|
JadeGeisha -> RE: Cooking for one (6/28/2008 8:48:04 AM)
|
I have always had to cook for two or more, but there was a time when my Honey went away for months at a time for business... and I was left to cook for just myself. And this is what I did:
At the supermarket, in the meat aisle, there's a section for individually wrapped pieces of meat. They're usually quite well priced. I picked up a few small steaks, a few single chicken breasts, some small portions of ground beef, etc. I froze them.
When cooking pasta, a general portion is a cup, if it's curly or short noodles, and if it's long noodles like spaghetti, you want to take a portion that, when you wrap your fingers around it, measures just over an inch in diameter.
You can never get too many veggies, and veggies store well, so cook those, or eat them raw.
My general rule of thumb when cooking for myself is that 1/3 of the meal is meat, 1/3 of the meal is carbs, and the rest is vegetables. I am a HUGE fan of salads, and make some great home-made dressings... and I also marinate meat, to incorporate different flavours.
One of my favourite meals right now is a spinnach salad:
You need:
Baby Spinnach
Pine Nuts
Craisins (dried cranberries)
Mushrooms
Alfalfa or Sunflower Sprouts
Dressing (this dressing is for about four servings, so I usually make it, and then pour only what's needed on my salad, and save the rest in tupperware in the fridge- it keeps well):
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 cup extra virgin olive oil (I usually use less, as I prefer the stronger, undiluted taste of the balsamic)
1/2 a shallot
cayenne pepper
lemon juice
parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Directions to make the dressing:
combine egg yolk, dijon and shallots together. Pour in the balsamic vinegar. Whisk together. Add the olive oil slowly, while mixing constantly. Once mixed together, add your parsley, lemon juice, and spices, and then whisk again. Simple.
For the salad itself-
sautee mushrooms (other veggies work too, but the mushrooms add a lovely earthy flavour). In a seperate pan, brown your pine nuts. Careful, they burn quickly. I recommend doing this on heat 3, but stir often.
Combine spinnach, sprouts, mushrooms, pine nuts, and craisins in a bowl. Add some dressing, and toss.
This salad is low in fat, high in vitamins, and can be served in large portion, as there's really nothing bad in it.
|
|
|
|
