Cooking for one (Mark Two)

Thanks caron - the thought has crossed my mind to try that recipe. I do occasionally read that blog and have tried a few of her recipes (though I tend to feel the need to add a bit extra food to some of them though - as I've got a standard size appetite and it feels like she has a small one).

Apji - I get what you mean by thinking about that girl. I admire people that can cope with blindness or near blindness - as I'm no "weakling" but it's not something I could cope with myself - so they're stronger than me that they can. A couple of hours of slight eye problems the other day had me thinking "If ever I get cataracts even - I'll have the operations within days of being 'ready' to", as I'm watching a friend of mine now (in this remote area and living more remotely than me) having problems with that and her life restricted whilst she is waiting for the NHS to deal with them. Which has reminded me - she's the one I'm having lunch with tomorrow - and I've never really found out how "into" music she is (as I feel music helps a lot - a fact I often forget). Might help her cope a bit better while she's waiting (and I'm trying to persuade her to pay and get it sorted LOL).

Personally - I dont like Christmas/New Year or the month of August and that's even more the case in such a quiet/family-centred area as this is (very different to my busy/focused on singles Home City I moved from). So - I've always used end of year as a time to plan/catch up a bit indoors etc. So I tend to think it's best to try and think as positively as possible about end of year time and try and use the time for that purpose.

It does sound to me like you are making some very positive moves all round re getting to know new people. Imo there is a "hit rate" of 50% success rate at trying out new groups/individual people - some you win and some you lose. But I think a 50% hit rate is reasonable imo. Two new groups coming up for me next week on top of the groups I'm already involved with - so if only one of them is a "hit" = its worth it imo.

Jack Monroe has a normal figure. She's not skinny and I know I take into account her figure and think "She must be using right size quantities then - because she has right size figure". (Yep...I'm the one that literally takes a quick look at the person presenting YouTube cookery videos before I decide whether to make them). So I switch straight on to another one if it's either a young girl acting daffy and dancing round the room literally and giggling OR if they're plump. Either way - I think "Next please" and switch through and start listening if I can see they're slim and "serious". I wouldnt even look through the "Two Fat Ladies" cookbook - as I obviously don't want to eat the way they do LOL.

But I think she probably is scaling-up the quantities she uses for herself and her child - rather than it being 2 adult size appetites.

EDIT; Quick check later and I use 113 grams of pasta for myself when cooking - as I measure in ounces and it's 4 ounces. So yep....150 grams would be one adult and a rather young child. Further edit: quick check for a spaghetti bolognese recipe as an example and first one that came up uses 350 grams of spaghetti for 4 people (though again one comes to the "If it's 4 people - then maybe 1 or 2 of them are children" thing).