Soup-er lunches

It’s easy to mix up healthy hot lunches—and build a bit of morale—at the office. At SN&R, we started with Italian potato soup. Take a big slow cooker (we’ve got a Hamilton Beach 7-quart model). Chop up four stalks of celery and half an onion, plus one minced garlic clove, and sauté in a tablespoon of olive oil. Put the sautéed veggies, two cans of vegetable broth, two cans of organic tomatoes, 4 cups of water, three peeled and cubed potatoes, and a package of frozen chopped organic spinach (doesn’t have to be thawed, but break it up) into the slow cooker. Add a little oregano, then salt and pepper to taste. Take it to work and cook it on low from 8 a.m. to noon. With a couple of baguettes, it will feed 12 colleagues. They chipped in $2 each for the food; the chef made $4 on the deal. And the slow cooker? It’s a business expense.