large bunch cilantro, chopped

1 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp fish sauce

3 dried red chiles, soaked and chopped

1 tsp rice vinegar

pinch sugar

soy sauce, to taste

1 tsp minced ginger

1 bunch asparagus, cut into pieces

lettuce leaves

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp olive oil

handful peanuts

Heat pan, add oils. Add onion and cook until soft. Brown ground meat in pan, seasoned with salt and a little fish sauce. When meat is almost brown, add asparagus and cook through.

Combine remaining ingredients (except cilantro) in a bowl and stir together. Pour over meat and heat through. Top with cilantro and peanuts and serve with lettuce leaves.

About 8 oz homemade tzatziki (here’s a recipe but John just combined greek yogurt, chopped dill, some grated cucumber, salt and garlic)

salt and pepper

3 pounds flank steak, cut into cubes

3-4 green peppers, cut into large pieces

2 red peppers, cut into large pieces

2 onions, cut into large pieces

wooden skewers

whole wheat pitas

Thread meat and vegetables on skewers. Season with salt and pepper (you can do this ahead of time, wrapping your skewers in foil to store in a cooler).

Grill over a fire, turning when meat is loose enough to flip. Toast pita briefly over fire. Assemble by adding half a skewer to a pita, and topping with tzatziki. Some people topped theirs with hummus and leftover salad as well.

About 1 cup leftover cooked quinoa

1 onion, chopped

assorted leftover cooked vegetables (corn, asparagus, tomato)

1 tsp minced ginger

1 garlic clove, mixed

2 eggs

 soy sauce,

sesame oil

Heat oil in pan. Sautee onions and ginger until soft. Scramble eggs with a little soy sauce and cook into pieces, set aside.

Stir fry quinoa, cooked egg, garlic and vegetables together with soy sauce. Serves two.

I was going to make yesterday’s salad for lunch again today but I was in the mood for something warm. I had quinoa on the brain because I’d paired it with Aunt Barb Meatballs last night. So I used most of the same salad ingredients (lost the lettuce), whipped up a different dressing and cooked some quinoa. Viola! A very filling and satisfying lunch that made me forget about the fried chicken article I’d just been reading hungrily.

3/4 cups quinoa (you’ll have a little leftover)

1.5 cups vegetable broth

5 oz spicy chicken thighs, cubed

1/2 oz feta, crumbled

leftover veggies: I had cooked asparagus, cooked corn, tomatoes, radishes and cucumbers

1 tbsp easy lemon vinaigrette (oil, lemon juice and grainy mustard mixed together with salt)

Bring broth to a boil. Add quinoa and turn down heat. Simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa is cooked (about 15 minutes).

Reheat chicken thighs (I just microwaved them). Stir quinoa with dressing, chicken, cheese and veggies.

For the fish

1 pound halibut, cut into 3-4 filets

3-4 tsp butter

chopped parsley and thyme

hint of lemon zest

salt and pepper

olive oil

For the pea puree

About 2 cups frozen peas, thawed

3 pieces leftover manchego (you could also use some grated parmesan here)

splash vegetable broth

splash heavy cream

salt and pepper

1 tbsp chopped mint

For the vegetables

about 1 cup frozen corn, thawed

half a bunch asparagus, cut into large pieces

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 

olive oil

To make the pea puree:

Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth (add a little more broth if you need it). Transfer to pan and keep warm – adjust seasoning if needed.

To make the vegetables:

Heat a bit of olive oil in pan. Add asparagus and stir fry for a couple minutes. Add corn and sautee another couple minutes. Heat through tomatoes. Remove from pan and set aside, keeping warm.

To make the fish:

Combine butter with herbs, salt and lemon zest. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in pan. Season fish with salt, pepper and a bit more lemon zest. Sear on one side for about 5 minutes and flip. Cook another 3 minutes or so, until fish reaches desired temperature.

To plate:

Put 1/2 cup pea puree on a plate or in a shallow bowl. Add vegetables on top. Add halibut. Top with about a tsp herb butter.