Cooking for One / New Cook

[Saab2000]

Testimonial:

I'm a single guy. I'm on the road a lot. Through school cafeterias, college cafeterias, crew meals (when I worked in Europe), airport employee cafeteria (again, when I worked in Europe), etc. I have had more people cook food for me than I can imagine and I'm embarrassed to admit that I know nearly nothing about food preparation. I'm literally almost the guy who brings his bike into the shop to have the tires pumped up or have the chain oiled. A couple years ago I was invited to a friend's house for a chili contest and he was actually mad at me that I didn't bring any and I was embarrassed to admit that I didn't even know where to begin to make something like this. Not proud of it, but it's a fact. I am pretty helpless here and I eat a lot of pre-packaged things and I eat out a lot.

Now that that's out of the way, who else here is a single person? What do you do for food? I'm gone a lot because of my job, so cooking for a few days that leaves leftovers may not be very desirable. About a year ago I decided something had to change so I watched a few YouTube videos on cooking chicken breasts. They are simple and good for the cyclist. I also actually like vegetables.

So I'm starting to do this but it's inconsistent at best but I do like some things I make. Today I baked a chicken breast (yes, that's a package of Shake & Bake in this pic and I'm baking some asparagus with some olive oil and salt and pepper. It's a start and not a bad one but I can't do this every day. I was going to grill this but there are thunderstorms in VA Beach this afternoon. I'm lucky that my apartment complex has grills for the residents to use.

Any suggestions from the single folks (are there many/any here?) on easy things to make to start my cooking career? I'm a bit overwhelmed by the things I see here and it's a bit like the guys who won't try tubulars because they feel intimidated by the process.

Today's masterpiece

[kurto]

Hey, Saab, I'm married, but I may be able to offer some help. The website and cookbook Budget Bytes (Budget Bytes - My stomach is full and my wallet is too.) have some really good recipes that I often suggest to friends who don't cook much or students that are just moving into their first apartments. The recipes are designed to be inexpensive, which means they usually are simple and have few ingredients, but they are really good. The website is pretty robust and well-organized, so you can browse easily.

[spopepro]

Like kurto, I'm more on the side of "people ask me this question" but am not in your target group. With that said, my recommendations are always:
1) Get deborah madison's cookbook. It's handy because it covers all of the basics of selecting, prepping, and cooking just about every vegetable you might come across. I think of it like the betty crocker for the new century. As a meat eater, add a protein of choice to a veggie or two and you're set.
2) As you progress, think about your pantry. One of the biggest challenges to picking up new cooking techniques is having to make lists and grab 20 different things from the store just to make dinner for yourself. Having the right stuff in the pantry makes it infinitely easier. I think one of the difficulties of cooking out of cookbooks/online recipes is that you end up going "hey, that looks good, I'm gonna make that", but it has nothing in common with what you made the night before and now you're getting another set of sauces, seasonings, etc... Same thing applies about switching ethnic genres. I can turn out great miso soup in ~15 min, but I have a fully stocked japanese pantry and only would need to get tofu and a veggie.
3) Unless you have specific dietary restrictions, be liberal with the salt and oil. When my wife started to learn to make a few things she thought she was being healthy by tightly controlling the salt, oil, and dairy. She could have put 4x as much in and still been using much less than restaurants do. Of course, it's possible to overdo it, but chances are you're being good because you actually are seeing and controlling what goes into the food. You're also not buying cases of half-gallon cartons of heavy cream and pallets of butter like the restaurant is, so loosen up a bit and make it taste good. It will still be healthy.
4) Get a good knife. You only need one, but having a nice cutting tool makes life waaay easier. Something like this is awesome (and yes, if you only have one great knife, I recommend a sizeable sankoku), but the fibrox forchners are the caad 9s of cooking tools.


But... the biggest hurdle is the mental one. My wife is gone for 2 months straight in the late summer and most of the time I dread cooking for myself. As much as I love to prepare and enjoy food with others, doing the same for myself feels like a chore. The most regular thing I do for myself is make hefty meal salads. They all follow this form:
-handful of mixed greens, spinach, or arugula
-Something crunchy. Could be belgian endive, carrots, raw shredded beets, shredded brocolli
-Fruit. Diced apple, dried cranberries, etc. something sweet
-a scoop of nuts
-Sometimes a cheese, like crumbled feta, blue, or chevre
-Dressing. It might be intimidating, but I say always make your own. 2 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, plenty (no, really) of salt, ground pepper, a tiny bit of minced onion or shallot, a quick squirt of mustard.

