Grilled cheese, pb&j, depending on the age, buttered noodles,pieces of cheese, cut up fruit...

You can cut the sandwiches with cookie cutters for an extra treat. A single chocolate chip makes a good eye. so does a raisin.

You did fine. You are a gracious host.

Jo

I'm almost always good for something for adults....and PB and J works for most kids....but it's sometimes problematic whether I will have any "toddler bread" in the house.
Your lunch sounds perfect!
Linda C

That sounds like a perfect toddler lunch! Cheese and fruit are always easy. Plus, a mom traveling probably has some healthy food and can always supplement whatever you have on hand. I always have plain (unadorned) Cheerios, but that is because I have a 14 yo who almost lives on them, they have come into play more than once when there were tiny ones visiting.

You did well!

Alexa

I have lots on hand for vegetarian adults who might drop in - right now I have falafel paste ready to be fried into falafels, hummus, many kinds of fruit (papaya, stawberries, blood oranges, three kinds of grapes) plus fruit juices, corn and flour tortillas (that can be used to make wraps or quesadillas), whole wheat pita bread, strawberry ice cream (that I made on Sunday), ciabatta bread that I use for making quick pizza, pasta sauce, fresh basil in my yard and in my kitchen window, Italian cheeses for the pizza or quesadillas, etc.

I don't really have anything for a small child, however. I have samosas in the freezer that I can quickly cook in my deep fryers, and who know what else. I could feed a crowd with what is in my freezer. I seldom cook frozen food, but I keep buying it for some reason.

I need some unexpected company!! My sister will be coming mid-February, and I'm hoping she will want to eat in for a change. If it doesn't rain, we could barbeque something.

I manage to keep most of the mess in the house in my bedroom, but I'm ready to clear that out as well.

Lars

Thanks, all! It did work out well this time, but it made me think that I ought to be better prepared for drop-in guests in the future, now that my sister/BIL and niece's family have moved to the vicinity.

I do have PB & J in the pantry, and we always have a variety of fresh fruit. It dawns on me now that I could also have served soup, but it would have been Progresso, as I don't currently have any in the freezer. I have several kinds of meat (hot dogs, baked chicken tenders, cooked hamburgers and turkeyburgers) available, but that wouldn't have suited my vegetarian niece. I could have made egg salad but didn't think of it till too late. We usually have hummus in the fridge, but not today. I was also out of salad-type vegetables, and I used up the root veggies in a turkey stew this past weekend. Hence the fruit salad.

Lars, I love the idea of making falafel. In the past, I've used a mix, but I'd love to have your recipe. Can you keep the paste for a long time?

I'm going to make a list with all of your suggestions and my own thoughts, so that next time (if there IS a next time), I'll be ready with a few more options.

Lars, I ought to try your system: move all the clutter to the bedroom, so I can just close the door. Unfortunately, ... it would never all fit in there! Enjoy your sister's visit!

Sue

I don't know about a vegetarian guest other than quesadilla's or a grilled cheese sandwich but I often buy whole chickens when they are on sale, cook them up and chop up the meat , freeze on cookie sheet and put in baggies so I can throw together a chicken salad or hot chicken salad at the drop of a hat. Usually have eggs on hand and can throw together deviled eggs or egg salad. But most of all, I was so glad to hear you say the house was a mess. It's nice to know that there is someone else out there that can be caught of guard from time to time. Now, it will probably take you weeks to find everything you tossed in a closet or wherever in that 45 minutes. Been there, done that. LOL

I'm a vegetarian and I have some veggie entrees in the freezer which I often pop out when I'm too tired to cook. One is Morningstar farms gardenburgers, and I have sandwich buns in there too. I keep some V-8 or Campbell's vegetable soups on hand too, so I can have soup and sandwich anytime for a quick meal. I also keep cheeses, hummus, fruit, nuts, pickles, canned fish and other anti pasta type things around for a quick snack tray. I also often have extra muffins in the freezer. I freeze lots of extra stuff. I wish I had more unexpected company, it takes me forever to use things up!

Eggs for omelettes, plain, with cheese or with herbs. Another staple are tine of mixed beans that make a great salad mixed with tuna, shallots and herbs.

Sue, here's my falafel recipe below. I'm still making some adjustments to it. I like to add a little bulgur wheat to couscous to the paste to give it a bit of crunch, but the liquid has to be adjusted when this is done. When I first started making it, I used unpeeled fava beans, and they were too wet (they may have soaked too long), and when I made it last week-end, I put in too much bulgur and couscous, and it came out too dry. It's easy to adjust, however. You can easily adjust the parsley to your liking as well, but coriander is the most important flavor IMO.

