Cooking for One

I like to eat and I also like to cook. Good combination when there is a family to feed or when you have company for dinner. However, if you live alone, it takes a bit more motivation to cook meals for yourself every day. I mean real meals, not reheated prepared food. Planning a meal for one person takes some preparation. It's not the kind of thing you do when you arrive home at dinner time ready to eat. The meal has to be previously assembled or, at least, the ingredients have to be ready to go. Previously assembled does not mean complicated. The following recipes are just a couple of the meals I serve myself.

This is my strategy. Once a week, when shopping I make sure I have the necessary ingredients for salad, a green vegetable, a main course and desert. It can be packaged salad, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and green peppers. I away have rice, potatoes and pasta in my pantry as well as canned tomatoes, red white and black beans. I also make sure to have fresh fruit in the refrigerator, especially pears.

Every morning I decide what my meal will be and I prepare a small dinner salad. If I am going to be away all day, I set the table and have things ready to go for when I get home. I do this because I found that it made me feel better to be able to go on treating myself with dignity, even though I no longer had a partner. Being able to sit downs to a nice meal just made the day more comfortable for me. I do like to have wine with the meal, but it takes me a week to finish a bottle and after I open it, I am stuck with it for too long. When that happens, I pour wine on the peeled pear and bake it in that instead of orange juice.

For the main course, I plan to have something that is easy and fast.

1. Microwave chicken soup is a good beginning. It assures you that you will have chicken soup available in case you get a cold. I put several stalks of cut up celery, 1/2 a bag of baby carrots, one small onion, one bullion cube, several bay leaves, and one frozen or fresh boneless chicken breast. Add water to cover, in a microwave safe pot and cook on high for 20 or 25 minutes. That's it. This is a simple soup but very tasty. Serve it with the chicken cut up in cubes or save the cooked chicken breast for chicken salad – another meal.

2. While the soup is cooking I may cook rice or noodles to add to the soup. Otherwise, I eat the soup plain.

3. Other meals can use what I call Hungarian Lecho. I saute one large onion in oil (olive or vegetable) until it is soft but not brown, add one tablespoon of Hungarian Paprika, and cook for a few more seconds, then add one large green or two small green peppers, and one large tomato or canned cut up tomatoes. Simmer this until the vegetables are well done and very soft. There should be some liquid, but not a lot. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Fast chicken paprika is another meal. After I have cooked the Lecho I can add one boneless chicken breast too it and another teaspoon or more of paprika. Continue cooking for another ten minutes until chicken is cooked and serve with the rice or noodles. I may have to add some water or broth if I want more gravy. NOTE: I usually cook a larger quantity of Lecho by doubling the recipe and keep it in the refrigerator to add to rice or noodles, or to serve as a side dish with broiled fish or hamburger. It keeps very well. Occasionally I serve it with sausage as another kind of meal.

5. Desert is important, too. I usually have pears and apples in the winter. This is a favorite desert of mine.

Peel one pear and sprinkle orange juice and cinnamon sugar on it. Bake in a microwave safe bowl for 3 or 4 minutes. Serve warm.

Wash and drain one pint of blueberries. Set aside 1/4 cup of berries. Place the rest of the blueberries in a microwave safe bowl and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the raw berries and serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Or plain.

This system of taking care of myself is what has made it possible for me to continue enjoying life, even though I have suffered the loss of a dear loved one. I can sit down to dinner every evening and think of all the wonderful conversations we had and the many adventures we experienced together. And then I tell myself, “it doesn’t seem so lonely“!