The greens and crunchy veggie are the things I have to pick up, the rest is usually around. I'll usually have some canned, smoked fish along with it and a bit of crusty bread.

[Mark Kelly]

I am single for 3-4 months of the year when I'm away from home working vintage, 12 hours x 6 days is the standard week (sometimes more), so time and befuckedness are at a premium.

The trick is to develop a few simple standby meals that can be prepared quickly and try to keep the ingredients on hand. When you get bored with your repertoire, branch out.

I won't give recipes but here's some general advice: learn what umame is and include at least one high umame food in each of your simple standbys.

As above, a decent knife is the sine qua non of the kitchen, get the best knife you can afford and a diamond sharpener, the knife will be a pleasure to use.

Also as above, remember that fat is flavour's friend. If you think you are using too much fat, ride more. I don't like salt, but if you do, go for it.

[Mark Kelly]

Umami, sorry for the misspelling.

[summilux]

I've been married for a long time, but two years ago I took a sabbatical in another city so I was "single" for not quite a year. A basic kitchen needs a good knife, a 12" cast iron frying pan, a pot big enough to boil pasta and a medium size pot for making stew.

Do you like Thai food? It takes about 15 minutes to make a good Thai curry as long as you have access to the right ingredients. It freezes well. From any decently stocked Chinese store, you will need:
-ready made Thai curry paste (red, green, or orange). It comes in a container somewhat smaller than a Ben & Jerry ice cream container
-Thai fish sauce. Buy the one in a glass container. Should be reddish brown in colour
-Coconut milk
- some protein (chicken breast is good)
-some veggie (frozen peas work)
-brown sugar

Directions:
-Slice or chunk the chicken breast
-add some cooking oil and about 2 generous Tablespoons of paste to a pot. Fry until you can smell the spice.
-add the can of coconut milk and mix
-add the chicken breast and boil for a few minutes until the chicken is cooked (5 minutes)
-add peas
-add about 1 Tablespoon of the fish sauce and 1 Teaspoon of sugar
-Adjust to taste. You can add more spice, more salt (fish sauce), or more sugar.

Get a cheapo rice cooker from Walmart and you can have a nice Thai meal made really quick

[zetroc]

Hey, I'm single and taught myself to cook under similar circumstances starting around 10 years ago. I got tired (really, really tired) of eating garbage, paying for garbage, gaining weight because of garbage, and generally feeling like garbage. You get the idea. Now, I'm no 130 pound climber and I'm very far from being the next Jacques Pepin, but I can cook most things acceptably and have a pretty good understanding of most cooking terminology. (Baking is a whole 'nother ballgame.)

I started out with a few books on the basics:

Pepin's "La Technique" and "La Methode" - these contain the building blocks needed for French cooking, like dicing onions and making beef stock. There are also a lot of things that you won't need to know (decorative carving in watermelon rind, for example) but it's all good stuff.

An Edge in the Kitchen by Chad Ward. Basic knife skills are a must if you want to learn how to cook, and you'll learn that things are done certain ways for a reason.

The Joy of Cooking is a great reference book with a lot of skills lessons included.

Alton Brown's books (especially I'm Just Here for the Food) are indispensable for his solid, insightful commentary that dispels many myths and can help you think clearly. This was the first book I bought. Very highly recommended.



Get one good chef's knife and start with that. You can do anything you need to with a chef's knife, and you'll learn a lot besides. Make it a good one that fits your hand well and it'll be a keeper, and make sure it's sharp. Cooking with a dull knife sucks. Also consider changing the way you shop for food. Try a new grocery store, or just walk around the produce section. If they have those little stands with free recipe cards, grab some of them. Go to used bookstores and check out the cooking section - buying new cookbooks is for suckers, unless you really want the author to get more of your money. Not that there's anything wrong with generosity, but cookbooks don't hold their value that well and can usually be had for a fraction of retail.

Above all, have fun, and don't be afraid to throw it out and order pizza.