Monday, April 1, 2013

Eight Lunches


What do you eat for lunch? It's something I think about every day. I'm know I'm not the only one! This is what I think: How can I eat healthily and inexpensively? And mostly: quickly. I'm always curious what the heck people actually eat. I mean, we all have our ambitious ideas--big recipes that are usually meant for dinner. Lunch is sort of forgotten territory. I wish I didn't neglect it as much as I do, and I'd love to get more of a system going on. When I make a good lunch, I take a picture so I can remember it. Sometimes, it's a little too late, like the above picture.  A few pickled beets chopped up, some crumbled feta, salad greens, olive oil and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds make a great salad.
Of course, leftovers. I made a lot of squash dumplings for dinner and sauteed them with onions and a hearty handful of chopped parsley. They were great fried up the next day. I don't understand people who don't like leftovers. I love them!!
 A toasted baguette, a can of sardines in olive oil spread with a fork, topped with chopped dill and parsley, salt and pepper, more olive oil. Perfection. Always keep tinned small fish on hand: sustainable, good for you, inexpensive, tasty.
My favorite. Smoked salmon, capers, two fried eggs, salad, pita. I'd eat this even without the salmon. Eggs are a mainstay of my lunches.
Leftover turkey and gravy on toast with capers. Hot open faced sandwich. So. Good. You might have noticed that I put capers on just about anything. They are a must in my kitchen.
Summer rolls. They are pretty easy. Really!! These are sort of on the ugly side, but they still tasted great. Looks aren't everything, as they say. Shrimp are bonus, but not necessary. Another way to get a good bunch of veg in you. Lately, I've been buying Maine shrimp, sold frozen in a local grocery store. They come in handy to throw into something like this, or a salad, or something more ambitious, like dumplings. (Pictured are not those shrimp, though.)
Leftover pancakes rolled with smoked salmon, salad, Greek yogurt (and some capers, I'll bet). You can see I like smoked salmon on everything, too. A little bit goes a long way.
More eggs, capers, and salad. And I am a big fan of Ak Mak. This is a perfect lunch, in my opinion.

What about you? What do you eat for lunch? What staples give it flair or substance? When I had a full-time office job, I usually made my lunch the night before. It actually took a lot of the guesswork out of lunch-making. I might even consider doing it again, but I know I'd look at my lunch and think: oh, I could make something more yummy. One of the problems of working near your kitchen!

12 comments:

  1. I work from home half the week and lunch is most commonly blue cheese on toast with salad and homemade pickles and relishes or a baked potato topped with tuna and salads. On office days I usually have some kind of big batch pasta or lentil bolognaise. It's essential as the office is a 15 minute walk from any food shops and we only get a 30 minute break. Lunch is awesome!

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    1. Cate, those sound like lunches I would really like. I love the idea of lentil bolognese. What a great idea!

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  2. julia, oh julia, what extraordinary images. the first of your 8 lunches is so very colorful. wish i could make pictures like that, but i simply don't have the nerve.
    i don't do lunch almost ever. i seem to munch endlessly on this that and the other. mostly bread and butter, more likely butter and a little bread. so healthy. well, you know, butter is good, much butter is better...
    thanks for your 8 variants, may be tomorrow i'll get around to do one of the aboves.
    m

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    1. Butter and a little bread is my kind of lunch, Michael, there is nothing better. However, it doesn't sit well on me, if you know what I mean.

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    2. I'm sorry, but what are leftover pancakes?

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    3. Ha! I have a rule that I always have to make too many pancakes, because as you know, one can never have too many!

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  3. ooooh, these are lovely! I put capers in a lot of things, too. I would say we eat leftovers a good 80% of the time. If not, there is usually popcorn involved. I make it in my cast-iron Dutch oven and we eat it with lots of salt and brewer's yeast. We love to make melts in the toaster oven with odds and ends - as long as there is cheese bubbling on top. Lately I've been growing sprouts, so we include those on a melt. So tasty.

    Lunch today: leftover roasted parsnips, turnips, and sweet potatoes that I cooked with some stock and then pureed with cream - so it was soup-ish. Then I had toasted sourdough bread with smoked Gouda. I may have eaten one of the chocolate pots de creme set aside for the school lunches. But the kids were at school - they will never know!

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    1. Yes, anything with melted cheese is going to be better! Even sprouts. Why are they so good with melted cheese??

      Those are some lucky kids!!

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    2. Yum! Today I made toast with melty cheddar, red pepper, and avocado purée (leftover from another dish - it's basically avocado, lemon juice, salt, olive oil, agave, and chipotle). I also love grain salads for lunch - I recently made a farro salad with roasted butternut squash, ricotta salata, pine nuts, and pickled red onions (via Smitten Kitchen). Seriously. Delicious.

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    3. I've got to make more grainy salads. They are SO good! And that one in particular. Yum.

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