One of my favorite quick lunches at work is a soba noodle salad I get from across the street. It’s quick, easy, cold (a must in this mercury-shattering hot NYC summer) and — most importantly — relatively inexpensive.

As you know, I don’t cook a ton. (Ashley says her husband thinks that my neighborhood inspires frequent takeout because of the crappy grocery store selection.) 

So when I do cook, I try to recreate things I frequently get out — partially so I can save some money, partially to expand my cooking horizons. The other day, I decided to add soba noodles to my grocery list. I decided I’d try to create my soba noodle salad at work. But by the time I got home from work and the Bar Method class I tried (more on that tomorrow, but OMG, HARD. SORE.), I was STARVING.

I wolfed down a piece of last night’s pizza while I was waiting for my noodles to cook. In a separate pan, I stir-fried (with a bit of sesame oil and soy sauce) some carrots, red onions and red and green peppers. I was going to grate the carrot, but my microplane wasn’t so into that. I heated up a chicken pattie (if I were creating this recipe for someone else, I’d just grill regular chicken, but this was much easier tonight) and threw the mixture over the soba noodles. Voila! I’d definitely try this cold for work next week.