Last week Calvert Farm at the Sunday market had delicata squash. I made this soup: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/delicata-squash-soup. Except I used some bacon grease instead of butter to cook the onions. It was delicious. Seriously one of the best soups I've ever had. Try it.

Up in Hunt Valley is a Giant. There they have these spinach and chicken cakes. (In the deli department) these on top of your veggies, ummmm. Good eatin'

Where I am there really aren't any places to do what you do. I haven't worked anyplace with a cafeteria

I bring my own tomatoes (in summer - when they're good) and get the rest of the stuff from the salad bar at work. I like the soups at Stone Mill bakery at Greenspring. Sometimes I take one of those quart things to work and have it for a couple of days. The pumpkin soup is very good, but I find it needs some spicing up, so I bring in some spices from home too sometimes. Sometimes I bring in a salad dressing that I'm very fond of or "exotic" salad items I can't get at work like avacados, roasted red peppers (jar), artichoke hearts, etc. Lunch is a hard meal for me too. We rarely have leftovers and I'm sick of Lean Cuisines. Right now, I'm not sick of salad but it will happen as soon as the tomatoes get yukky again and I'll be eating yukky work tuna fish or yukky work soups with such flavors as cheeseburger and fries (really!).

i usually bring leftovers from the night before's dinner so they are't forgotten about. you could go the sandwich route for a bit too...

Make your own sandwich, but bring the different parts of the sandwich individually wrapped, so that each keep some of its original taste. quicker to put together than you would think. pair it will a small salad and you are good to go. (note I use a lot of different shaped plastic containers)

Where I used to work we had a "shorty" refrigerator. I used to keep various things in there such as real maple syrup for breakfast pancakes from the cafeteria, my own cream cheese for their bagels, real mustard (not the packets of the yellow stuff, which is only good on soft pretzels), and so forth. As you mentioned, I would "cherry (tomato) pick" the salad bar or other dishes, get fresh vegetables for my sandwiches, etc. Also had various spices in my desk to liven things up, and we always had salsa and hot sauces.

Make a batch of the Carrot and Coconut Soup from the September 10th Sun. Leave out the lime, add some saffron, and use chives instead of cilantro. Quite yummy, and reheats very well.

Adding some chorizo to it is very nice as well.

That sounds good. What was wrong with the lime? EL

I will preface this by saying that I both dislike and have little time for cooking, so my lunches tend to be random things thrown into a bag with zero preparation. Quality is pretty much the last criterion on the list. However,

-- If you prefer to make your own soup, freeze it in individual containers and grab one each day. Alternatively, you can buy a can of Progresso soup (many broth-based soups are healthy enough to have an entire can) and a bunch of plastic containers. Pour a can of soup into the container, microwave, drink.

-- Many cheeses are sold in individual serving packages, (and I am not referring to that rubberized string "cheese"), or you can buy higher quality cheeses and cut them yourself. Grab the cheese and a bit of baguette/crispbread/that awful stuff most Americans consume, and you're set.

-- A carton of nonfat plain yogurt and a fruit makes a good dessert. (And I feel sacrilegious in saying it, but you can get those single-serving cans of fruit....) Other possibilities are those little packs of Pepperidge Farm cookies or tartlets from the bakery.

-- Insalata Caprese is a great lunch meal, easy to prepare, and tastes better anyway when the flavors are allowed to seep together.

-- Couscous salads are also good, cold or hot

-- Jiff has single-serving peanut butter cups that are excellent with apples or celery and raisins/dried cranberries.

-- The 100-Calorie packets that companies sell these days are useful less for health than for convenience. Pass right by the Nabisco ones and go for the Right Bites or Pepperidge Farms brands.

What was wrong with the lime?

Nothing was wrong with the lime. I tasted the soup before and after adding the lime juice, and unlike the author, I kind of preferred the taste before adding the lime. YMMV.

I must also add that I was very surprised at how good that soup was. My wife was the one that noticed the recipe and thought it would be good. I read the recipe and couldn't envision the taste at all. I was quite pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it.

Re: the carrot and coconut soup...

