I always thought quinoa (your probably know this by now, but it's KEEN-wah) was a food reserved solely for hippie-dippy, composting types. Thankfully, in my old age I am learning to let go of such stale generalizations. This ancient Incan whole grain has an appealing, light taste and--unlike brown rice, rye or barley--quinoa only takes about 10 minutes to cook. Quinoa is high in protein, magnesium and iron, and is a good source of fiber and essential amino acids. Quinoa is basically captain of the track team, president of Students for the Environment, and the prettiest girl in school. Quinoa is Elizabeth Wakefield.

Much like me and my quinoa, you may have some old ideas about leftovers and what kind of lunch they make. The real trick with leftovers is to reinvent them into a totally new dish to keep things fresh, like what Madonna does every couple years. For example, I broiled a nice piece of fish the other night and ate it with a big pile of roasted spring vegetables. Of course, for the next day's lunch I could have made a perfectly lovely roasted vegetable salad, but a girl cannot live on greens alone. So I gave these leftover roasted veggies a new career in a warm grain salad, fragrant with lemon and just the teensiest bit of gooeyiness from the parmesan.

Cute plastic totes for your lunch are great, but sometimes they're all in the sink and you've gotta shove lunch into last night's hot-and-sour soup container. Moments like that, it pays to have a cute and cheery cheap dish stashed in your desk drawer. Use it for cereal in the morning and soup in the afternoon so that you're not tossing out styrofoam containers willy-nilly.  I may well be turning into one of those hippie-dippy types afterall. --Sarah McColl

Roasted Vegetables with Lemon-Parmesan Quinoa

1 cup leftover roasted vegetables (asparagus, radicchio and shallots, 30 minutes in a 425° oven)
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 tbsp. grated parmesan

Quinoa must be rinsed before cooking to remove its natural coating of not-so-tasty saponins. After rinsing, place the quinoa and water in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and top saucepan with a lid slightly askew (like a jaunty hat) to let steam escape. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until water has evaporated and grains have doubled in size and appear to have cracked open. Stir in lemon zest and parmesan, and top with those succulent veggies.