Falafel from Fava Beans
1 cup dried peeled fava beans*
1 yellow or white onion
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander**
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
garbanzo flour, as needed
Oil for deep frying
Pita bread

To prepare the fava beans, first wash them thoroughly, cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil for about two minutes, and then rinse them and wash them again. Return them to the pan, cover with water and bring to a boil again. After the second boil, allow them to sit for at least an hour off the heat to soak. Then drain all the water.

Put the drained beans in a large food processor, and puree. Add the onion, garlic, and fresh parsley to the food processor and process until the onion is minced (or you could mince these by hand). Remove to a large bowl and add the salt, cumin, coriander, baking powder, and pepper and mix thoroughly. Allow this mixture to stand for 1 hour. If the dough is too dry, you can add a few drops of water; if it is too wet, you can some garbanzo flour, bulgur wheat, or dried couscous.

Form into balls the size of walnuts. Deep-fry in a wok or deep fryer at 350-375F until toasty brown and crunchy on the outside, about 4 minutes. (I use a timer) Drain on paper towels when done and store in a 200F oven if making a large batch.
NOTE: While the falafel batter is resting, prepare tahini-lemon sauce and slice a couple of cucumbers and tomatoes.

Tahini-Lemon Sauce
2/3 cup tahini
2/3 cup yogurt
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/3 cup lemon juice (about 2-3 lemons)
3 green onions, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup parsley, stems removed
dash of salt
1/8 tsp cayenne (or less, to taste)
1/8 tsp paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Put all ingredients in a small food processor and combine until onions and parsley are finely minced. Store in the refrigerator.

Serve falafel with Romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomato, pita bread, and the tahini-lemon sauce..

*Note: Make sure that you buy peeled fava beans, as peeling is rather time consuming � Goya is a good brand. Garbanzo beans can be substituted for fava beans, but they may have to soak longer. Do NOT use canned or cooked beans, as they will have too much liquid.

**For better flavor, use coriander seeds and grind them yourself in a coffee mill. One tablespoon of coriander seeds will yield 2 teaspoons ground.

Serves four to six.

You can use the lemon-tahini sauce as a salad dressing for leftover cucumber, tomato, and lettuce. The recipe makes about twice as much as you need for this amount of falafel, but I love to have leftover sauce.

Lars

I'm not a veggie, but I wanna have lunch at Lars's house!!

Jessica, I was thinking the same thing! Too bad Lars lives about 3000 miles away!

Lars, thanks for the recipe; it sounds delicious, and I'm going to try it sometime soon, as I do like falafel.

Georgysmom, I'm sure we're not alone in this, but it's nice to have company in my unpreparedness. ;-) Years ago, when my kids were small, we had more of a social life, and we frequently had guests for lunch after playgroup. But now that we're empty nesters, we rarely have unanticipated company, so I only buy and store the foods that we eat regularly.

I'd like to use some of these ideas just for our family, not only for guests. For example, preparing and freezing the chicken for chicken salad sounds like a smart thing to do anyway. And I'd like to try Islay Corbel's mix of tuna, beans, and shallots, too.

LPink, I actually have some MorningStar Grillers in the freezer, but I didn't have enough for everyone yesterday.

Thanks again for all the great ideas!

Sue

I forgot to add in my falafel recipe that I used 1/4 cup of bulgur wheat (medium) that I had soaked and drained while the fava beans were soaking. It's not necessary to add this, but it does provide the crunch. I often add the bulgur just at the end to adjust the thickness of the paste. I've kept the raw mixture in the fridge for as long as a week, and it was still good, and so you can definitely make the paste ahead of time. For me, the best thing about the recipe is the tahini sauce, but the falafel taste great too. I bought some more garbanzo flour at my local market (which is Middle Eastern, I believe), and then I realized that I had stored it in the freezer. You can make instant falafel with garbanzo flour and water plus the spices, but it is not as good as the fava bean option.

Another tip for the falafel - do NOT flatten the balls, as they may fall apart during frying. For some reason, they cook better when they are ball shaped. You can flatten them right after they are cooked, however, if you want.

Lars

Crustless quiche
Fritatta
Soup & sandwiches are always good.
Pasta salad ingredients (tuna/salmon, onion, celery, mayo/italian dressing, herbs, etc.)

Grace and Hospitality mostly and it sounds like you have that covered very well! I would think most people that drop in or arrive with short notice aren't going to expect an elaborate meal.

Deanna