Cooking for one

caronc

Sous vide machine - PN got it mre or less in one, it's very controlled temperature water bath not something I'd ever have bought for myself but treated by my sons on a (relatively) recent "significant" birthday, Boy do I love it. Best things are cheaper cuts of meat like brisket cooked overnight at 56.5 degrees comes out like a rare fillet steak. Actually quite MSE as after initial outlay is cheap to run and turns cheap things into more luxurious items (waiting to shot down for this hey ho LOL)
Chaos and fantasy is that not what a good internet thread should descend into?:D

monnagran

I get you PN.

I suppose we all have our weird ways which make absolute sense to us but horrify anyone who observes them.

As our grandmothers used to say, "The whole world's queer 'cept thee and me, and even thee's a little queer at times."

x

PasturesNew

monnagran wrote: »

As our grandmothers used to say, "The whole world's queer 'cept thee and me, and even thee's a little queer at times."

x

I don't remember my granny saying much except "I've got nothing in" before opening the cupboards and filling a table with food!

I do remember that saying from a seaside gift figurine, sold to tourists to take home to their friends.

Anne_Marie_2

Haven't had such a laugh in ages, PN, you crease me up! Thank you. Isn't it great that we are all so different.

I cook for one too, but suppose that I've had quite a bit of experience, since getting married back in the early 80's, where hubby was away at sea for months at a time. If I didn't cook proper meals for myself, then no one else would, so just got on with it, although I did enjoy cooking.

Now that DD is married, and hubby has gone, am back to single cooking again. Must admit that for a good while after he died, I just ate purely for fuel, and if I hadn't felt hungry, I wouldn't have even been fussed about eating at all. Thank goodness for bananas and cheese omelettes! (Not eaten at the same time, I hasten to add).

Now, I'm back to making a loaf in my breadmaker. I slice the whole thing the day after I've made it, keep a few slices out, and freeze the rest, just taking out a slice or two when required. It lasts me for around a week. I've also found it's easier to slice upside down, and I can cut thinner slices....I hate having doorstop sandwiches.

I've gone back to roasting a couple of trays of vegetables at a time, and then freezing them in portions. They go into a load of my veggie foods and make lovely soup, and are nice just on their own with crusty bread.
Tray of roasted tomatoes and onions, some is blitzed to make tomato sauce. Especially good when tomatoes are cheap, or if you grow your own and have a glut.
You can just about roast any veg, and save it from being thrown in the bin.
One thing that I am guilty of binning is lettuce, it doesn't last a crack here in the summer, no matter what you do with it. Am going to try growing my own this year, and just pick as I need, and see how that works out.

I should add that fruit and veg are loose, so you can pick up just what you want. Perhaps it's time for people in the UK to campaign to get back to that, to save on waste of both food and money. I remember when you could ask for a quarter of a cabbage, and then later, cabbage was sold in portions and priced, but can't recall seeing that for years.

I haven't gone back to my old ways of spending a night or afternoon cooking a load of different things, as I am no longer working, so not time strapped. However, whenever I make soup, spag bol, chilli, dahl, bean and veg casserole, veggie curry, nut loaf I always make enough for 3-4 meals, and freeze. It's been great this past week or so, as had some kind of a bug, but no energy to be cooking, and have had a variety of different meals, without having the same thing twice, with no effort required.

I use my freezer mainly for things that I cook and grow. There's not too much in the way of supermarket bought stuff, some frozen veg, pitta bread, coffee beans and some cheese. Even the dog gets her food cooked and portioned and put into the freezer.

There are times though, when I just cannot be bothered cooking at all, and nothing that's been prepared entices me. So it can be oatcakes with cheese, beans on toast, a banana and yoghourt or an omelette, just something that's quick and takes no time when hungry.

meg72

PasturesNew wrote: »

I don't remember my granny saying much except "I've got nothing in" before opening the cupboards and filling a table with food!

I do remember that saying from a seaside gift figurine, sold to tourists to take home to their friends.

