Cooking for one

[lettered]

Housemates and I have separate meals. It works out taste-wise, money-wise. But I find grocery shopping and cooking for one difficult.

I like going to the grocery store every day, taking into account the cheapness of large quantities, and the amount of time I have, that proves difficult as well. I go about once a week, and try to buy for the week.

That is part of the frustration. If I want to have salad, I can buy those bags of lettuce, but that's about five salads for me. Which means I have to have salad every day of the week, or else it goes back. Seems the best way to handle that would be making the salad a little different every time, but this requires supplemental ingredients. And the supplemental ingredients often come in large quantities too: I could have a salad with red peppers one night, and a salad with pears and blue cheese the next. But I would not use all the red pepper and all the pear, and I would need to find other things to put them in.

Meat should be easier. You can buy a pack of chicken and put it in the freezer. Then each night you can take out a breast and cook each one differently. But I find I am not creative enough to come up with different things to do with the chicken. Mostly I come up with baking or frying it with different herbs and spices. Sometimes I think about using different sauces. And of course sometimes I think, "I could make a cassarole! Or a chicken pot pie!" or something. But again, so many other perishable ingredients go into those. I could use all the ingredients up and eat pot pie seven days straight. Or I could waste the other ingredients, the red peppers, the pears. Or I could find other uses for them, but again, I lack creativity in this department.

I also have problems with freezing meat. It never tastes as good once it's been frozen. Things stick to each other so you have to defrost them just to get one out. Even if you put them in separate baggies the baggies end up sticking together. They stick to the boxes they're in. Thawing takes so long.

You guys, my life is obviously a perfect graveyard of buried hopes.

I'm just wondering how you single people, or those of you often cooking for one, handle these things. Got freezer storage advice? Foods you buy because they last longer? Base ingredients you buy and then change up every night? Different fast simple ways to cook chicken, make a salad? Combinations you do--like what to do with a red pepper when you've used a fourth of it for salad but don't want to have red pepper in the salad every night? Things you don't mind eating every single day?

And how about recipes in general? Got any you want to share?

I love food. Except beans and potatoes; those are gross.

Comments

[orexisbella.livejournal.com]

My mother never used recipes, and they tend to stress me out because they're so fussy and you need to have a list when shopping for them (and then you have a breakdown in aisle three when you realise they're out of cornstarch! ... this is why I don't bake), so I prefer to look at a recipe that seems interesting and then wing it and taste as I go along. What I've done instead is write down a short list of taste combinations that I like: citrus and chicken; pork, sweet sauce and pepper (honey and pepper glazed short ribs are amazing); seafood, coconut milk and ginger; grilled meats and yogurt; etc. Once you figure out what you like, you can look at a bunch of ingredients and make something up, and it's easier to change things around when you get bored. It also makes it easier to shop. :)

Re: not being able to use onions and things, I have an idea - can you use shallots instead? They're tiny, and I cant imagine one stretching further than a couple of meals. Or scallions. They taste onion-y too! I have no problem using up an entire small onion by myself, but that's because I have a horrible weakness for caramelised onions and think they go with lots of sandwiches. <_<

Frozen peas can go on pizza, in pasta (a great veg pasta that's not puttanesca: broccoli, peas, sundried tomatoes - fresh works too, but the oil from the sundried gives it tons of flavour, parmesan; if you have leftover spinach or asparagus it works great in this too. I also like broccoli and peas with lazy pesto, i.e. I just rough chop the basil, pine nuts and garlic and throw it in the pan with pasta and olive oil, sprinkle the cheese on after it comes out of the pan), stews, soups. Of course, just eating them with herb butter is tops too. I like peas!

The pizza is awesome! See what I said to anthimaeria about the egg. It is like having the best bits of omelette and pizza in one strangely delicious creation. *gestures vaguely*

PS Wax paper really is brilliant, it doesn't stick! Plus I find it less fussy than plastic wrap or foil.

[nani.livejournal.com]

Dude, I have no idea who you are, but we should really get together and cook sometime. I like your style. The taste combos, the use of caramelized onions, pasta with whatever, egg on pizza... I'm a fan!

[tkp.livejournal.com]

She also had mad mastery of color coding, organizing, and spreadsheets. She speaks French and German, covers screens, and I know not what. Not to mention the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.

But just to spite us, she lives in the Philippines.

[nani.livejournal.com]

Nooooooooo!

Excellent Austen shout-out there, by the way.

[orexisbella.livejournal.com]

I'll come to you, for the price of a plane ticket and the promise of at least one really good meal! XD

[tkp.livejournal.com]

Inspired by you, I just cooked (and ate) a rather nice meal. (Spinach salad, cous cous with fixin's, and chicken stirfry)

Part of my problem is if the food isn't to-die-for I figure, "why bother?" This was just beyond mediocre, and in the end I probably prefer my Pasta Roni. But I think this is better for me and also doesn't depress me as much as Pasta Roni every night. I feel very chuffed!

I would totally make you chili if you came here :o)

[tkp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, recipes suck. But I love baking. If I'm baking I get so excited about it that I don't mind going to the shop to pick up JUST THAT, although it does suck when they're out of cornstarch.

Yeah, I do think I just don't have a handle on what flavors go together. I mean, I know I like rosemary and chicken, but then . . . I end up having rosemary and chicken every single night, you know, which is one of my problems.

Shallots! Good idea. I do love carmelised onions, but I don't eat that many sandwiches because of the bread thing. Well, and I try not to have carbs, which means even though sandwiches are like my favorite food, I just don't have many of them. But I should have carmelized onions with more things!

Thanks for the peas advice. I particularly love your idea of lazy pesto! Cool.

I'll have to try the wax paper.

Thanks so much for all this cool advice, T! I feel that under your tutelage I shall be a lazy grand master!