Five sauces that rescue any bowl

Hey. Here is the most useful thing we know about cooking on a weeknight: a good sauce turns leftovers into dinner.

Rice, something green and a can of beans is a meal. Rice, something green, a can of beans and one of these is a meal you look forward to. Each makes enough for about four bowls and keeps in a jar for 5 days.

Five vegan sauces worth memorizing

1. Lemon tahini. ⅓ cup tahini, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 1 small garlic clove, then cold water until it pours. It seizes before it smooths out; keep whisking.
2. Peanut lime. ⅓ cup peanut butter, 3 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tbsp maple syrup, juice of 1 lime, hot water to thin. The full version is in the peanut tofu noodles.
3. Miso ginger. 2 tbsp white miso, 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tsp grated ginger, 2 tbsp water.
4. Green herb. A big handful each of cilantro and parsley, 1 garlic clove, juice of 1 lemon, ⅓ cup olive oil, salt. Blend or chop very fine.
5. Smoky chipotle. ½ cup plain unsweetened vegan yogurt, 1 chipotle in adobo plus 1 tsp of the sauce, juice of ½ lime, salt.

This week’s recipes

• Chocolate peanut butter overnight oats: five minutes tonight, breakfast tomorrow.
• Smashed chickpea salad sandwich: ten minutes, no stove, four lunches.

Reader question: why is my tahini so thick at the bottom of the jar?

The oil separates and rises. Stir it thoroughly before measuring, scraping the bottom, or the sauce comes out pasty. Storing the jar upside down for a day makes stirring easier.

See you Sunday.