Monday, February 22, 2021

Let’s Do Lunch

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: in the before times, when I was at channel 7 more predictably, one of the high points of the day for my producer and me was… Lunch. Even if it was lunch juggling a salad in the backseat of a speeding news car, or a marginal chicken sandwich eaten at my desk, the idea that there could be lunch was always such a joy. 

I would laugh, however, when people would say – – we should have lunch together someday! And I would agree, happily, true! But secretly think:  have you lost your mind? When in my reporter day do you think I’m going to have time to actually go to the lunch, to an actual restaurant, and sit down and order lunch, and then wait, and then go back to wherever I was? Going out to lunch was this…mystical thing that I always imagined doing, and lusted after, but rarely rarely did.  

 So then came Covid, and there was no going out anywhere to anything, right? There was just home. And cooking. But it turned out, this lunch thing has turned out to be quite fabulous. Or at least, a high point on the scale where the bar is low.

 


Somehow in the magical way that things sometimes work out, Jonathan became in charge of lunch. I make dinner, we collaborate on breakfast, but Jonathan does lunch. And he makes adorable lunches, and I am not talking elaborate, I’m just talking adorable. Every day we have turkey and Swiss cheese with romaine on pumpernickel, and Jonathan slices up little tomatoes for me, and cuts little carrots in half for me and we get to have chips! Chips! Which I never would’ve had in the before times. 

 

Plus, we sit at the table, and have a conversation about what we did that morning, and what we plan for the rest of the day, and catch up with each other like civilized people. Jonathan and I having lunch together – – well, we’ve been married for almost 25 years now, and except for random weekends and vacations, having lunch together was a rare event.

 

When covid is over, and I know it will be, and we all go back to doing whatever we want, I have to say I will miss it. I will miss lunch with my husband. And also having him bring it to me. Wow. Cutest waiter ever. And a real treat.  

 

What about you Reds and readers? What are you doing for lunch these days?

 

JENN McKINLAY: Lunch is very random for us. Usually, Hub and I meet up poolside for whatever we have scavenged out of the frig - yogurt, cheese and crackers, leftovers from the night before, which are awesome because Hub does all the savory cooking while I am in charge of dessert, and we soak up some sunshine before returning to work. Sorry! But this is the perk of living in AZ and makes up for those 115 degree days in the summer. 



LUCY BURDETTE: We don’t necessarily lunch together, but we do have dinner at the table always. I have gotten into a terrible rut with my lunch--I have the same thing every day. This is: half a good bagel with toasted Canadian cheddar on it, topped with these little sprouts I’ve grown and pickled jalapenos. It makes my mouth water to describe it to you:). One day maybe I’ll tire of it, but not yet!


HALLIE EPHRON: Lunch here is ad hoc and informal. Today’s will be leftover lasagne from last night. Yum. But most days it’s egg salad or tuna on wheat toast for me and Jerry scrounges for hummus. Always a nice sit-down dinner. 


I miss meeting a friend for a restaurant lunch. Boy do I. You get to do the kind of catching-up that doesn’t happen on the phone or via text.



RHYS BOWEN: We eat breakfast together (John prepares).  We eat dinner together (take turns to prepare) but lunch is never eaten at the same time. I have to eat lunch around noon (having woken before six).  John happily eats lunch at three. And he will grab whatever leftovers he can find in the fridge or settle for avocado, hard boiled egg, whatever.  All winter we have been making soups so my lunch is soup plus something on toast. Some days it’s cheese, but recently I’ve been indulging myself and it’s been smoked salmon.  I figure not going out to lunch means I can eat yummy things at home. And I eat it outside on our balcony on fine days, getting my Vitamin D.


But I do miss meeting friends for lunch. In normal times it’s a couple of days a week and now it’s been a year.  BUT… I got my second vaccine on Friday so in two weeks I plan to meet with friends again (who have also been vaccinated!)  I’ll be heading back to Arizona so I’m looking forward to lunch with Barbara Peters at our favorite restaurant (bruschetta board!!) And hopefully with Jenn one day?


DEBORAH CROMBIE: My get-togethers with friends have tended to be happy hours rather than lunch, because everyone is too busy during the day (and boy do I miss those happy hours and the Girls' Wine Parties in my kitchen!) But a couple of times a month I would go to lunch with my daughter, and that is absolutely one of the things I've missed most in the pandemic. I'm now two weeks past my second shot (yesterday!) so I'm hoping that one day soon we can do an outdoor lunch together, as inside dining is still not recommended after you've been vaccinated..



