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Every so often even I am too busy or tired – or both – to cook. But I’m also too busy or tired to go out. This usually happens when I’ve been cooking all day, as I’ve been doing a lot lately because I’m not only testing recipes for this column but also preparing food for book-tour cooking demonstrations.

On these nights I don’t want to get down another frying pan or saucepan. I crave a sandwich, and I turn lovingly to my toaster oven. I rummage in the refrigerator – there is always something, like greens I’ve blanched, a roasted red pepper, a box of mushrooms that are beginning to shrivel, or a hunk of butternut squash left over from another recipe test. I try to keep my refrigerator stocked with a few different cheeses – goat cheese and feta, a blue of some kind, Gruyère and Parmesan. This year, because my son went away to boarding school and I can’t go through a loaf of bread before it goes stale, I’ve begun to keep loaves of sliced whole-wheat country bread in the freezer, so that I can pull it out by the slice when I need it.

On the night that I came up with the idea for this week’s series of Recipes for Health I had been preparing quiches all day for a cooking class, with more cooking left to do that night. I reached in the refrigerator and grabbed the bowl of beet greens from the farmers’ market that I’d blanched the day before ( blanch greens when you get them home – it’s a great habit), some delicious Gorgonzola and two slices of bread. It took me about 10 minutes to slap the sandwich together and toast it in my toaster oven.

I decided then and there that, since I would be going out of town the following week, I would clean out my refrigerator over the next few days, using all of the lingering vegetables in grilled cheese sandwiches, where the vegetables shine as much as the cheese. I took leftovers on the plane; they were even good cold.

Roasted Mushroom and Gruyère Sandwich: Mushrooms add a somewhat meaty essence to this quick vegetarian sandwich.

Grilled Gorgonzola and Beet Green Sandwich: A satisfying dinner that can be put together in 10 minutes.

Grilled Feta and Roasted Squash Sandwich: The sweet and earthy flavors of roasted squash are a tasty contrast to salty feta.

Grilled Goat Cheese and Broccoli Sandwich: The Middle Eastern nut and spice mix called dukkah is the surprise touch in this sandwich.

Grilled Goat Cheese, Roasted Pepper, and Greens Sandwich: Roasted artichoke hearts are an optional addition to this vegetable-filled sandwich.