It just occurred to me that the before-lime juice tasting was also before-adding the saffron. So maybe it wasn't the presence or absence of lime that was significant, but rather the saffron.

Monday: Chop up weekend leftovers and roll in a wrap. Post blog entry re: My Monday Wrap.
Tuesday: Invite co-workers to joing you in ordering from a place that delivers. Write blog post about the meals and who made the best/worst orders.
Wednesday: Have a local chef bring you a brown bag lunch. Have the Multimedia guy video the delivery and the chef's brief unpacking and description of the brown bag contents. Great exposure for the chef and for Kate Shatzkin who will accept the brown bag on camera to protect your anonymity. Write a blog post day of. Post vid thursday.
Thursday: Steal a lunch from the community fridge in "Tune Town" and blog about it with an attitude -- like Simon Cowl with a hangover. You could call it "Other People's Lunch Thursday". If you're too timid for that job, invite your co-workers to bring you a lunch item every thursday. One item each. Evaluate their offerings in a blog post. Praise or shame them for their good taste or the abject paucity thereof.
Friday: Skip lunch and leave early.

Oh, I can stoop lower than these suggestions for a post. EL

My daughter and I used to talk about her "salad bar grocery store" when she was an undergrad at Bard. With a decent apartment kitchen at her disposal each year (big enough to brew her own beer) she and her mates would often raid the salad bar for ingredients for stir-fries, chili and other better-than-the-dining-hall fare. Eventually the staff started putting carry-out containers at the salad bar, a better alternative to having the china bowls walk out the door according to management.

I haven't been doing lunch much lately, but I used to do either leftovers, cheese and bread (both good, sometimes with some fresh fruit) or rice with something on top (mango pickle, beans, veggies, tofu, whatever).

EL, you've flown into and out of Los Angeles lots. What was your reaction as the jet was lifting off and you looked out the window and saw the hangar with the big sign that reads "LAX Maintenance"?
Just curious.

I always get an aisle seat. Sorry I missed it. :-) EL

I brown-bagged most of my working life, starting in 1966, long before there was such a thing as a microwave oven. I was SO happy when microwaves were invented and I could have hot lunch without having to buy it. I would make make more for supper (e.g., four servings of pasta rather than three) then take the leftovers for lunch...saves a bundle.

If you prefer salad, I have a wonderful "formula" that I stole from Michael Gettier when he owned Orchard Inn.
(1) A portion of your favorite greens (mesclun/red- or greenleaf lettuce/romaine--whatever)
(2) A little VERY thinly sliced onion/scallion/shallot--whatever
(3) A few toasted nuts (pecan/walnut/pinenut/almond--whatever
(4) Fruit (apples/pears/plums/berries, dried cherries/cranberries/raisins/apricots--whatever)
Mix a vinaigrette with sherry or fruit vinegar, a little mustard (German hot-sweet mustard is wonderful), and canola or vegetable or nut oil.
Carry the dressing in a small jar and dress the salad when you're ready to eat it. I love this formula because you can make salad every night for months without duplicating it. Bonne chance.

Lyrics by Harry Nilsson:
Brother bought a coconut, he bought it for a dime
His sister had another one, she paid it for the lime

She put the lime in the coconut, drink 'em both together
She put the lime in the coconut, drink 'em both up
She put the lime in the coconut, drink 'em both together
Put the lime in the coconut, call the doctor, woke him up, say

Doctor! Ain't there nothin' I can take, I say
Doctor! To relieve this bellyache, I say
Doctor! Ain't there nothin' I can take, I say
Doctor! To relieve my bellyache

I put the lime in the coconut, drink 'em both together
Put the lime in the coconut, I drink 'em both down
I put the lime in the coconut, drink 'em both together
Put the lime in the coconut, call de Doctor, woke him up, say

Doctor! Ain't there nothin' I can take, I say
Doctor! To relieve my bellyache, I say
Doctor! Ain't there nothin' I can take, I say
Doctor! And he say, lemme get this straight

You put the lime in the coconut, drink 'em both together
Put the lime in the coconut, you drink 'em both up
You put the lime in the coconut, drink 'em both together
Put the lime in the coconut, call de Doctor, woke him up, say