Our household routine hasn't changed that much in the lockdown. Rick and I don't usually eat lunch together as he runs on a later schedule than I do, but we always, always, sit down to dinner together. I grab leftovers for lunch if we have them, but my very fave lunch is a veggie burger patty from Trader Joe's (black bean and quinoa) with some brown rice and a bunch of arugula and sliced grape tomatoes. Our local butcher makes fabulous chimichurri and I spoon that over everything!


JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I’ve been eating lunch at home by myself for a LOT of years now, so that part hasn't changed.  Leftovers from last night’s dinner get saved for whoever is working - it used to be Ross, now it’s the Maine Millennial. I tend to skip breakfast and eat lunch between 1-2 (and then stuff myself at dinner, which I know is not good for me!) I suspect it’s a pattern I fell into when I had kids at school - huge rush in the morning, eat as late as possible so I’m not starving when I make dinner (being really hungry used to lead to me calling Ross and asking him to bring home pizza…)


I do miss social and business lunches. I have some friends who were, like me, able to get away midday, and having lunch together was an easy and fun way to socialize. And who doesn’t miss lunch with your editor and/or agent, going to restaurants you would never walk into on your own thanks to that beautiful corporate credit card. And of course, when you’re at Bouchercon or Malice or Left Coast Crime, where and with whom you have lunch is a HUGE deal. It’s all the good things about dinner in an eatery, without the multiple-hour commitment the evening meal implies. Sigh. Come back soon, working lunches!



HANK: Yeah, maybe it’s me. Those working lunches don't work for me. Work is good, lunch is good, but for me, it’s distracting to try to do both. Talk while eating Brussels sprout salad and wondering if there’s green in your teeth? Impossible.    

How about you, Reds and readers? What’s for lunch? And why?

117 comments:

  1. I love a good sandwich, but early on in the pandemic it was hard to get bread when I ordered my weekly groceries. I could always get tortillas, though, so I migrated many of my favorite sandwiches over to tortilla wraps. Even now, when I can get bread, I still make a lot of wraps, particularly for lunch. The only thing I've found that doesn't wrap well is tuna salad. Naturally I share that last little bite with Zoe, my border collie, who rules us all.

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    1. Awwwwww— that is such a sweet thing to envision! And yes, wraps are a great thing! I figured out how to make pizza with tortillas for the crust, too!

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    2. Gigi.

      Love tortilla wraps for lunch.

      Diana

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    3. Hank,

      Tortilla pizza sounds awesome!

      Diana

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    4. I'm definitely going to have to look into the tortilla pizza idea. What a great personal-sized pie for a quick lunch!

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  2. Lunch is variable . . . sometimes left-overs, sometimes a sandwich [grilled cheese tops my list of absolute favorites], sometimes soup . . . but no matter what it is, John and I have it together. Dinner is always something to enjoy together as well.

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    1. Yay for grilled cheese! That is very tempting to try… yes, and that lunchtime together is very lovely.

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    2. Grilled cheese with Lucy’s sweet pickled jalapeños yum!

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  3. Hank, I used to hate the lunch interviews, especially when booze was involved. I remember being taken to lunch by The Scotsman newspaper and trying to avoid drinking Scotch with my host and then saying something I’d regret in print!

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    1. Oh, I so agree! And then the rest of the day is just worthless.

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    2. Rhys,

      There is also the risk of falling asleep if drinking Scotch. I have this nightmare about falling face down into my soup because I drank something alcoholic. I can only tolerate drinks that are VERY low in alcohol.

      And I just learned that I cannot multitask. I cannot eat and talk at the same time.

      Diana

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  4. Lunch is always just a sandwich for me. But I usually have some carrots mid-morning and some trail mix mid-afternoon.

    I used to make my lunch as soon as I got home from work at night so I wouldn't forget before I went to bed and I wouldn't have to make it the next day. Now, with working from home, I make it when I am ready to eat, which is usually 1ish.

    And I always read on my lunch hour. Occasionally, before, I'd go to lunch with friends, but usually I am reading. It's how I get so much read.

