Mmmm . . . home cookin'. There's nothing like it.
But if you're a single guy like me, you probably don't get to eat a lot of home-cooked meals. Frozen dinners or Burger King meal deals probably constitute the majority of your caloric intake.Yet for me, the mechanics of cooking aren't the problem. I like to cook, and I've been told I'm pretty good at it. (At least dinner guests haven't had to have their stomachs pumped after eating at my house.)
No, the problem I have with cooking is twofold: spoilage and leftovers.
I often go grocery shopping with grand plans to cook nutritious, well-balanced meals during the week. Yet most of the food I buy goes bad because I end up working late (and therefore don't want to cook) or I eat out with friends.
And when I do get down to some serious cooking, it seems like that one meal lasts for weeks at a time. (I've never had the stomach for leftovers.)
But recently I came across a cookbook (one of many I've discovered) designed just for me: "Going Solo in the Kitchen," by Jane Doerfer.
It's a handy little book filled with more than 350 recipes that serve just one. It also includes some helpful hints for cooking solo.
"Cooking for yourself," Doerfer says, "isn't difficult . . . it takes far less time, is less costly and is less emotionally charged. (If your food doesn't come out well, you're the only one who knows it.)" Good point.
The first step to cooking for yourself, according to Doerfer, is to "master the mechanics": set a menu, go shopping, learn to store food without wasting half of it and, finally, the cooking itself.
Setting the menu is pretty straightforward. And cooking the meal is pretty simple -- just follow the recipe, right? It's the shopping and storing that throw me.
Doerfer says successful shoppers take the time to survey what is in the fridge and then decide what they're in the mood to eat before going to the store.
She also advises single shoppers not to load up on produce. If you anticipate a busy week, she says, and you know you'll be working late, don't buy perishables that should be used up immediately. "Frequently we're unrealistic about the amount of fruits and vegetables one person reasonably can consume before they spoil," she says, suggesting single shoppers retrain their eye to select only what they really need.
One way to do that is by adding up the cost of the food you're throwing away. One week's waste may inspire a change in your shopping habits. I know I've often bought a bunch of bananas, a sack of oranges and a bag of grapes all at once only to see them go moldy in the fridge.
When buying meat, Doerfer suggests, single shoppers should ask the butcher to cut smaller portions or cut roasts in half. When you get home, use one portion and freeze the rest. That's just common sense.
But storing food is another matter. Doerfer says prepared foods keep longer if you refrigerate them in glass rather than plastic. And ingredients such as cottage cheese, yogurt and sour cream keep better if you store them upside down, so the contents are pressed against the lid, preventing air from getting in. As for fruits and veggies:
Leave produce unwashed, unless you're super careful about drying it. Moisture only hastens the rotting process (especially in lettuce.)
Keep fresh ears of corn in the husk and cook as soon as possible.
Keep fruit in a bowl on the kitchen counter. That way, every time you walk into the room you'll see the fruit. (This only works well if the temperature in your house is below 70 degrees. If that's not the case, stick the fruit in the crisper. But remember: Out of sight, out of mind.)
Bon appétit!