The best lunch time cup-a-soup ever!

That's pretty much all you need.

The fastest lunch idea ever is the good old cup-a-soup. Due to the simplicity of this dish, it totally qualified to be on my quick and simple lunch idea list you can find in “Never buy lunch again, make ityourself with these great ideas”.

I bought some Tupperware containers resembling a cup size, but also sometimes take it in my porridge container for a more filling lunch or when I want more noodles and perhaps some added veggies. I prepare a couple ahead and keep them in the fridge at work.

Ingredients make 1:

1 tsp Miso paste

½ packet Dashi soup mix

1 spring onion

1 fresh or dried Birdseye chili

80 gr tofu, smoked or regular

Vermicelli rice noodles

½ tsp dried seaweed

1 dash fish sauce

1tbs coriander, chopped

********************************

So the only thing that might be unusual in this is the Dashi, which is just a Japanese version of soup stock powder. Mine is bonito fish flavoured. It is not fishy at all but adds flavour to your cup-a-soup.

Best place to find them is in a Japanese food shop, same goes for the dried seaweed. You can also cut a sushi algae sheet, which is available in high street supermarkets, if you have troubles finding it.

Firstly you will need to break the vermicelli into small pieces so they fit in your cup and are easy to eat. It is all about simplicity, so my assumption is to eat with a spoon. I would suggest putting the desired amount in a Ziploc bag, take a rolling pin and bash them, but make sure there is an open gap, so the air can escape. I, of course didn’t think about it and bashed them in their thin packaging, causing a little explosion with little noodle bits everywhere.  If you take them out and try to break them up, they might go all over. Well it is called trial and error for a reason.

All you have to do after is cube the tofu, finely chop the spring onion and chili. I stack the cup with noodles, then Miso and then the rest. Once you made it by the recipe, you might want to adjust flavour or experiment a bit youself to adjust it to your preferred taste. 

If I make a bigger container I add some of the stir fry veggie pack to give a bit more oomph. The veggies will soften a bit but still leave a crunch, always buy the stir fry veggie pack, to get a nice variety.

Now all you have to do is add boiling water, cover and let it stand for about 5 minutes. Since you can keep it for a couple days in the fridge without a problem it is the optimal lunch and I hope you enjoy!

Sweetpotato salad with feta cheese and spring onions

This is the easiest salad ever and a good option as work lunch. I made it in the morning, when I had nothing in the house apart from these 3 ingredients and then took it with me, because it is that quick to make. Needless to say better, much cheaper and more filling than any salad available from the canteen. This little number will get you out of the rut. I enjoy the combination of sweet, smoky and the salty, slight sharp taste of the feta.

This easy recipe is also mentioned in my article “Never buy lunch again, make it yourselfwith these great ideas” so have a look for more delicious ideas to put the dreaded work lunch back on the map, leave people in your office jealous and wondering how you can put it all together. We have a few nosy people in my office that always have a look at others lunches, it feels quite good when the envy your lunch over their own same old boring sandwich.

Ingredients make 1:

1 large sweet potato

40gr feta cheese

1-2 spring onions

Smoked paprika

Salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp olive oil

3-5 tbs water

For the dressing:

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp olive oil

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

********************

Cut the sweet potato into small blocks of about ½ cm and chop the spring onion. Heat the oil in a medium sized pan and add the sweet potato. Get the sweet potato browning in the pan; add smoked paprika, salt and pepper. After a few minutes the sides should be nicely coloured but the sweet potato isn’t totally cooked yet.

Turn the heat up high and add the water straight into the pan, cover and then return to a medium heat.  Turning it up high will just ensure that the water comes to a boil right away; we have no time to waste in the morning before work. This will steam the remainder of the potato through and through. Give the pan with cover on a shake a couple times while waiting so no potato gets burned. Sweet potatoes usually soften faster than normal potatoes, but they also contain more sugar so shaking them up is essential.

Prep your Tupper ware dish and mix all the ingredients for the dressing in a glass and mix it all up. I use an old mustard glass, close and shake them all together, saves a bit more time. Taste and adjust the dressing if necessary.

Make sure all water has evaporated from the pan, add the sweet potato to your container, sprinkle the spring onions and crumble the feta on top. A pinch more pepper and you are done, ready to take to work.

Warm potato and hotsmoked salmon salad

This is by far one of my favourite recipes. It is super easy to make and you can throw in pretty much anything you like or have available. Yesterday I tried it with marinated, pan fried aubergines for the first time and it went down a treat. This is an all-you–can-eat salad that definitely won’t leave you hungry and is full of good fats to help keep you feeling full.

If you have read Diet - my Story, this is just the perfect salad for when you want to stuff you face without feeling bad about it and since there are no processed foods in it, I would say almost guilt free. 

The ingredients are versatile but a couple essentials are a must have, you can mix and match the amounts of different veggies as you like, the ingredients list is just a guideline.

Ingredients for 2:

Hot smoked salmon fillets (I get mine from Aldi, they are delish and have a very different texture to the normal smoked salmon, it is almost meaty in consistency, it is a pack of 2)

450 gr boiled new potatoes

Half a packet of Feta cheese

1 avocado

½ bell pepper – any colour you like

1 handful of cherry tomatoes

1 chilli if you like to spice it up a bit

1 lemon

¼ cucumber

1 small aubergine

1 handful of parsley

1 tbs butter

2 spring onions

1 tsp of English mustard

6 tbs of Olive oil

2 tbs white wine vinegar

Salt and Pepper to season

1 tsp mixed herbs

You start off by cutting the aubergines into about 1 cm strips, a bit like chunky chips, lay them out on a tray and salt them. This will draw out the bitter juices, leave for about 10 minutes and then dab off the excess water with some kitchen roll and repeat the process also turning them around a bit to make sure all the bitterness comes out.

Cut the boiled potatoes in quarters. Next is the marinade for the aubergines. Take a bowl and add 2 tbs of olive oil, pepper, salt and the mixed herbs plus the juice of half a lemon, mix it all up.

While  waiting for the aubergines to give off all water, half the avocado and make insertions lengthwise and also cut the veggies, strips, cubes, halves, let your creativity run free, cut them as you feel. I mix it up as I can never decide and it will also look good to give it different shapes. Take a spoon and scoop the avocado out, this is a good little trick to keep the shape and it doesn't get all mushed up. Works also if you want to cube them.

When the aubergines are ready, put them into the marinade and cover them all over, then place in the pan and start browning it. I keep my pan on a medium heat as you want to ensure that the aubergine is fully cooked without turning into charcoal along the way. I would say fry for about 15 minutes turning them around so they get a good colour on each side, also on the skin side.

Once the aubergines are done set them aside and put the potatoes together with the butter in the pan. Turn the heat down to low, add the parsley and some salt to taste, then give it a stir and make sure they are all evenly coated. Leave them on low until they warm up, while you make the dressing.

For any dressing I use an empty jar (mustard, pickle, etc), add the remaining olive oil, juice of half the lemon, vinegar and mustard. Close the jar and give it a good shake, season with a bit of salt and pepper and shake again. If the taste is too sharp for you add a tiny bit of sugar and it will make it smoother. It's totally up to your taste buds. Then you are ready to prep the plates.

The arrangement of it all is totally up to you, but I like all ingredients to be seen on the plate to show off the variety of the dish. I usually place the potatoes in the middle and arrange the veggies around it.

Carefully take the skin off the hot smoked salmon and place it on top of the potatoes, crumble the feta cheese over it and then add the dressing.

Now you have a totally delicious salad and I hope you enjoy it as much as my household does.