Leftover Lunches: India, Meet North Africa

Kadhi yogurt curry, green salad, cilantro and ginger hummus, rice, pappadum and sweet mango chutney.

Raz-el-hanout roasted mushrooms make the most of plain button mushrooms. Slice larger mushrooms in half, leave the smaller ones whole and toss with olive oil, salt, raz el hanout (North African spice blend available at most supermarkets) and lots of black pepper. Roast in a single layer for about 20 minutes in a 400 degree F. oven. The mushrooms will shrink and darken and wrinkle and be deeper in flavor than you ever imagined.

Comfort Food at Cafe Drake HRV = creamy, tangy yogurt curry. Perfect for ladling over cumin-flecked basmati rice.

Brighten the flavors of homemade hummus by adding a handful of chopped cilantro and mint to your favorite recipe. When tossing it all in the blender - chickpeas, olive oil, tahini, garlic etc - experiment with fresh green chilies and sliced scallions.

A composite meal of 72 hours' worth of leftovers, tweaked now with a spoonful of Moroccan spice paste - harissa - and toasted pumpernickel bread. We'll try anything at Cafe Drake HRV and it almost always works!

And now cauliflower gets roasted with raz-el-hanout as well, then showered with cilantro and aged balsamic vinegar.

Looks like we added brown rice and tamarind chutney to the mix.