Cooking for one

PasturesNew

iammumtoone wrote: »

.... I have the awful habit of looking what the waitress is delivering to other tables ...

If it's possible and she's passing, I'll stop her and ask her. Done that before a few times ... not that often, but sometimes it's a winner.

Last time I ate out the phone call suggested to me "let's go to XYZ pub and have their fish & chips which are good". I said yes. We got there and the other person was dithering over the menu .... but I was there for fish/chips, so I had that (I'm not usually a fish/chips person, but that was what I went out to get and I wasn't going to f4nny about choosing something else).

Eventually she had that too. *sighs*

It was fine.

Tiddlywinks

PasturesNew wrote: »

I'm trying to start a small list of "easy, but really nice, food you could make if you get your 4rse into gear and remember you intended to make it".

One thing would be to buy "a nice loaf" - that's where you slice it yourself, rather than the usual 24p loaf ... and a pint of milk ...

I probably know the answer to this but have you considered getting a bread maker?

Mine can made a small loaf so good for one person - then you make it as and when so minimal waste.

Also then easy to use it for dough for a pizza too.

The ingredients last for months in the cupboard so very little waste there too.

PasturesNew

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

I probably know the answer to this but have you considered getting a bread maker?

Mine can made a small loaf so good for one person - then you make it as and when so minimal waste.

Also then easy to use it for dough for a pizza too.

The ingredients last for months in the cupboard so very little waste there too.

I had one once, it didn't work out... the paddle would detach itself

The loaves are too big, even though I had a small one. And it goes off too quickly.

It's not for me.

I can knock up some bread in the microwave on demand ... and just make one slice ... and I don't even bother to do that.

Bread's low priority for me. I've not had a loaf in the house since last year.

caronc

Nelski wrote: »

oh dont get me wrong I fully intend to use as much as possible from my stocks for as long as possible this year but I dont like to decide what im having until the day. I think it stems from a childhood where we ate exactly the same food every monday then exactly the same food every tuesday and so on and it drove me nuts so now the very thought of a proper plan makes me balk.

I know what you mean - I'm hoping a plan will get me out of a wee bit of a food rut, I had found I was tending to have the same or very similiar meals almost on a loop and seemed always buy the same stuff even though my freezers/cupboards were (are) bulging. It's given me a bit of cooking passion back which I'm enjoying.

PasturesNew wrote: »

I had one once, it didn't work out... the paddle would detach itself

The loaves are too big, even though I had a small one. And it goes off too quickly.

It's not for me.

I can knock up some bread in the microwave on demand ... and just make one slice ... and I don't even bother to do that.

Bread's low priority for me. I've not had a loaf in the house since last year.

I love homemade bread but like PN didn't get on with a breadmaker (free to a good home anyone) so use the old-fashioned way. That said I only make it if I have folk coming round as it doesn't keep and I therefore tend to be greedy with it to use it up. I made a loaf for Friday had hoped some might be left for butties yesterday but it was all scoffed. I've been buying the Burgen Linseed Loaf, it's tasty, keeps well and importantly for me is low in salt for a commercial loaf. It's a wee bit dearer than the usual sliced (non-value) loaves but not so much so that I object to the price

PasturesNew

All supermarkets used to sell "long life bread" - when you picked one up it'd have a "best before" date of 7-15 days. They were good, although of differing quality.... you really had to try them all to find which one was best. I liked the CoOp one. Now though, few supermarkets sell them, in fact I think it's only Mr T now.

I alternate bread with muffins and crumpets and occasional pittas to break up the monotony ... and usually have a pack of half-bake baguettes in.

Tesco call theirs "Stay Fresh" at the moment and it's 60p.
http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=288406886

I was in Tesco before Xmas so bought a loaf. I am rarely there though.

caronc

PasturesNew wrote: »

All supermarkets used to sell "long life bread" - when you picked one up it'd have a "best before" date of 7-15 days. They were good, although of differing quality.... you really had to try them all to find which one was best. I liked the CoOp one. Now though, few supermarkets sell them, in fact I think it's only Mr T now.