Doctor! Ain't there nothin' I can take, you say
Doctor! To relieve your bellyache, you say
Doctor! Ain't there nothin' I can take, you say
Doctor! You such a silly woman

Put the lime in the coconut, drink 'em both together
Put the lime in the coconut, then you feel better
Put the lime in the coconut, drink 'em both down
Put the lime in the coconut, an' call me in the mo-o-o-ornin'

{Repeat once from start}

Woo, woo, ain't there nothin' I can take, I say
Woo, woo, to relieve my bellyache, I say
Doctor! Doctor! Ain't there nothin' I can take, I say
Yah, yah, to relieve my bellyache

Put the lime in the coconut, drink 'em both together

I keep Fage 0% yogurt in the fridge at work and honey in my desk.

I have peanut butter in my desk as well as rice cakes.

My version of chicken salad: sundried tomatoes, feta, fresh basil, grilled chicken, olive oil. Made the night before in a ziplock (I grill the chicken all at once on Sundays).

hummus and toasted pita. I toast the pita the night before in a pan with olive oil, pack it in foil, and reheat in the toaster oven at work.

protein bar. Especially like ZonePerfect peanut butter/chocolate and South Beach peanut butter snack bars.

Protein shakes, put the powder and milk in the container in the morning, keep in the fridge at work til lunch.

soup.

leftovers.

Leftovers are great. However I try think smart when we go out or shop.

For example: We had Panera Bread on Sunday for dinner. I normally ge the pick 2 and leave it at that. However, I thought ahead for Monday and ordered a whole sandwich and a whole salad and then only ate 1/2 of each on Sunday and the rest Monday for lunch! I always try to leave lunch sizeportion of what I order when we eat out to eat the next day- it always help me not over eat and watch what I eat better portion wise!

Those Healthy Choice pannis and steamer are pretty good! Always add 100 calorie pack cookie!

Eating it out of something more pleasant than a plastic clam shell, whatever "it" is, might help.

I keep a set of IKEA bright plastic ware for children at work. They are a step above disposable plastic and are unbreakable. I also have a bento box I use sometimes.

I left off curd rice. Mix rice and yogurt, add sliced green onions, spice mixes, Indian pickle, whatever to zip it up a little.

I looked through my drawers to see what was there.

In one drawer, have a few cans of Progresso soups for those days when I really want something hot.

In another drawer, I have several of the "tuna in bags" plain and with different flavor combinations.

In another drawer, I have some raisins, dried apricots, pecans, and walnuts.

In the small frig, I keep a jar of mayonnaise, two different mustards, hot sauce, and ponzu.

I bring leftovers if they are available, but can always decide what I feel like eating at the last minute.

My favorite economic indicator of late is the fact that sales of brown bags are suddenly way up. Sign of the times ...

Elizabeth, I forgot one component of the salad formula: cheese: shredded or grated or cubed or shaved; cheddar, feta, Asiago/Romano/Parmesan, gouda, Swiss, crumbled bleu--whatever. The joy of this formula is, any combination that works in your head will be tasty on the plate, because it's what YOU like.

Do I take it y'all don't eat meat in your salad? Like chicken or ham or proscuitto?

I do sometimes, Bucky. Proscuitto, good bacon, sometimes.

I'd usually rather have beans for my protein. And more cheese.

I tried to answer this earlier, Bucky, but I think the IS cowboys cut me off at the pass! Anyway, yes, I like meat in salad, and beans - especially several types of beans, of course bacon is always great, aged or smoked cheese is good and here's my odd salad thing. I like something like dried cranberries or raisins in there too. And, chinese crunchy noodle thingys that are for chow mein - they rock in salads - especially the skinny ones. If I'm in the mood to make salad - I really make salad! BTW, I liked Tark's Grill BLT and crab salad very much, but it was much better when I bought all the ingredients AND a ripe avacado (my own addition) and made it at home.

You people eat beans at work? Don't they make you fart?

Anonymous, they don't do that to me, but evidently everything my co-worker eats does...I'm only sayin....