Grex Kitchen Conference

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Grex Kitchen Item 196: Cooking for One
Entered by void on Tue Oct 22 06:14:59 UTC 2002:

   Cooking for one is a miserable chore.  How do all you other single
cooks keep up your interest in cooking real food instead of falling
back on sandwiches, canned soup, one big weekly pot-of-something cooked
on a day off, or frozen gunk?

10 responses total.

#1 of 10 by cmcgee on Tue Oct 22 16:52:55 2002:

Oh, no cooking for one is fun!  I even wrote a little cookbook so I didn't
have to do fractions each time I wanted to cook my favorite dishes.  

Things like microwave ovens, 1 qt crockpots, 7 inch electric skillets, and
lots of small Pyrex dishes are the key.  Tiny amounts of food spread over huge
areas of heat don't cook the same.  They die, burned or evaporated to death
in just a few moments of inattention.  

I usually make two-serving size dishes.  More than one meal, but not endless.
Also, packaging the second meal right away and freezing it makes the "I don't
feel like cooking" nights cheap and easy.

#2 of 10 by orinoco on Tue Oct 22 17:50:53 2002:

Usually I don't bother with recipes when I cook for myself -- I just throw
something together and see what happens.  The improvising keeps it
interesting, and if it turns out disgusting nobody will ever know but me.

#3 of 10 by slynne on Tue Oct 22 20:41:17 2002:

I cook really simple things for myself when I end up cooking. It is 
pretty easy to chop up some boneless chicken breasts and then stir fry 
it with frozen veggies and bottled terriyaki sauce. 

I also make baby pizzas on whole wheat bread a lot. 

But, I also like canned soups, sandwiches and frozen dinners so I guess 
I am not the best person to ask  :)

#4 of 10 by scott on Tue Oct 22 22:26:24 2002:

I tend to do assembly-style cooking, like having sauce for spaghetti, big
tortillas for wraps, etc.  About half the time I'll have some boiled potatoes
in the fridge I can put into something.

#5 of 10 by i on Wed Oct 30 04:03:33 2002:

I don't mind eating the same food several days in a row, so cooking a
week's worth of main dish sometimes isn't an issue.  Ditto cleaning/
peeling/cutting veggies into tupperware to have "instant" salads for
dinner.  A bread machine & staple bread recipe or two are a great help.
I don't do anything fancy unless i'm feeling like puttering in the
kitchen anyway.  Most cookbooks seem to love recipes that require a
pantry with hundreds of items (all fresh), take a long time, dirty a
load of dishes, and make poor leftovers - ditch those in the fireplace
and learn by doing to make quick meals out of what's on hand.  Variety
in your fridge's sauce shelf can make a bunch of needs-spicing-up food
seem different several days in a row.  Many cheap & easy desserts are 
good for several days (cake-from-boxed-mix, pudding, apple crisp, 
muffins, shortcake, etc.) and "have to bake it" also helps limit the
amount of rich/sweet food that i eat.  A few super-fast-&-brainless
dishes help when you're busy (my favorite is whole wheat spiral 
noodles with a touch of salt, pepper, & oil - cheap, fast, and noodles
keep forever in a glass jar).  Staggering preparation (so you're only
cooking one significant dish on any day) makes it easier.  Fresh fruit
is easy & nutritious variety with near-nill "cooking" time.

#6 of 10 by davel on Wed Oct 30 16:42:38 2002:

You forgot the cookbooks that have recipes that go something like:
"Take one package KRAFT macaroni and cheese.  Prepare as directed on package.
Open one package ALL STAR franks.  Cut into bite-sized chunks.  Stir into
macaroni and cheese.  Serve hot."

(Those you give to your worst enemies.  Burning is too good for them.)

#7 of 10 by cmcgee on Wed Oct 30 21:20:05 2002:

One of my favorite tricks is to have a list of quick "flavor" sauces to
jog my memory.  Like "Italian" is tomatoes and thyme, basil, oregano.
"Mexican"  is tomatoes and chilis, cumin, chili powder, onions.  "Asian"
is ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sugar.  Malaysian is peanut butter,
coriander, cumin, soy, and brown sugar.  

No matter what the core protein, these sauces  make the meal different,
easily.

#8 of 10 by mta on Tue Apr 29 20:04:38 2003:

I always found cooking for one and eating aloe kind of soulless.  I ended up
eating fruit and pasta and not much else, and meeting friends or inviting
someone over for dinner several nights a week, just to have someone to cook
and eat with.

That, or I ate from the canteen at work for my main meal, and just skipped
dinner.

I love to cook ... it was not having anyone to share with that made it hard.

#9 of 10 by michaela on Tue Apr 29 21:34:02 2003:

I cook just as much as I'm used to cooking and then heat the leftovers when
I want them.  Yummy.  :)

#10 of 10 by jaklumen on Wed Apr 30 00:16:07 2003:

I was never all that big on the leftovers idea.  What has worked for 
me is a few foodstuffs that can be prepared simply in a variety of 
ways, and leftovers that can be changed around.

Cooking for one rarely seems much interesting to me.  It has been 
ramen, burgers, hot dogs, prepared burritos, french fries... you get 
the idea.  Somehow, the preparation means more when I am cooking for 
at least a small group and especially when I get to sit at the table 
for a meal.  Perhaps I am enamored with the social ritual of the 
matter.

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