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    1. So much fun to read at lunch! There’s a whole stress level that is gone, you know? A tiny silver lining..

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    2. I’m addicted to my morning paper at breakfast but I’ve run out of it by lunch

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  5. Peeling back the privacy screen on Nome Street. Amy and I live together, but we don't eat together, nor do we cook for each other. Amy's autism plus being a 'supertaster' has led to food choices based on texture as well as base flavorings. I, on the other hand, am a happy omnivore. As a solitary muncher, my meal is usually spent with the p/c, reading or researching, never writing. As you all know, I am a meditator. There is a meditation exercise for everything including mindful eating. When the mood strikes, I do have a "mindful' meal; all this means is paying close attention to the food prep through the clean up. Not gobbling is hard during mindful meals.. it is suggested that chewing the food should be included in consuming the food. In all honesty, gobbling while googling is more the norm than sitting mindfully.

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    1. Good one, Coralee: "gobbling while googling". I've been known to do that. And I've tried mindful eating, but all that thoughtful chewing can get a bit tedious!

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    2. me too, love gobbling while googling! I will always remember when my in-laws went to a mindfulness class--I think this was related to a heart issue. They only went once and came back marveling about how much time was spent considering and studying a raisin. We laughed and laughed...

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    3. I so understand this! The only thing that drives me crazy about googling and gobbling is that sometimes I actually do forget that I’ve eaten whatever it is… I will have had a whole fabulous apple, and not remember eating it. So I try to sort of… Be mindful in a modern way :-) so I don’t miss out on the pleasure of it.

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    4. Yes I
      It’s always a good idea to slow down and taste the food

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    5. Yes, Coralee, I try to slow down and really taste the food. Although sometimes when I get too involved with the morning paper, I'll realize that my toast is gone...

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  6. Rhys, I can completely identify with you and John on lunch. Philip goes to bed early and is up by 5:30 or 6:00 at the latest. He’s ready to eat lunch by 11:30. I stay up late and get up late, so it’s usually 2 or 3 before I eat lunch, and it’s usually not much for me for lunch. I usually fix supper, and we do eat supper together. I’ve been fixing supper since the beginning of the year with no carry out. It’s just felt safer. But, this Wednesday is my birthday, and we’re going to do carry-out then.

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    1. Happy birthday, kathy! We have felt the same way about carry out, so I will be interested in your experience!

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    2. Kathy, the couple times we've tried carryout the fries were cold and inedible, or something was missing when we got home, or some other mishap. That was early on, and I hope restaurants have gotten their acts together. It could also just be the ones we tried.

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    3. We've learned to be careful what we order. A big Cajun seafood stew is perfect, or good Chinese. Tempura (or anything fried)? Not so much.

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    4. With any fried take out 10-15 minutes in a pan in the oven makes a big difference... usually

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    5. We have been doing take out once a week or so since the delivery services really got up and running, and it's been fine. Usually we get Chinese, and we heat it a bit in the microwave to that it's really hot.

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    6. I think you have to be strategic and think about what travels well in take-out containers and foods get ruined (steamed in containers) and can't be recovered by reheating at home.

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    7. We've been doing take out since the restaurants reopened in June. It has been just perfect. I reheat things in the oven, if necessary, including French fries and we are thrilled. I am the chief cook and bottle-washer here. I bake the almost all bread, except for the rye because...Kosher bakery rye, which I can't top...I bake all the goodies, I cook all the meals, so yeah, take out at least once a week. Not apologizing.

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  7. Lunch is either soup (one pot to wash), sandwich (one knife to wash), or leftovers (one container to wash). I get it so early, I'm hungry around 10ish but try to eat lunch around noon. I will grab a fruit to deter the hunger pain.

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    1. I don't get up as early as you Dru, but ready for lunch around 11!

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    2. Oh gosh, we wind up eating lunch at around two, if we’re lucky! But sometimes we don’t have dinner until nine…

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  8. Lunch is simple here, too. I often poach an egg in the microwave and have it on sourdough toast or on salad. Hugh and I always eat dinner together, but when I sit down to lunch after a long morning working, I want to read the paper in quiet. It's one of those quarantine-annoyances that he often comes in (after a long morning not working) at exactly that time and wants to TALK with me. Sheesh.

