I make no claims to be an excellent cook. I enjoy cooking and I have great fun experimenting with food. I’m single and I live alone, so my experiments are very often experiments for one. If things work, well, I try to make a note of what I’ve done and if I am feeling confident I’ll serve the dish up for friends or family. If they don’t – well the only person eating is me!
I can remember being given ‘One is Fun’, Delia Smith’s bible for single cooks…and finding it really demoralising. Firstly I found the of the book a little patronising. Then, I disliked the assumption that single people DIDN’T cook for themselves. I always have. Yes I prefer having friends round, some of the time at least. But, I also relish the freedom to experiment that singledom gives me. Finally, some of the things I do as a matter of common sense were missing. Having some kind of a freezer is really very useful if you are single. Soups, stock and casseroles freeze very well and my freezer is stocked with things I’ve cooked for myself and then packaged up into small portions, together with what I see as staple ingredients like frozen peas and spinach.
So, in the recipe section you will find a selection of things I make for myself. With the odd exception, where I am cooking for a supper party, these will be recipes you can easily make at home for one or two people. Or things that are useful fridge/storecupboard basics (mi-cuit tomatoes, pesto, pickles and drunken fruits for instance). Or soups, stews and casseroles that freeze well. In my view, it’s a misconception that all frozen food is worse than it’s fresh counterpart. Homemade meat based stews and casseroles often seem to improve with freezing, I think it helps break down the meat fibres.
One CAN be fun, and it’s really not that difficult to cook fresh, healthy food for one or two without resorting to ready-meals. It is a lot cheaper and in my view the end result is a lot nicer.
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