Cooking for one

PasturesNew

Random info: £8/gram a truffle costs. I've got the Jamie/Jimmy Friday Night programme on (no idea why, they both wind me up) ... they've got two truffle hunting dogs in competition to find truffles in a wood and Jimmy just gave that price.

I've never had/seen a truffle, or oil. Don't expect to either, to be honest.

They got two heaped handfuls in a few hours... but didn't weigh them to say how much weight each dog'd found. Although he did just hold up a plate and say it's about £300's worth, it looked about the same quantity as the dogs'd found.

karcher

PasturesNew you have pretty much summed up what it's like to cook for one on a daily basis. Lack of freezer space and needing the essentials (frozen veg/bread) means batch cooking isn't an option.

I'm having a PN nightmare tonight. I made a Fish Pie last night...I don't want it again tonight. I can't refreeze it so if I don't have it tonight, I'll have to have it tomorrow...but I doubt I'll want it tomorrow either. I'll have to eat it though, as I hate wasting food.

As a result, food and cooking becomes a chore rather than a pleasure...a couple of slices of toast and butter is far easier and no washing up involved :(

iammumtoone

Just because we are single does not mean we have to give ourselves a guilt complex about waste. I think as single we put too much pressure on ourselves regarding it, just because we (wrongly) believe that larger families product less waste.

This is not the case my friend is a family of 5 apart from her all males with big appetites. She doesn't have the left overs problem a meal is finished on the same night BUT regularly over estimates what they need for the week and wastes alot as the food goes off as nobody in the household fancies eating it!

The official recommendation is we should try to reduce our waste. Reduce is the key word, this does not mean that we should and need to eat absolutely everything before it goes off. The odd thing properly disposed off in the food waste collection bin to be used for compost does no harm.

We should make sure that our priority is to enjoy food where we can and not to ruin this by getting stressed about having to make use of the last tomato that needs eating up.

Thats how I see things I refuse to force myself into a zero waste policy as it would take all the enjoyment of food away from me and I don't want that. Things can be miserable/hard enough being single without adding to it by my own doing.

sillyvixen

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

PN - is there room for a small (carefully camouflaged) freezer anywhere else in the house? That way - you could keep more food in the freezer. For instance freezer packets with a few slices of bread per packet in. That way - haul out a mini packet of bread from the freezer and just whack a couple of slices in the toaster if it's a case of "must fill stomach with something/not bothered about what"?

My freezer is a slimline one and lives I the cupboard under the stairs as the kichen is no big enough to accomadate it.

PasturesNew

iammumtoone wrote: »

Just because we are single does not mean we have to give ourselves a guilt complex about waste. I think as single we put too much pressure on ourselves regarding it, just because we (wrongly) believe that larger families product less waste.

I think that families are the root problem of most of society's ills, including the MASSIVE amounts of waste they carelessly toss aside...

I am critical of my potential to waste as I can't afford to waste anything... if, say, I've £1/day for food, then wasting 50p of food is a major source of "loss" for me.

If I had more money I'd not care so much to be honest, but everything helps. If I can squeak a small meal from 3 rank potatoes and a bit of hard cheese ... that's saved me from spending money on other/different food.

I will admit to wasting potato peelings/skin, instead of turning them into slow cooker soup, but that's because I buy the cheapest potatoes and so the skins/peelings tend to be pitted, black bits and bruising and the occasional wormhole ... and, a bit later on, sproutings.

caronc

karcher wrote: »

PasturesNew you have pretty much summed up what it's like to cook for one on a daily basis. Lack of freezer space and needing the essentials (frozen veg/bread) means batch cooking isn't an option.

I'm having a PN nightmare tonight. I made a Fish Pie last night...I don't want it again tonight. I can't refreeze it so if I don't have it tonight, I'll have to have it tomorrow...but I doubt I'll want it tomorrow either. I'll have to eat it though, as I hate wasting food.

As a result, food and cooking becomes a chore rather than a pleasure...a couple of slices of toast and butter is far easier and no washing up involved :(

iammumtoone wrote: »

Just because we are single does not mean we have to give ourselves a guilt complex about waste. I think as single we put too much pressure on ourselves regarding it, just because we (wrongly) believe that larger families product less waste.

This is not the case my friend is a family of 5 apart from her all males with big appetites. She doesn't have the left overs problem a meal is finished on the same night BUT regularly over estimates what they need for the week and wastes alot as the food goes off as nobody in the household fancies eating it!

The official recommendation is we should try to reduce our waste. Reduce is the key word, this does not mean that we should and need to eat absolutely everything before it goes off. The odd thing properly disposed off in the food waste collection bin to be used for compost does no harm.

We should make sure that our priority is to enjoy food where we can and not to ruin this by getting stressed about having to make use of the last tomato that needs eating up.

Thats how I see things I refuse to force myself into a zero waste policy as it would take all the enjoyment of food away from me and I don't want that. Things can be miserable/hard enough being single without adding to it by my own doing.

PasturesNew wrote: »

I think that families are the root problem of most of society's ills, including the MASSIVE amounts of waste they carelessly toss aside...