    I love eating lunch out, but haven't done it much since leaving the day job. Like Debs, I more often met friends for happy hour or dinner. Except at conferences, of course. The Wicked Authors always used to sneak out to that fabulous French bistro in Bethesda for lunch on the Friday of Malice and have a glass of Prosecco. Sigh. Fingers crossed for 2022.

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    1. It will happen again! We have to believe it… And you will get your tea pot in person!

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    2. Oh I miss those wine get-togethers with my girlfriends and daughter so much! Especially gathering around the island in our kitchen, with cheese boards and platters of nibbles, and so much good conversation and laughter.

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    3. Edith, I'm with you on the lunch interruption. I love to read while I eat lunch--it's the only way I even begin to keep up with my reading. But my hubby does not see my open book or Kindle as a hint, lol.

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    4. Our kids learned to read out of self-defense. Steve and I, both big readers, were used to reading at meals before we got married, and we continued the practice at about half our meals together. We still had/have family discussions, of course, very often about what we were/are reading.

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  9. First, Hank, seriously: Brussel sprout salad???? I'd not darken a restaurant's door for that!

    Lunch is on the fly here, often a fried egg or two on toast. Dinner is always sit-down and proper, with both of us. I'm looking forward to the freedom of languid lunches once I leave full-time work...and once Covid permits it.

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    1. Oh, I'll have to try to figure out how to describe it. It's truly truly delicious. Like--cole slaw with Brussels.

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    2. I’ve discovered you can nearly always substitute Brussels sprouts for cabbage

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    3. I've never made a Brussels salad but have eaten in restaurants--delicious. I'd love a good recipe.

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    4. HANK: I get it, it's like a thinly-shaved brussels sprouts salad.
      I have a couple of recipes for those.

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    5. GRACE: Let's have those recipes! I do like Brussel sprouts, but either pan fry them shredded or roast them quartered. A coleslaw type salad sounds intriguing now that I think about it...

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    6. Krogers here sells a bagged salad mix that includes shaved Brussels sprouts and all the garnish and a dressing. I think it's called Sweet Kale. Steve was skeptical, but we both really like it.

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    7. AMANDA: Here you a couple of online recipes I used.
      You can modify the toppings, or dressings, if you don't like them.

      https://www.loveandlemons.com/shaved-brussels-sprout-salad/
      https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/shaved-brussels-sprouts-salad/

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  10. On workdays, my lunch is usually a version of what passes for "light" for me. I have been eating less than a full lunch for a while now as a means of decreasing my food intake so that I can at least pretend I'm following my doctor's advice.

    Once in a great while, we might order a pizza for lunch on Friday.

    And every couple of weeks or so my friend Ann and I meet up at the 99 restaurant in Wareham on Sunday afternoon for an actual lunch. We sit at the bar, torment her smoking hot daughter-in-law (okay, that's mostly me...but in a fun way) and I have either a bacon cheeseburger, chicken tenders or balsamic chicken.

    Yes, I am rather boring when it comes to lunch these days.

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    1. Those lunches sound delish. Boring isnt necessarily bad--if it means you get to have what you enjoy!

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  11. Lunch is pretty variable for me. Sometimes it is leftovers, other times I make a new soup or sandwich or salad. When I am sitting in front of the laptop with lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays for FCF, it is usually an easy meal.

    HANK AND ROBERTA: I can't imagine eating the SAME LUNCH every day! What is the Canadian cheddar you are using?

    I am starting to get FB and Amazon Photos memories pop up in my feed this month about past conferences (Left Coast Crime) and other vacations where I lunched very well and often with friends (sigh).

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    1. I know, it's weird isn't it? I will only veer off that path if the leftovers are outstanding--say a piece of BBQ chicken pizza:) The cheese is Boar's head Canadian cheddar

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    2. ROBERTA: I remember buying Boar's Head deli meats in the US supermarkets but have never tried any of their cheese! I have not seen any Boar's Head products here in Ottawa but they may be in some select delis or stores.

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    3. Yeah, I know..it HAS crossed my mind. But when I think of alternatives, they;re not as tempting. I go through phases. And if YOU were here, I know things would be different! xxx

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    4. And I am swooning that you build lunch around FCF! xoo

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    5. HANK: Lunch with me would never be boring! XOXO

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  12. I eatt my lunch alone because of everyone's schedules, but that's fine. Peace and quiet are desirable lunch companions. Lunch is often leftovers--today's leftovers will be chili. Yum! I am looking forward to lunches with my friends and my sisters--oh how I miss those!!