I alternate bread with muffins and crumpets and occasional pittas to break up the monotony ... and usually have a pack of half-bake baguettes in.

Tesco call theirs "Stay Fresh" at the moment and it's 60p.
http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=288406886

I was in Tesco before Xmas so bought a loaf. I am rarely there though.

I've tried the longer-life ones before and really didn't like the texture so not for me I'm afraid. I've found the Burgen one keeps for about 9 days (though only good for toast for the last few) which generally means I can use it up. I've crumpets, pittas and quartered stottie cake in the freezer if I run out of the fresh stuff or fancy a change

moneyistooshorttomention

caronc wrote: »

I have the same problem with menus- there are very few foods I don't like/won't eat (tripe, raw oysters, fresh tuna and okra are about it really - it's a texture thing and thankfully not everyday food items) so tend to dither for ages making my choice - must be much easier if you can narrow choices down on the don't like/won't eat basis LOL:D

Not really:rotfl:imo.

Going into "my" type of place to eat out (eg a vegetarian cafe) and I'll be sitting there with a reasonable level of choice. So I will have half a dozen or more choices. If I'm lucky - then nearer 20 choices. It still doesn't take me that long to choose. Five minutes max - even if there is a good number of choices and I've zoomed in on the choice I want.

More often than not - I'm trying to find something suitable from a very limited selection in some more "conventional" pub/cafe/etc and thinking "Two choices - only two choices - this is blimmin' ridiculous being expected to put up with that little choice" and it takes about 2 seconds flat to choose. Though there are places where there is literally only one choice and then you're absolutely stymied if that one choice is something you don't like - as there is nothing whatsoever you can eat - at which point they've just lost the business (as I've got up and walked out the door). Which in a more remote setting (ie where there is only one business) will sometimes translate into "Well - I've made it plain to them they need to have more choice than this - as they saw me vanishing out the door. Now I'm hungry" and I land up waiting till I get home to get some food <shrugs>

I was only thinking to myself this morning "Guess many of us are a 'child of the Internet age'. We know there are a lot of different choices etc out there - and so we expect to be presented with a lot of different options and then we will select our personal choice from that".

I can see that it must make life easier to only have a very limited selection of choices - but that drives others of us up the wall wondering where our missing "other choices" are.

karcher

Burgen Linseed Loaf is my loaf of choice, I love it.

They used to sell it for £1 in Iceland but I haven't been in one for a while so don't know if they still do.

ETA: using up a loaf of bread is easy for me as I adore toast and real butter (I could easily eat half a loaf in one sitting!!:o) but I often freeze it and take a couple of slices out as and when I need it (and to stop me scoffing the lot!! :eek::rotfl:)

caronc

karcher wrote: »

Burgen Linseed Loaf is my loaf of choice, I love it.

They used to sell it for £1 in Iceland but I haven't been in one for a while so don't know if they still do.

ETA: using up a loaf of bread is easy for me as I adore toast and real butter (I could easily eat half a loaf in one sitting!!:o) but I often freeze it and take a couple of slices out as and when I need it (and to stop me scoffing the lot!! :eek::rotfl:)

It's lovely isn't it tastes (to me) like "real" bread, not £1 in Tesco (where I on-line shop) but still good value for what you get. Bread or toast and real butter is one of my simple pleasures. Have it most days for breakfast:D

PasturesNew

When you get canteens, that have three main course choices, I've never understood why only one was a veggie choice. If I were in charge I'd sneak in two at least twice a week. After all, what's the difference to most people if there's cheese/cheese&onion quiche rather than one with ham/bacon bits in it?

Meat eaters have three choices, veggies only one... and it wouldn't be hard to make a veggie dish that "presented like a meat dish" so it wouldn't even be noticed.