Now the most interesting part about this, Dave, is what happened when you left.

[cielamara]

Dear Flist:

When you are cooking for you and you alone, what do you like best to cook? Do you have any really awesome one-person recipes?

Comments

[agameofthree]

I guess cereal, popcorn and chips and salsa don't count? :P I'm a lousy cook for just myself. The above three items were staples of my diet when I lived on my own.

[cielamara]

Nooo. :P I fall into that trap too readily and have a hard time stopping, especially with chips and salsa. If I tell myself "No, you are going to EAT WELL, goddammit, you are cooking THIS tonight" it typically works out better.

[surrenderface]

I like chili but then I have chili forever but at least it freezes. Or fajitas, that I can just cut enough peppers for and then eat the rest later either raw or like tossed with pasta for something different. Pretty much everything I ever make has leftovers though.

[cielamara]

You like by yourself, right? I'm pretty good at menu-planning, but I'm used to planning for 3 people, 2 of whom are picky eaters but picky in different ways. Like, my dad refuses to eat pork or seafood, my mom hates bell peppers and anything new unless it was her idea. When I cook for myself, I tend to make curry (they aren't huge fans, which is a shame, because my coconut curry is DIVINE) or I just chop up whatever produce I've got and throw it in a skillet and experiment with different sauces and spice combinations. And I enjoy doing that, but when I try to think of what else I can do for a legitimate meal for one person, I kind of draw a blank.

[surrenderface]

Yep, by myself. It's hard to find things that are just for one day meal because even now it's like "meh, leftovers." But usually I just like to make things up. And I always like being able to eat whatever I want, like for some reason my mom doesn't like eggplant. So I never really had it before but it and some zucchini pan fried up is so good.

[cielamara]

My mom doesn't really like eggplant either, and as a result I'm always a little hesitant to cook it because don't you have to soak it in saltwater or something? Actually, there are a lot of things my mom doesn't like. I'm pretty adventurous in the kitchen though.

You know what I'd love to know more of? Indian food. I have one curry recipe that's just straight-up amazing, but there are so many different dishes, and they're pretty much ALL a) really tasty and b) vegetarian-friendly and c) reasonably healthy.

[bohemianbrandy]

I like to make "panini" sandwiches on our Foreman grill with turkey, cheese, and whatever appropriate veggies I have on hand (it's been spinach and even avacado lately). That, and copious amounts of salad, nomnomnom. And sometimes a can of soup, though I've not eaten much of that lately.

[cielamara]

Foreman grill. I need to add that to the list of things I want to buy for the apartment. I love those things.

[peachpastiche]

Idk if it's really real food or not, but lately I'm into making a meal out of my ramen?

-1 pack instant ramen (usually I use beef-flavor)
-2 eggs (hardboiled in electric kettle)
-couple frozen chicken tenderloins, pork, whatever (in a suitable amount for 1 person)
-1 chopped green onion (or freeze-dried ones if I'm desperate)
-generous pinch of chopped red pickled ginger (you could probably use ginger paste or regular ginger idk)
-couple drops of sesame oil (marginally adds to taste, makes it smell really good...)

cook ramen however (I'm lazy so I cover with water & pop it in the microwave for 5 mins), add seasoning, cooked meat, eggs, & whatever else

Probably better to eat as two meals but I binge on the stuff.

[cielamara]

God, now I'm craving ramen. I haven't had any in a while, either. Ramen, why are you so cracklike? I like the idea of adding the egg. I'll have to try this.

[zombieknitter]

Buy chicken breasts.

Cook them all.

Refrigerate them.

Bam. Now you have the beginnings of salads, wraps, sandwiches, etc.

Or meatloaf. Makes yummy sandwiches.

Or ask me how I cooked a beef roast in the crock pot and made 3 meals out of it. I adore leftovers & pre-cooked stuff.

I also like to bake copious amounts of muffins & freeze them. Pop the out 1 or 2 at a time and nuke them back to life. I'm a lazy cook...

[cielamara]

You think a lot like I do. "Here's one ingredient, how can I turn this into 18 different things?". Maybe it's a Gemini thing. ;)

Now, here's a tricky question (and probably the biggest source of my mental struggle) how do you do that with a vegetarian diet? I am not currently a veggiesaurus (because I have to cook for carnivores) but when I move out I will probably go back to a mostly-vegetarian diet. Which is not to say I will go completely meatless, but I will likely have several meals a week that will not have meat.

[zombieknitter]

Freezer cooking! You can make up soups and pastries and all sorts of things and freeze them in individual servings. Cuts time, too because you can have one day of cooking and stock up for 2-6 weeks!