We ate the top third then stashed the remainder in the fridge. The following evening seemed like a good time to get in on all of the “whole grain bowl” fun, to unite our leftovers with a few bright elements — some sort of pickle and a tangy sauce. We would top it all off with soft-boiled eggs and call dinner done. Before starting, I revisited Melissa Clark’s recent piece in the Times to make sure I had my boxes checked: whole grains (wheat berries!), greens (sautéed kale and steamed broccoli), some sort of pickle (yet to be determined), protein (eggs), dressing (yet to be determined). I had two elements to prep: the pickle and the sauce: The pickle: I love the pickled carrots and daikon ubiquitous at Vietnamese restaurants, and I happened to have both carrots and daikon on hand, so I pulled out my mandoline and set to work slicing and pickling: 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar. Any number of vegetables could work here — fennel, beets cabbage (whatever you have on hand) — but if you don’t feel like making a pickle, kimchi (which Clark suggests) would be a nice substitute. The sauce: I love a good teriyaki sauce especially over brown rice — Japanese bento boxes come to mind — and teriyaki sauce is so easy to make at home: soy sauce, mirin, sugar, chicken stock and sake (or sherry or white wine) simmer for 20 minutes or until slightly reduced and syrupy. That’s it. Before serving, I piled all of my leftovers in a colander to re-steam stovetop. I set the pickled carrots and daikon on the table along with a few bottles of hot sauce. I kept my teriyaki sauce warm. And finally, just before serving, I soft-boiled three eggs — 6 minutes! effortless peeling! — whose oozing yolks along with a sweet-and-salty teriyaki sauce succeeded in tying all of the disparate elements together. Clearing the fridge of leftovers always feels like a feat. But this — this felt like a triumph. For the quick pickle: carrots and daikon. These are the leftovers I had on hand: cooked wheatberries, three stalks of steamed broccoli, and sautéed kale. Any leftovers you have on hand will work in this sort of dish: This is a good way (thank you, Mama) to reheat all of your leftovers: place them in a large strainer or colander, set it over a pot with an inch of water in it, cover the whole top surface with aluminum foil, and place the pan over high heat for 6 to 8 minutes or so. BE CAREFUL removing the foil to avoid getting burned by the steam: So, these are the components I used: homemade terikayi sauce, quick-pickled carrots and daikon, re-steamed wheat berries, kale and broccoli, and 6-minute soft boiled eggs. Two soft-boiled eggs plus lots of hot sauce for Ben:
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