Cooking for One.

            One of the most common questions I get when giving talks about healthy eating on a budget and cooking is: “How can I manage when I live alone and eat most of my meals by myself?” This question is usually followed by comments about time, convenience and portion size in most recipes, plus the inevitable conclusion that no one wants to eat the same leftovers every day for a week. Such challenges are faced even by a couple in a household, when appetites are modified by age and decreasing levels of activity. I still miss the days when I had two teenage sons living at home and any leftovers in the refrigerator, saved as a component for another meal, required strict labeling in order not to disappear.

            The food industry certainly is poised to accommodate us, but in the process we lose the natural life connections to the food that we eat and our control on ingredients in the meal on our plate. So, living alone for a short or long time we drift into the habit of opening a can of soup, popping a frozen dinner in the microwave, or subsisting on snack foods and yoghurt until an occasion leads to a meal out in a restaurant.  Hunger will determine that we eat something, but the pleasure and relaxation of a meal becomes lost in our busy daily lives.

            It need not be so.  Preparing a meal is a pleasurable and caring activity and can be made so even for one, especially on an evening with no pressing commitments. In the company of a favorite radio station (WBACH) and a glass of cider or wine, one can assemble relatively few ingredients in a tasty dinner.  The Spanish frittatas seem to have been designed for easy individual servings. A couple of eggs with a variety of ingredients will produce an almost infinite selection of taste tempting frittatas.

             Dinner frittata variations                                                                 

            Sauté ¼ onion and 1 medium potato, peeled and sliced thinly in 1 Tblsp. olive oil for about 5 minutes on medium high heat, stirring often. Add a ½ cup broccoli florets  and ¼ cup thin strips of salami or ham (optional) and continue to sauté for additional 3 minutes. In the meantime beat the two eggs with 2 Tblsp. milk, salt and pepper and pour over the sautéed mixture. Sprinkle with a handful of cheese. Cover pan tightly with a lid and continue to cook on low heat for 3-5 minutes. Different flavors can be achieved by substituting mushrooms, spinach, asparagus or other cooked vegetables for broccoli.

            The question of cooking meat for one is another matter.  Unless you focus on steak, which is easy enough on a grill, winter cooking in cold climates requires a different strategy. First there is the matter of packaging. A pound of beef, chicken or pork may not look like much, but is certainly more than is needed for one meal. A pound of frozen shrimp makes it very easy, since you can just thaw out the amount needed for a meal. For meat it is certainly possible to use only one piece and freeze the rest of the uncooked portion of the package; a little planning allows us to save on labor with the option of cooking the entire amount in such a way that it can form the meat basis for several other, but different meals. Years ago as a graduate student I got very tired of just plain hamburger 4 nights in a row, so I learned that if you made the same pound of ground beef in a lot of meatballs, had some for dinner and froze the rest in small packets, to be thawed and combined with different sauces at later dates, it was a much more interesting meal experience.

                                    Versatile light meatballs

            In a large bowl mix ½ cup Italian breadcrumbs with 1/3 cup milk to moisten. Stir in 1 beaten egg, Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp. salt ¼ tsp. pepper, 2 Tblsp. finely chopped onion,  1 Tblsp. catsup.  Blend in 1 lb. lean ground beef and make into ¾ inch balls.  Lightly grease a large cookie pan with sides and distribute the meatballs so that they do not touch. Bake in a 350 degree oven 30 minutes. Drain any fat and use as miniature hamburgers or meatballs with spaghetti sauce or barbecue sauce, or as meat base in brown-mushroom sauce with or without sour cream. These even make great Italian sandwiches with sautéed onions, peppers and a bit of melted Provolone cheese.

            So, take an evening to be creative at your own table and enjoy both the cooking and the meal in your own (sometimes) best company.   

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)