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    1. Yes, I so agree--very peaceful. There's a lack of stress, funnily, in these stressful times.

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  13. I have to say, I have gotten much more into sandwiches over the pandemic, and it's wonderful. I get some ice meat and cheese - several times from the lovely local Rosemont Market, where my young friend can pick things up for me - lettuces, tomato in season, mayo - it's such a commonplace pleasure. The trick is having GOOD bread, and toasting it.

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    1. That was supposed to be "nice" meat, not "ice meat," which I guess is what folks in Texas were eating these past few days?

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    2. Yes, and some extremely cold potato chips.

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    3. We understood! And yes, they are delicious. Tuna salad with lettuce and tomatoes, so yummy. Egg salad. ANd yes, toast! Oh, bacon lettuce and tomato! SO GOOD!!

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    4. My hubby eats a sandwich for lunch every day (unless there are leftovers that he likes) but I have never been a big sandwich eater. When I do have them, I'm famous for picking off half the bread. Toast with topping is another thing altogether, however. Today I might go for my special treat--toasted sourdough with very sharp white cheddar, topped with some Branston pickle. British "pickle" is really hard to describe to Americans. It's not what we call pickles, but more of a dark, tangy chutney. Absolutely delicious with cheese.

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  14. I am generally alone at lunch (kids gone, husband at work). Well, it's Koda and me. If there are leftovers, I'll hit those. Sometimes it's cheese and apple slices. Sometimes soup, sometimes a sandwich. But whatever it is, it has to be consumable as I work because lunch is also my dedicated writing time.

    But I do enjoy social lunches when I can get them. I was meeting my daughter because hey, what college student doesn't like free food?

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  15. I wake up hungry and breakfast is usually the same, Cheerios and banana. Lunch, for years, has been whenever and whatever I fancied. Until Julie retired. She is serious about lunch. And now that I'm immobilized, I'm dependent on her for all meals. But I still don't care about lunch, although she asks me daily what I want. Yesterday we had grilled cheese. I'd prefer a grilled tortilla, topped with cheese and green chilis, but I have to remember Julie doesn't cook, and even that is a bit complicated for her. Yep, it is. The grilled cheese was bad enough.

    What she can do is make salads. So starting today, that's what I'm requesting for lunches. Easy, within her repertoire, and good for me.

    Snacks for me might be Luigi's Mango Italian Ice, nachos, mango yogurt, or any fruit. And a Hershey's nugget.

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    1. I'm with you on that grilled tortilla, Ann!

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    2. It's coming up on late afternoon here, but I must need more coffee. I just read that your lunch is Cheetos and a banana. I thought - You Go Girl! Then I re-read.

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    3. Cheetos and banana! A new taste sensation.

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  16. Ever since I retired lunch has always been a solitary affair and I would often eat the same thing day in and day out. I didn't think of it as being in a rut, it was what I wanted. Can you believe that for several years my lunch was a bowl of shredded wheat with blueberries or bananas? That's no longer the case- I just don't feel like that any more!

    But you people getting your second shot! Wow! I can't even get the first one and have no idea when any will be available for me. Without driving for several hours, that is.

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    1. I can understand it! I do that, too, go through food phases. Once, years ago, it was baked potatoes and broccoli. I could not wait for it every day!

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  17. We find ourselves together at the kitchen table mid-day. I eat an apple and hunk of Havarti cheese (decision of the day: dill or plain Harvarti), while my husband heats a can of Progresso soup. We read the mail, browse magazines and catalogues, talk about the news.

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    1. That is a HUGE decision! Both are so delicious. I love dill havarti in scrambled eggs.

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  18. All of your lovely sandwiches are making me hungry. Lunch hasn't changed for me in the pandemic. My hubby still works (essential employee) at his job and I still work from home. Too often, my slapped together lunches are dull. But you've inspired me to create something more inspired today. Perhaps an egg and guacamole on wheat sandwich. I desperately miss lunch out with friends. And I'm so far down on the vaccine list, I doubt it will happen before autumn.

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    1. I think, when you work from home, getting out of the house once in a while, to meet a friend, or just see different scenery, is essential.

