Dog tired today. Had not much appetite so ate little all day, now I’m hungry but have no energy to cook.
What are your tips on food to cook when you’re not in the mood for cooking and eating?
ramen noodles with additional flavors in your pantry?
pizza delivered? most restaurants have delivery service these days …
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Well, people will rip me for it, but ramen noodles are a lifesaver when you’re knackered. Put in some fresh greens–anything from spinach to basil, parsley, even lettuce, add some leftover protein like chicken or pork, or even crack in an egg or two. Tart it up with sriracha, Worcester, chili sauce. It saves the day when we’ve driven all day and are famished.
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A can of tuna, bit of chopped onion, dry oregano, bit of bread.
Then worry about all that Mercury because tuna fish is quite high in the food chain hahaha
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Omelettes, in their infinite variety.
Add in a salad, loaf of good bread, and an excellent bottle of wine if I have to pretend that the meal was planned.
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I like Meloncollie’s suggestion, but sometimes even that’s too much. I keep lots of good-quality commercial or homemade ravioli, gnudi, etc. in the freezer. Toss into a pot of chicken broth with some of the aforementioned greenery (or red capsicum, celery, carrots, or whatever is lurking in the veggie bin). Simmer for 5 minutes, done.
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Skip the cooking. PB & Jelly on a slice of toast.
Or muesli in a bowl of milk. Add banana if not too exhausted.
Otherwise pop this in the oven
https://www.coop.ch/de/lebensmittel/tiefgekuehlt/fertiggerichte/tiefkuehlpizza/pizza/italpizza-numero-uno-margherita/p/7332723?context=search&trackingtoken=_SEP_357f096ea36f53ea956336ee1e364e92_POS_1
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Eggs. They’re my go to when I want something quick and easy.
Omelettes, scrambled egg etc with whatever else I might have lying around.
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I usually have some cold rice in the fridge - re-cooked rice has a much lower glycemic index than rice which is freshy cooked.
Anyway - egg-fried rice takes literally five minutes:
Heat some oil in a wok - add four beaten eggs and stir until cooked. Add the rice and stir-fry/cook for four minutes and add sliced spring onions and soy sauce in the last minute.
Otherwise, for times like this, I always have some frozen bolognaise in portions in the freezer from when I have made too much.
I just chuck it in a pan on a low heat so it thaws and reheats at the same time as the other pan is cooking the pasta.
Perhaps 15 minutes in total but realistically just two minutes of actual food prep.
Being an active person, I need to eat carbs at a meal.
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Always have flatbread in the fridge which is great for wraps with a cooked or uncooked filling and also super for toasted cheese sandwiches.
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I make a couple of litres of soup and use 500ml for dinner, freeze the rest in 500ml boxes…black bean-salsiccia, fennel, butternut squash, carrot-chipotle. Our
other quick favourite is Cheesy Mess (aka savoury bread pudding): Butter 5-6 large crustless sandwich-type bread slices and cut into 1cm cubes. Put half in a casserole and top with 100g shredded Cheddar cheese. Add another layer of bread and another 100g cheese. In a beaker, immersion blend 250ml milk, 2 eggs, 1 shallot. Season with 1/2 tsp each of paprika, cayenne, and dry Coleman’s mustard, salt and pepper. Pour over the bread, put the casserole into a bain marie. Place in oven at 150C (no need to pre-heat) and leave it for 60 minutes. Eat some soup to tide you over meanwhile. It’s rib-sticking good.
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Cheese on toast. Pairs well with a massive beer after a crap day. No fuss, no fannying about.
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No cooking: a flatbread or tortilla, slice of cheese, slice of ham, mustard, done in 30 seconds and consumed in 60 seconds.
Sometimes we boil 10-12 eggs at a time, peel and dry them, stick in the fridge, add to salads, sandwiches.
I don’t have a pasta machine, so when I do make some, it goes into the freezer. When I run out of that, here are two items I can recommend. Both are found in SPAR. The filled pastas come in several flavours and go on sale for 3€; the 'nduja sauce (hot!) is cheap and goes a long way when added to a more sedate tomato sauce.
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Bocadillos. of anything that you have in the fridge, or in a can, with garlic mayo and/or fried tomato (also from a tetrabrick). For example: (you can put all ingredients, or less)
tuna( from a can)+garlic mayo + tomato (cut in slices) + cappers + pickled stuff
sweet peppers (from a can) + cheese + garlic mayo
any cold cut + cheese + garlic mayo + dried tomatos + cappers + pickled stuff
Tomato (cut in slices) + olive oil + jamon serrano (parma ham) + salt
the limit is your imagination…
or, you can try what is called “guarrindongadas”, i.e. mixes that nobody would expect, but…taste sooooo good.
Just remember your student days, when you would be hungry like a lion, but had to study for an exam, or you would have a ‘white night’ (for whichever reason 
) , so you would raid the kitchen or the fridge, and put things together without the restrains of ‘culinary savoir faire’…
like canned tuna (in oil) eaten with Maria cookies… or… anchovies (also from a can) with sweetened condensed milk on bread…or…sweet sponge cake with anchovies and roquefort cheese. Ahh… those creative student times… 
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quesadilla - if you have some gruyere or cheddar cheese, tortillas…Maybe throwin some bellpeppers
Talking about food - was wondering why there’s no jacket-potato culture here? Do you know of any restaurants/takeways that serve jacket-potatoes?
I’ve never seen big enough spuds to make a decent jacket potato here (or at least not that often). Big enough for a raclette side dish but nowhere near big enough to take on a dollop of beans or cheese or tuna.
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You could probably bake your own if you really tried.
Here are the steps involved:
- Get a potato, put some holes in it and put it in the oven.
That’s it.
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The only vaguely starchy potatoes I’ve found in 25 years in Europe have been DE mehlig types…and they are not anywhere near a Piper or Idaho, which both have 20-25% starch.