Oh I love Granny sayings, my own dear Nan had quite a repertoire, one that used to make me giggle was "if this don't go through you in 24 hours, youre dead" when she served up a plate of something.

meg72

PasturesNew wrote: »

I don't remember my granny saying much except "I've got nothing in" before opening the cupboards and filling a table with food!

I do remember that saying from a seaside gift figurine, sold to tourists to take home to their friends.

Oh I love Granny sayings, my own dear Nan had quite a repertoire, one that used to make me giggle was "if this don't go through you in 24 hours, youre dead" when she served up a plate of something.

PasturesNew

Anne_Marie wrote: »

Haven't had such a laugh in ages, PN, you crease me up! Thank you. Isn't it great that we are all so different.

It's not great, not great at all - if you were all like me ... it'd be great. Then I'd not be the weird one

Anne_Marie wrote: »

I slice the whole thing the day after I've made it, keep a few slices out, and freeze the rest, just taking out a slice or two when required. It lasts me for around a week.

I used to open a (sliced, 24p) loaf and eat as much as I could manage before the best before date, then freeze what's left.

Then I realised it's better to remove 8 slices and pop those into plastic boxes and immediately freeze the loaf as it's nicer when defrosted than when it goes in on its last legs.

The problem with that is that one sliced loaf takes up half of one drawer of the freezer - and with only 2½ drawers, it was too much.

Right now I've not got the spare room in the freezer to even freeze two slices. Every time I free up a spot, something goes into the freezer.

I treated myself to a carton of juice at Xmas, having opened it a few days ago I'd had about half of it - and the remainder needed freezing... bang went the free corner!

Nothing more can go in until I've used something that's in there - and I don't fancy what's in there

iammumtoone

Anne_Marie wrote: »

There are times though, when I just cannot be bothered cooking at all, and nothing that's been prepared entices me. So it can be oatcakes with cheese, beans on toast, a banana and yoghourt or an omelette, just something that's quick and takes no time when hungry.

This is one of the great advantages of catering for one, no one to please but yourself, you can eat what you like, when you like.

I think those with large families should start their own thread to counteract this one It most be a pain having to turn round after a long day to cook a full meal when you really can't be ars*d. As much as its difficult with the left overs/waste/repetitiveness for one cooking large quantities for family has is own disadvantages.

PasturesNew

iammumtoone wrote: »

This is one of the great advantages of catering for one, no one to please but yourself, you can eat what you like, when you like.

But ... that's not how it actually works.

You can't eat what you like, when you like. You end up having to perpetually eat what needs using up ... no matter how odd the mixture is. There's nobody ever to help you out and eat any of it.

If you buy it, you have to eat it, all. All before it goes off.... and after 30-40 years you're really tired of it.

Yes, you can decide that "tonight is pizza night" - but then you've got half a pizza lurking tomorrow.... and if you think "it's pizza and garlic bread" then that's only used 1/3rd of a pizza, so you've then got another two nights of pizza and garlic bread.... but you might run out of garlic bread after the 2nd night - so the third night it's the final 1/3rd of pizza, but that's not quite enough ... so then you have to work out what you can put on the plate to go with it.

In addition to that, the food you already had in the house when you fancied a pizza's now 3 days older... and needs using up too.

It's endless!

purpleybat

PasturesNew wrote: »

That freezer sounds bigger than mine. Also, it depends what else is in a freezer. If it's just a space for boxed ready meals to be put into then it's different to managing space where there are also other things, like endless bags of frozen veg and chips + bread/muffins/crumpets and any random bargains picked up at the shop.

its big enough for 2/3 weeks marg tub ready meals, some frozen mixed veg and some icecream lollies. 2 shelves. i cook him a fresh dinner once or twice a week. he doesn't want loads of bags of mixed frozen veg, as long as its mixed he's happy.
if he has a small loaf its used in a few days, either just sarnies or toast as well, so really no need to freeze it. in winter tho i do like him to have porridge which i prep dry stuff ready for him.


i agree all people are different, to him its important he has a hot tasty dinner every night and the occasional ice cream, to others it may be a good variety of veg or a variety or spud products. i loathe my fridge cos its tiny, but some that don't like salads would love it. we are all different