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    2. That sounds delicious! And yes, Gigi, we have to remember there's a real world!

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  19. Teaching meant 25 minutes for lunch, so meeting days, and real time to eat and talk, were precious, and retirement brought time to meet to lunch with friends. I do miss it. I now have late breakfast, snacks in the afternoon, and supper, shared on Facebook with a group of storytelling friends writing about dinner and sharing recipes at our virtual diner. ;-)

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  20. Now I'm hungry. And I just had my little breakfast of coffee and a square of dark chocolate.

    Until we moved and incorporated Steve's office into the house, he always worked half a mile away, so he nearly always came home for lunch. Even when I worked outside the home he was reliably to be found in our kitchen, eating whatever leftovers were around. He always tells people I elevated his lunches by bringing a microwave into the marriage. Before he would always just eat them cold.

    So when I worked from home, and since I've retired, we have both lunch and dinner together, every day that he is not at the farm (usually one day a week). Most of the time we each eat whatever strikes our fancy, but like yesterday, occasionally one of us will decided to make eggs and/or bacon. I make all the omelets, and Steve does a much better job of frying eggs without breaking them than I do. He doesn't like poached eggs, though, but I enjoy them on a salad or toast. Now that our farm tenants' chickens are laying, we have wonderful eggs around.

    I like variety, and could not eat the same thing every day any more. Especially after this year without going out. Yesterday I talked to three girlfriends I have not been able to see for a whole year as of this week. For years this group of friends have celebrated our birthdays with a fabulous brunch at our favorite restaurant, and it was a year ago today for the last time. Sob.

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    1. Oh, it's terrible how the pandemic has spoiled traditions like your birthday celebrations! Next year!

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    2. Gigi, I have my fingers crossed for earlier! I am the last of our little group to get my second shot in two weeks (I'm the youngest, most everyone else is already over 70). We have decided we are getting together mid-April, by golly.

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    3. KAREN: Yes, missing out on birthday celebrations with good friends is sad!

      I am still working on my solo birthday dinner tomorrow. I am not doing take-out mainly because 1)restaurants are generally open Thursday-Sunday here, 2) I am being cautious due to allergies. The worst thing for me would be to get a bad allergic reaction after enjoying a take-out birthday meal!

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    4. Grace, I am sending you good birthday dinner vibes!

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    5. KAREN: Thanks! I have the wine, and the key ingredient for the main course, but am having to adjust my original planned menu because I struck out at yesterday's FM.

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    6. Awww... Yes, birthdays. Such a casualty of the pandemic. BUT at least we are alive to have them...

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    7. This year I had a virtual birthday celebration on Zoom and it was wonderful to see my family on the computer.

      Diana

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  21. Yes, I do miss lunch with friends - sigh.

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  22. Hank and I are on the same page. I never took lunch in the before times. Although I worked from home, it seemed if I took a break for a real lunch, I had zero interest or energy in returning to work. Plus I hated to come back to the twenty urgent e-mails and five urgent voice mails that slowed my afternoon. So - lunch at the desk with one hand on the sandwich or salad and one on the keyboard.

    These days I'm up before the dawn to get a leg up on the writing day and breakfast with hubs is my first break. Neither of us are lunch eaters - although I may make a salad or sandwich it seems old habits die hard and it's eaten at the desk. I usually cook supper three nights a week and hubs takes the other two. All in all, it's worked out well.

    I miss having lunch with friends at the weekends, or just a simple catch-up over a glass of wine. I haven't gotten my vaccination schedule yet, but when I do...Planning some girl time in person.

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  23. My big meal these days is breakfast. I get up and shower and take my morning walk (except today I shovelled snow instead) then come in, grind the coffee and decide on what delectable thing I feel like today.... This morning it was poached egg on rye toast. Sometimes it's a fruit smoothie, or a full mixed grill. It sets me up for the day.

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  24. When outdoor dining was/is/was/and is again available, I'll go around the corner to one of two restaurants for lunch. One place it is usually a cheese omelet, the other is either a bowl of the chili or the pot pie. I really want the cheeseburgers and fries but am trying to be a little sensible. When outdoor dining was not available, I would bring a sandwich, piece of fruit or carrots or leftovers from the weekend's stew. Problem with eating at the office is WHERE to eat. There are a few tables in the office but they are now out of service so we can go the the conference room but only two people at a time. No matter where I have lunch, there is a book involved, I've tried eating in the car, but really don't feel comfortable there and the book with a sandwich in the car is one thing but warmed up leftovers don't work so well. I'm not that good at juggling in confined spaces.

