Meditation: Cooking single-y

One of my very best friends recently moved into her own apartment after cohabiting for quite some time. She's very sweet, smart, funny, and gorgeous-- she'll be perfectly fine very soon. But for now she's got a quandary- what should she eat?

Cooking for oneself can be liberating and fun- you can eat whatever strange things you'd like, at whatever times of the day you wish. But cooking for one after cooking for more than one can be a little lonely. We talked all this over the other day and I started thinking about what sorts of things I loved to make and eat when I lived alone- and what I'll eat when I live alone (albeit temporarily) again. Matt is deploying next month and he'll be gone for almost a year. All this thinking made ME a little sad. But I cheered up a little bit once I started compiling some good things for my friend to eat.

Some good-to-great recipes, when you're eating alone:

Wonderful salmon, but it will stink up the house- This is from one of my favorite cookbooks, Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant. I learned about M.F.K Fisher from this book and she's become one of my favorite writers.

Something I've written about before-- French Meatloaf. This makes excellent leftovers and sandwiches. 

Brussels sprouts in a bowl are always a favorite. If I have bread on hand (and I try to always have good bread on hand) I'll have some of that, warmed and dipped in olive oil, sea salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. 

I always love daal and you can double the recipe- it freezes very well. It's got maybe 200 calories, costs about fifty cents to make, and is filling and spicy-- the perfect meal. 

This Nigella Lawson recipe is hands down my favorite comfort food. For some reason, I don't think I've ever made it for another person. I eat it all up by myself, lounging on the couch, just as she directs in the recipe. 

I usually try to roast a chicken on Sundays, especially when I'm by myself. It will last for a few days, you can make salads or sandwiches with it and your house will smell like a (delicious) home. When I really want to indulge myself I buy a bag of frozen french fries and make some curried mayonaise (to make: stir curry into mayo). You can also use the carcass to make stock and then freeze it- it's good for stir frys, soups, whatever. This Grant Achatz recipe is my very favorite.