Thrown together in a flash, requiring little or no cooking ....

So this looks like being tonight's dinner. (Unless someone decides to invite me over to share their culinary efforts.) I found this in a cookbook. Sadly, my more "spontaneous" efforts have been rather abysmal. :

SALMON & WHITE BEAN SALAD
(with no added oil or fat)
Two servings

* (14.75 ounce)* can of pink or red salmon, drained & skin removed.
*(15 ounce)* can navy beans, drained & rinsed with fresh water.
8 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
* 1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley.

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl & toss together using a fork.
Season with ground pepper & extra salt, if desired.

This seems half respectable & very simple!
*I'll do the conversion maths later, when it's cooler.
No tarragon vinegar , but I'm sure I can find a respectable alternative.

`

Wow! That salmon & white bean salad looks mighty tasty! Call me impressed!

I thought so, tsar.

Well it'd better be, because I'm not up to much else!

Last night I had two soft boiled eggs (which I really like) on a couple of slices of very grainy wholemeal buttered bread. Wonderful with lots of freshly ground pepper!

Thinking to myself. Leftovers, too.: I have a decent-sized container of cooked fusilli (pasta) in the fridge. Anyone got any inspired ideas of what I might do with it, maybe tomorrow?

Yes!

Take that pasta, add some pieces of roasted chicken, baby spinach, kalamata olives, tomato, pinenuts, then top with a dressing made of half olive oil, half lemon juice with garlic, salt and pepper.

I call it "Lemon Mediterranean Salad." (I made it up.) It's a perfect main dish salad in hot weather.

Yes!

Good thinking, Eva!

Will do!

I forgot to mention earlier, that "respectable" bought ingredients (like roast chicken, etc, can be a useful ingredient in one of these hasty tasty meals.

How about this for a super fast, no frills noodle dish? A bit more cooking & preparation than the earlier recipes, bit still pretty simple:

* Cook 2oog (7 oz) rice noodles till tender.
* Heat a little peanut oil in frying pan over high heat
* Add 3 small chopped read chillies, 2 tablespoons shredded ginger, 2 cloves sliced garlic & cracked black pepper.
* Cook for 2 minutes, then add to the noodles.
* Toss with small basil leaves, or chives, or whatever you have handy.

`

I made this one in one of my lazy cooking periods a while back. It works.:

LEMON SALMON PASTA
(for 2)

* 200g thin pasta
* 1/4 cup (60 ml) cream
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* teaspoons Dijon (or other) mustard
*1 tablespoon roughly chopped dill, or chives, or ..
* 1 tablespoon salted capers, rinsed
* 175 g hot-smoked salmon fillet, flaked

- Cook spaghetti for the time recommended on the packet.
- Drain & return to the pot.
- Add cream, lemon juice & mustard to the pasta. Toss to coat.
- Toss through dill, capers & salmon & serve immediately.

`

OK, these are my humble contributions, at this stage.
I'm really looking forward to yours.
Together we can be strong & united in the face of cooking fatigue!
We shall overcome!

I just made it & ate dinner.

Verdict: 6/10

I added some olive oil to the mix, because I thought it needed it & used a white Balsamic vinegar instead of a tarragon vinegar. But yes, very quick & easy to make.

If you're looking for little to no cooking, salads are probably the go-to. If you don't mind some heating up, there's pasta or omelets. Don't make a frittata as you'd have to start up the oven and I take it that it's too hot to do that right now (seems weird to say that, seeing as I'm sitting here with a space heater crankin').

Think just under 1/2 veg, 1/4 starch and 1/4 protein, with the remainder (as in, 5 - 10%) going to fat, either to spread or pour on, or cook with, for any meal.

If I have enough eggs and otherwise have no idea what to make, I usually make a frittata. Saute onions (always have some on hand) and garlic (ditto), then add whatever -- leftover cooked meat, veggies, etc. Then pour 7 eggs (mixed) over the whole shebang. Cook. Sprinkle with parmesan, let set. (Sometimes I just turn the whole thing over rather than waiting for it to set -- then put parmesan on.)

Easy to take it in different directions with different spices and ingredients.

I just saw "frittata" in Jes' post, oops! (Long day, fried brain.) I make 'em on the skillet -- just put the lid on at the end, turn off heat, and leave for 3-5 minutes (or else turn over as I mentioned, which I end up doing most of the time -- faster).

this is probably more work - and heat - than you want right now , but here is the
" salmon " meal i just had :

two - 1/2 pound salmon steaks ( one pound total ) ,
washed , dried , salted and peppered ,
into the electric frying pan at 375 F with some olive oil ,
reduce heat after a few minutes - DON'T BURN IT !
about 6-7 minutes each side - pat of butter to finish won't hurt ( slightly pinkish - bone will get loose ) .
onto a preheated plate ,

in the meantime i made a baked potatoe in the micro ( use BAKING potato ! ) ,
sourcream and yoghurt dressing ,
i also made a simple salad of lettuce and sweet tomatoes .

it tasted better than the restaurant salmon - i don't care for restaurant spices - i like the taste of salmon .

one piece is left for tomorrow - reheat or cold salad - undecided .

( and your cat could also have some fresh salmon ) .

doing the dishes is what i don't like - but the dishwasher will be doing the dirty work .

tea and a hot , HEAVILY buttered muffin coming up for dessert .

Yep, good ol salads & frittatas. Great standbys. (Thanks Jespah & soz.)

Any bright new ideas for both would be much appreciated.

Sounds really good, hamburger! Yum.
A bit of preparation & cooking is fine. I realize it's pretty near impossible to completely no cook meals.

Is that a meal in a flash, or what?

Not a great deal of variety of Mexican type goodies in your average Oz supermarket, dys. I wouldn't mind trying some fancy schmansy fast Mexican (about which I know very little).

We had this yesterday.


Very easy to make: buy big mushrooms, take out the stem carefully,
chop the stems, a small onion, parsley, garlic, prosciutto, mix all and season to taste. Start the oven heater for 350 degree.

Heat a skillet with butter set the mushrooms in and let them brown for a bit,
take them out in an oven proof dish. Add the chopped stem mix to the skillet,
add butter if needed and cook until onions are slightly brown. Set aside.
Fill each mushroom with a small piece of brie (without skin), bake it in the
oven until the brie is melted. Pour the stem and prociutto mix over it and
serve with a baguette.