Recipes with Julie Van Rosendaal: Delicious school lunches

Back to school means back to packing lunch. Though it can add to an already time-crunched morning to-do list, thinking beyond the usual sandwich and packaged granola bar can make life easier. 

Packed lunches are great opportunities to use bits of leftovers from previous meals, and having falafel mix, flatbread dough or pancake batter in the fridge will streamline the process.

Baking and freezing muffins and cookies to pop into lunch bags is always a good idea, or mix up a batch of chewy, chocolatey puffed wheat squares (invented in Red Deer!) or energy balls to keep kids going until they get home.

Cachapas

Soft flatbreads and pancakes make comforting, easy to eat lunchbox fare. They can be nibbled on their own, torn and dragged through hummus and other dips, filled with cheese or wrapped around bits of leftovers.

These Venezuelan pancakes are made by blending fresh (or frozen, or canned) corn kernels, and the batter can stay in the fridge to cook as needed (adapted from the New York Times).

Cachapas are often served with hot sauce — if you like, save any packets from takeout to tuck into a lunch kit. 

Ingredients

• 1½ - 2 cups fresh, canned or frozen (thawed) corn kernels
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup corn flour (such as PAN) or cornmeal
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• Olive or canola oil, for cooking
• Grated aged cheddar, mozzarella or other cheese, or fillings of your choice

Combine the corn, egg, flours and salt in a blender or food processor and pulse with about 1/4 cup water until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.

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Set a small skillet over medium-high heat; drizzle with oil (or spray with nonstick spray) and spoon in about 1/4 cup batter at a time, swirling it around or spreading it with a spatula or the back of a spoon.

Cook until the batter appears dry on top, then flip and cook for a minute on the other side. Top with grated cheese (or other toppings/fillings) and fold in half. 

Repeat as needed, keeping the batter in the fridge for up to a few days.

Makes: About eight cachapas.

Falafel

I don't really measure when I make falafel — I soak dry chickpeas and pulse them with a bit of onion, garlic, a bunch of cilantro stems, a bit of heat in the form of a jalapeño or pinch of chili flakes, and some baking powder to lighten them.

A spoonful of flour helps hold them together — it doesn't have to be wheat flour, you could use gluten-free rice, oat or chana (chickpea) flour.

The mixture can hang out in the fridge all week, so you can cook a few falafel here and there, as you need it.

I like to serve them with plain yogurt, spiked with lemon juice and garlic, or a garlicky tahini sauce, on their own or tucked into pitas with tomatoes and cucumbers.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups (approximately) dry chickpeas
• 1 small shallot, a chunk of purple onion or a few green onions
• 1-2 garlic cloves, peeled
• A handful of cilantro, or about 1/3 cup chopped stems
• 1 small jalapeño, seeded and chopped, or a big pinch of chili flakes (optional)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• Canola or other mild vegetable oil, for cooking

The day before you want to make falafel, put the dry chickpeas in a bowl or container and add enough water to cover them by a couple inches. Let them soak overnight, and for up to a day.

When you're ready to make falafel, drain the soaked chickpeas and put them into the bowl of a food processor. 

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Add the remaining ingredients and pulse, scraping down the side of the bowl, until it's well blended and you have a mixture that holds together when you squeeze it.

Heat about half an inch of oil in a heavy skillet or shallow pan until it's hot but not smoking.

Shape the chickpea mixture into small balls, patties or quenelles and cook in batches in the oil until they're deep golden.

Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Alternatively, drizzle them with some oil and cook in the air fryer at about 400˚F for 15 minutes.

Makes: A dozen or so falafel.

Energy Balls

I rummage through my cupboards on a regular basis and use the ends of nut butter and honey jars and whatever combination of nuts, seeds, coconut and dried fruit I can scrounge together, dump it all into a food processor, sometimes with a small handful of oats or a shake of cinnamon, and pulse it into a mixture sticky enough to roll into tasty balls. 

You don't need to accurately measure any of it — just aim for a mixture that will hold its shape when squeezed. If it's too dry, add more soft fruit, nut butter or honey; if it's too sticky, add oats, cocoa, or even some crushed cereal.

For nut-free balls, use only seeds (like sunflower and pumpkin) and tahini or Wow butter, made from golden peas.

Ingredients

• 1-2 cups soft pitted dates, prunes, dried apricots and/or figs
• 1 cup walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts or other nuts, toasted or not, salted or not (optional — use the larger quantity of seeds for nut-free balls
• ¼ - ½ cup seeds (sunflower, sesame and/or pumpkin)
• ¼ - ½ cup coconut (optional, but so delicious)
•  ½ cup peanut, almond or other nut butter, or tahini
• 2-4 tbsp. dry oats
• 2-4 tbsp. cocoa
• 2-4 tbsp. honey or maple syrup
• A shake of cinnamon (optional)
• Pinch salt

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the dried fruit, nuts, seeds, coconut, peanut butter, oats, cocoa, honey, cinnamon and salt; pulse until everything is ground and well blended, and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it.

Add more dry or wet/sticky ingredients as needed if the mixture is too dry or too moist. 

Roll into 1 1/2-inch balls and store in a sealed container at room temperature.

Makes: About 1 dozen balls.

Puffed Wheat Squares

Did you know puffed wheat squares are a prairie thing? They were invented in Red Deer, Alta., by candy maker Alan J. Russell over a century ago.

Ingredients

• 8-9 cups puffed wheat
• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup corn syrup or Roger's Golden Syrup
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup cocoa
• Pinch salt
• 1 tsp vanilla

Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray and put the puffed wheat into it. I included a range in the measurements because I scoop it out with a measuring cup and each scoop inevitably winds up a tad on the heaping side.

In a medium saucepan, bring the butter, corn syrup, brown sugar, cocoa and salt to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until smooth. 

Once it comes to a boil, cook it for a minute, whisking constantly. Don't cook it for too long, or the squares will be crunchy instead of chewy. 

Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour over the puffed wheat and stir to coat evenly.

Press into a parchment-lined 9x13-inch pan and leave at room temperature until set. Don't refrigerate — the fridge could make them crunchy instead of chewy!

Makes: About 20 squares.