Veggie Might: Last-Minute Lunch

Penned by the effervescent Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about the wide world of Vegetarianism.

On Tuesday, I put out the call (as if you didn’t know it was me) for help with emergency lunch ideas. You came through aces, and I’ve been implementing a few of your tricks. (I already had hummus in the company fridge!) The full results will be posted in next week’s Q&A.

But here is what prompted the call for advice. Last Thursday morning, I overslept. The night before I had cooked corn-on-the-cob and some red beans for a quinoa salad recipe. My plan was to chop the remaining veggies and cook the quinoa in the morning before work. I needed a new plan.

With only 15 minutes until I had to leave for work, I started thinking about what I had ready and what I could prepare at the office. I’m new to this company, but I know 2 things about the place: lunch is sacred and there is a microwave in the lunchroom.

Dried quinoa, a slice of onion, and a teaspoon of salt went into a container. Into another, I combined corn from one of the cobs, a 1/2 cup of beans, and 2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Taking one last peek into the fridge, I spied half a tomato and tossed it on top of the beans and corn. Maybe there was a knife at the office?

I was out the door right on time.

At lunchtime, Operation Microwave Quinoa deployed. I added 8 ounces of water (using my graduated water bottle as a measuring device) to the dry quinoa and onion. Using my best guess, I put the container in the microwave with the lid ajar, and set the timer for 5 minutes.

The quinoa was nearly done when the timer dinged. I removed the lid, reset it for 3 minutes, and what-do-you-know? It was perfect! Fully cooked, fluffy, and ready to eat.

I zapped my bean/corn/chipotle combo and sawed the tomato with a knife I discovered in one of the pantry drawers. In the future, I’ll try to cut all my veggies at home.

Once everything was hot, I mixed the contents into one container, topped concoction with the sliced tomatoes, and sat down to a delicious, office-cooked meal with Roger Federer. My last-minute lunch turned out to be a relaxing, satisfying break from a hectic day.

Thanks again for your fab comments on Tuesday. If you have any more last-minute lunch suggestions, feel free to share them in the comments.

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