I am critical of my potential to waste as I can't afford to waste anything... if, say, I've £1/day for food, then wasting 50p of food is a major source of "loss" for me.

If I had more money I'd not care so much to be honest, but everything helps. If I can squeak a small meal from 3 rank potatoes and a bit of hard cheese ... that's saved me from spending money on other/different food.

I will admit to wasting potato peelings/skin, instead of turning them into slow cooker soup, but that's because I buy the cheapest potatoes and so the skins/peelings tend to be pitted, black bits and bruising and the occasional wormhole ... and, a bit later on, sproutings.

Not sure I've got this multi-quote thing properly sussed...
Interesting re chilling/freezing roux - didn't know that. I tend to make up a batch of white sauce and freeze in portions but will give that a go the next time I run out of already made ones.
Food waste - I'm not a zealot about it but do hate throwing decent food out. Thankfully the pooch tends to solve the problem of a surplus that can't be re-frozen . While I do make stock I don't keep my peelings for this these go in the compost or food recycling bin. "Reducing" is the key word some families and solos are pretty savvy and waste very little others buy without a thought to how they will use it and waste loads. I don't want to be in the latter camp if can avoid it so finding this thread really useful

caronc

iammumtoone wrote: »

Loving my new to me book

I always used instant gravy and sauces as can't 't be bothered with the faff of making my own for one. The book tells me that you can make roux in bulk and keep it the fridge (I never knew this).

My plan is to make some up store in an ice cube tray I can just pop one out and put into the stock/milk and heat. I am hoping it will thicken this way and is just as quick as instant but much nicer tasting and no additives.

If I am doing this way do you think it would be better to make with cornflour or standard flour?

I am very lucky we have a subsisted work canteen I can get a full HM cooked dinner for under £2. I consider it a perk of the job and do use it. However I don't always fancy a full meal at lunchtime and I dont get to enjoy it as such, eating at desk whilst working is not the same as sitting at home in front of the TV enjoying a meal.

What a good tip - personally I'd use standard flour

PasturesNew

If I want to make a white/cheese sauce I'd knock them up on demand in the microwave. Mac cheese in 3 minutes longer than it takes to nuke the macaroni ... perfect portion size.

Of course, the problem I have is the milk. I rarely buy milk - didn't buy it for 20 years after I found I'd want it for coffee and the milk'd gone off, then I'd have to remember to buy some, which'd go in the fridge (no freezer back then) and when I next wanted a bit for coffee that one'd gone off.

The idea of frozen milk makes me pull a face really

I tend to either go without cooking cheese sauce dishes, or specifically buy milk, which I will only buy if it's got a long shelf-life (say 5+ days) and set out to use up the whole pint when I do so - usually by then eating many breakfasts of weetabix & milk

Just because something CAN be frozen, doesn't mean it's a solution as some people do have these "foibles" about some things... and for me, frozen milk defrosted is one of them. Grosses me out, just thinking about it. I'd like to "get over it" one day, but, like all things that gross you out, that can be nigh on impossible.

I do make a magnificent lump-free cheese sauce every time when I make it. Made it for a sibling once, who hadn't heard of such a thing ... and who reluctantly stood and watched and didn't believe it, then ate it reluctantly before then wolfing down the mac cheese and saying "This is magnificent, must tell people...."

moneyistooshorttomention

To me - I really only have one consideration if it comes to wasting a bit of my food. That consideration being just the one that I've wasted a bit of my money and havent got enough money to be able to easily smile at the thought of not having "value" from some of it.

Re the actual wastage itself - I'm single - so, by definition, that means I'm not consuming nearly as much as bigger households. I'm not a standard size family. I'm not a family with more than 2 children.

One person is not going to consume that much per se - even if leading a "Western" lifestyle. When I add that not only don't I have lots of children - I also don't have a car/have given up flying and, in my case, don't eat meat - then I think I'm leading a pretty "careful conservationist" lifestyle anyway compared to the vast majority of Western households. So I'm not going to "get my knickers in a twist" about, for instance, half a cabbage having to be thrown out. I'll just think "Darn - that's 50p/whatever of my money that I'm not getting anything for in effect".

caronc

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

To me - I really only have one consideration if it comes to wasting a bit of my food. That consideration being just the one that I've wasted a bit of my money and havent got enough money to be able to easily smile at the thought of not having "value" from some of it.

Re the actual wastage itself - I'm single - so, by definition, that means I'm not consuming nearly as much as bigger households. I'm not a standard size family. I'm not a family with more than 2 children.

One person is not going to consume that much per se - even if leading a "Western" lifestyle. When I add that not only don't I have lots of children - I also don't have a car/have given up flying and, in my case, don't eat meat - then I think I'm leading a pretty "careful conservationist" lifestyle anyway compared to the vast majority of Western households. So I'm not going to "get my knickers in a twist" about, for instance, half a cabbage having to be thrown out. I'll just think "Darn - that's 50p/whatever of my money that I'm not getting anything for in effect".

Completely agree but hate binning "money" if I can avoid it like you compared to many households regardless of size I reckon I don't do too badly in the waste front