serialdeviant.org(y)

I’ve been thinking about lunches. A lot of money is saved by not eating out, so I’m casting about for ideas on what I can prepare and/or eat without giving myself food poisoning.

It’s been a couple of months since I’ve arrived in Scotland, and I didn’t touch any Maccas while I was in Singapore (I’ve had a McFlurry at Livingston, but it was disappointingly unflurried). I’ve been to Burger King once and have eaten loads of suppers from the chippy, and Neil and I have even been to Subway twice (after a late movie).

(I had a bad experience with a Subway franchise in Singapore and only ate my next sandwich earlier this year.)

The perfect sandwich, IMHO, is their cheese steak on the parmesan oregano roll, with all the salad but for green peppers and jalapeños. It’s got all the main food groups and my favourite things, steak and cheese. Oh, and olives. The only thing about a Subway sandwich is crumbs go everywhere, we (well, I) messed up Neil’s sister’s car last time. I have amazed myself twice by finishing a six-inch sandwich. I haven’t done that in years!

Then there’s my old favourite, a ham and cheese sanger. No more cheese (pre-)slices for me, it’s got way too much salt. I could put great Scottish cheese on some wafer thin ham slices (or salami… mmm), I reckon it would taste rather good. I want to do something with chick peas — maybe add some chicken and lettuce to make a salad? This Greek-Italian chopped salad sounds good.

My mum’s former maid used to pack the previous night’s spag bol for my lunch the next day, and I loved it. I think she had some sort of secret recipe, as I’ve never tasted the same since. I can get egg noodles and pre-cooked chicken at the local supermarket, so I might make some chicken and vegetable noodles, mix in sesame oil, soy sauce, and maybe a touch of something spicy for a kick*.

Maybe some day-old mac and cheese, Neil’s mum makes good mac and cheese. Not Kraft, it’s homemade. Yummy. Her tomato soup also deserves legendary status (hopefully I’ll get the recipe soonish). This quick bacon pasta from Cheap Eats looks good. I like bacon.

Another sandwich I’m a big fan of is smoked salmon on a bagel with cream cheese and a few capers for that extra bite. When I was a kid, I was under the impression that smoked salmon was extremely expensive — so, of course, I adored smoked salmon. Spinelli Coffee Company in Singapore (at Caltex House) did a decent mini bagel, and I’ve not had a great smoked salmon bagel since I lived in Australia.

Of course, my main goal is to get someone else to do this for me, since any time I make an attempt at what I laughably describe as ‘food preparation’, it ends up tasting quite, well, not good. I think it has something to do with my attention wandering after 30 seconds of doing something mundane, like stirring. There is an inverse relationship between my love for food and eating and how much I loathe cooking.

Asda sells a curried chickpea and lentil stew thing, it’d be quite good with some plain taco chips. Or mix some Dorito’s salsa with chopped salami or chorizo and make a sandwich or salad with the result. Even I could manage these things.

Anyone have any ideas for simple, not completely unhealthy lunches I can make?

* OMG I can’t believe I typed that. Something SPICY? Da-yum!