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    1. Oh, eating in the car, under those circumstances, sounds a little bleak...

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  25. I used to go out to lunch with my mom once a week and I know she misses that. These days lunch is usually either leftovers or a sandwich. Once in a while we’ll get takeout for lunch - usually sushi.

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    1. SUSHI! I miss sushi. HI to your mom from all of us...

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  26. I yield to your suggestions.. tomorrow it will be gravlox, which I just prepped.. thanks folks, hard cooked eggs were getting boring.

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  27. I just have to share. On Friday I was two weeks past my second vaccine, and yesterday I got to HUG MY GRANDDAUGHTER!!! I am so happy!! It is just the best feeling in the world.

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    1. Oh, gosh, that is lifechanging. Wow. That's almost weird in its wonderfulness.

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    2. DEBS: that is so wonderful that you could HUG your granddaughter. I wonder what she will remember about the pandemic since she is still so little.

      Diana

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    3. Yay, Debs!

      My grandson just turned 16 last week. The last time I got to hug him he was shorter than me. Now he's more than a head taller!

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  28. Since I quit working lunch is pretty much hit or miss. Mainly miss. If I'm hungry I may make a grilled cheese sandwich or nuke 2 or 3 taquitos. Frank always offers to take me out to eat somewhere and I take him up on it occasionally.

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  29. Jungle Reds,

    Great post! I actually slept in this morning so here I am late to the party! I've been waking up early these days. No idea why.

    As a habit since school, I always have a big breakfast (yes, I get up extra early so I have time for a big breakfast) then a medium sized lunch and a smaller sized dinner.

    Lunch is usually left overs. Once in a while, I eat Beyond Burgers or fresh salmon from the local grocery store. Sometimes it's vegan onion soup or butter squash soup with ginger and nutmeg when the weather is really cold.

    Like many of you, I really miss eating out at my favorite restaurants. I have NOT been vaccinated yet. I was surprised that my mom has not been vaccinated yet since she fits the criteria Now for vaccines since she is over 75 years old. My 68 year old cousin and her husband already have been vaccinated at Moscone Center in S.F. A neighbor asked me if I have been vaccinated yet.

    When I saw our doctor in the fall, he thought that perhaps we would be vaccinated around April?

    I'm thinking about the Malice Domestic this year and I really would LOVE to go this year. IF we are NOT vaccinated, then it will have to be virtual instead of in person for me.


    Diana

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    1. Yes, we will have to see. (and I am trying to work on getting up earlier, so I envy you...)

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    2. Hank, I wish I could sleep in. My sinusitis will not let me sleep in. Usually I wake up with a stuffed nose.

      Diana

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  30. First, let me say that I am absolutely in love with the "before times" phrase! So, in the before times my husband (who is an executive coach) was generally out on appointments at lunchtime so having him working virtually during the pandemic means we have been lunching together for nearly a year now. His go-to lunch is a sandwich of either lebanon bologna or turkey with provolone cheese and pickle on Dave's Bread. I tend to eat an avocado and some fruit unless we have leftovers that call to me. We're scheduled for 2nd doses of vaccine next week unless Pennsylvania has given them away as 1st doses (:

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    1. Oh, yay, keep us posted. And yes, don't you love the together lunches?

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  31. "Or at least, a high point on the scale where the bar is low."
    Brilliantly said, Hank!

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  32. Lunch is a painful subject for me, as I’m on a clear liquid diet today until I get to swallow a whole lot of horrid chalky liquid later in preparation for a scope tomorrow. Yuck.
    But if I could order, I’d like a sandwich/salad combo, please, with a really good dill pickle on the side.

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    1. LOVE dill pickles. The half sour ones, for me. And oh, dear, Wendy. You are brave. AND WISE. Keep us posted.

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  33. I usually grab leftovers from the night before. If I'm feeling ambitious, I make tuna salad, tomato wedges, and avocado. My all-time favorite. Can't remember the last time I "did lunch" outside the confines of home, but looking forward to it after our 2nd vaccines take hold!

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