The Perfect ‘Cooking for One’ Recipe
By: Brandia Deatherage ( More Entries )
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There's no doubt that cooking for a hungry and appreciative crowd is more fulfilling than 'cooking for one'--that is, unless you happen to have the perfect recipe. You may not believe me until you try it, but with the perfect recipe, you might just insist on dining alone for the rest of your life.
The perfect 'cooking for one' recipe goes beyond a note card of ingredients and directions, and doesn't yield just one dish. The perfect 'cooking for one' recipe is a list of instructions that you can use to design your own cookbook full of personalized meals, inspired by your specific palate and dietary needs.
Instructions
#1 Buy small portions of the freshest, all-natural, organic, highest quality ingredients. This new shopping strategy may be an anathema to the conventional American's grocery dogma, which says that the best food can be bought in bulk and for cheap; but, if you follow the rest of my recipe, I promise that you'll end up saving money. It is so much fun to go food shopping by yourself, browsing the isles in search of the best pancetta, salt, mineral water, French truffles, frozen blueberries, Mozzarella...whatever YOUR heart desires.
#2 If you eat meat, cut back...drastically. Meat is expensive, and bad for you if eaten in excess. Think of meat as a delicacy, and only buy the choicest cuts from the most humane farms, if possible. If you don't buy as much meat, you will be able to afford the best. Anyone who has ever been taught about proper nutrition and diet is familiar with the term "portion control." That's all this is. I'm not advocating vegetarianism, or even avoiding red meat and pork. Meat provides the most easily absorbed form of dietary iron. It is also a rich source of the good quality protein required for bodily repairs. I'm just steering you away from super-sizing.
#3 Trust food cravings. Your body is trying to tell you which minerals and vitamins it is currently lacking. For example, sometimes I crave fried chicken livers from Parkers. I don't even really like them, so I'm sure it's biological. I think back to my high school psychology teacher's story of the calcium deficient children who ate chalk. Also, trust cravings for comfort foods from childhood, or other joyful times. Be kind to your memories and eat a small portion of whatever you crave. I allow myself Hershey's Chocolate Syrup and Coca Cola, which remind me of being a kid, but only as a treat. Even if the food isn't all-natural, organic or altogether healthful for our bodies, we must never deny our sympathetic tendencies, or drive away nostalgia; lest we become anxious, cold and bitter adults.
#4 Get to know your food. Learn the best places to buy specific foods, the best ways to store specific foods, the best types and brands of specific foods to buy, etc. For example, I buy frozen Ezekiel 4:9 Bread and keep it in the freezer. When I'm ready for a sandwich, I toast a couple slices and voilà!! Otherwise, I could never go through a whole loaf without some of the bread going stale, and that is unacceptable.
#5 Never waste. Not only does wasting food mock all those who are starving and put an extra burden on our environment, it is no different than throwing your hard-earned money in the trash. By taking a pledge never to waste, you will force yourself to become creative with your meals. Creativity is attractive; being wasteful is not. This is they key ingredient to the perfect 'cooking-for-one' recipe. If you stop wasting food, even though you are often buying higher-priced ingredients, you will actually save money.
Below is today's example of my perfect 'cooking-for-one' recipe, the Greek Pita. I can prepare a wide variety of fillers for my Greek Pita, store them in small containers in the fridge and switch it up a couple times during the week. Today I filled my Greek Pita with Oikos Greek Yogurt, sautéed chicken, English cucumbers, green bell peppers, mozzarella and alfalfa sprouts. I enjoyed it at 4 o'clock in the afternoon with a bottle of San Pellegrino mineral water. Very satisfying, and I love eating whenever I want! I still take pleasure in hosting dinner parties, but on a daily basis, I much prefer a party of one.
Greek Pita
The perfect 'cooking for one' recipe goes beyond a note card of ingredients and directions, and doesn't yield just one dish. The perfect 'cooking for one' recipe is a list of instructions that you can use to design your own cookbook full of personalized meals, inspired by your specific palate and dietary needs.
Instructions
#1 Buy small portions of the freshest, all-natural, organic, highest quality ingredients. This new shopping strategy may be an anathema to the conventional American's grocery dogma, which says that the best food can be bought in bulk and for cheap; but, if you follow the rest of my recipe, I promise that you'll end up saving money. It is so much fun to go food shopping by yourself, browsing the isles in search of the best pancetta, salt, mineral water, French truffles, frozen blueberries, Mozzarella...whatever YOUR heart desires.
#2 If you eat meat, cut back...drastically. Meat is expensive, and bad for you if eaten in excess. Think of meat as a delicacy, and only buy the choicest cuts from the most humane farms, if possible. If you don't buy as much meat, you will be able to afford the best. Anyone who has ever been taught about proper nutrition and diet is familiar with the term "portion control." That's all this is. I'm not advocating vegetarianism, or even avoiding red meat and pork. Meat provides the most easily absorbed form of dietary iron. It is also a rich source of the good quality protein required for bodily repairs. I'm just steering you away from super-sizing.
#3 Trust food cravings. Your body is trying to tell you which minerals and vitamins it is currently lacking. For example, sometimes I crave fried chicken livers from Parkers. I don't even really like them, so I'm sure it's biological. I think back to my high school psychology teacher's story of the calcium deficient children who ate chalk. Also, trust cravings for comfort foods from childhood, or other joyful times. Be kind to your memories and eat a small portion of whatever you crave. I allow myself Hershey's Chocolate Syrup and Coca Cola, which remind me of being a kid, but only as a treat. Even if the food isn't all-natural, organic or altogether healthful for our bodies, we must never deny our sympathetic tendencies, or drive away nostalgia; lest we become anxious, cold and bitter adults.
#4 Get to know your food. Learn the best places to buy specific foods, the best ways to store specific foods, the best types and brands of specific foods to buy, etc. For example, I buy frozen Ezekiel 4:9 Bread and keep it in the freezer. When I'm ready for a sandwich, I toast a couple slices and voilà!! Otherwise, I could never go through a whole loaf without some of the bread going stale, and that is unacceptable.
#5 Never waste. Not only does wasting food mock all those who are starving and put an extra burden on our environment, it is no different than throwing your hard-earned money in the trash. By taking a pledge never to waste, you will force yourself to become creative with your meals. Creativity is attractive; being wasteful is not. This is they key ingredient to the perfect 'cooking-for-one' recipe. If you stop wasting food, even though you are often buying higher-priced ingredients, you will actually save money.
Below is today's example of my perfect 'cooking-for-one' recipe, the Greek Pita. I can prepare a wide variety of fillers for my Greek Pita, store them in small containers in the fridge and switch it up a couple times during the week. Today I filled my Greek Pita with Oikos Greek Yogurt, sautéed chicken, English cucumbers, green bell peppers, mozzarella and alfalfa sprouts. I enjoyed it at 4 o'clock in the afternoon with a bottle of San Pellegrino mineral water. Very satisfying, and I love eating whenever I want! I still take pleasure in hosting dinner parties, but on a daily basis, I much prefer a party of one.
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