10-minute hummus and vegetable wraps can cure what hangers you

You d think that when your home office is upstairs from your kitchen, you could take advantage of the times you work remotely and slide cooking tasks...

You’d think that when your home office is upstairs from your kitchen, you could take advantage of the times you work remotely and slide cooking tasks more or less seamlessly into your day.

I love the idea of starting a pot of beans midmorning, for instance, and knowing they’ll be ready just in time for lunch. But most days that remains just an idea, because I’m too busy hopping among emails, Slacks, invoices, pitches, recipes, stories, meetings and more to add one more thing to the mix. I don’t usually start thinking about what to make for lunch until my stomach growls and my husband starts asking questions.

The less actual cooking required, the better, because if he has a meeting to run to and can’t handle cleanup duties, I don’t have to fit dishes into my break.

Leftovers are one option; I pride myself on my ability to turn previously cooked vegetables and beans, along with fresh greens, garnishes and dressing, into a hearty lunch salad. But sometimes the pickings seem particularly slim. When my husband opens the fridge and declares, "There’s nothing to eat,” I love proving him wrong.

These wraps from the great Lebanese writer Salma Hage’s latest book, "The Levantine Vegetarian,” seem almost like they were born in my own kitchen, because they use ingredients I always have around, even when the larder looks bare.