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Kathryn
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Hey guys! I don't know about you, but I don't like cleaning out my refrigerator. I like having a clean refrigerator, it just pains me to throw away food that spoiled before I got around to eating it (a real struggle if you're cooking for one!). I don't know if it's true or not, but VegetarianTimes.com reported the average family throws away approximately $600 in food every year (approximately 14% of food purchased, 25% of all produce purchased) - yikes! To help, the website features a handy, dandy chart of what to eat first to avoid unnecessary spoilage. It's been around for awhile, but I just stumbled upon it and plan to stick it on my refrigerator. I hope this is helpful! I really recommend that you read the whole article for more information about should (and should not) be stored next to each other, what should NOT be stored... Continue reading
Posted Oct 25, 2011 at Menu for One
Thanks - I'll hold out for fresh ones!
Toggle Commented Oct 10, 2011 on My First Chanterelles at The Amateur Gourmet
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I'm not a mushroom fan and have avoided them for years...but I decided it was high time to give them another try (a la Geoffrey Steingarten). While visiting my brother last weekend we went to Diner in Williamsburg (do you know it?) and I had the fettuccine with chanterelles. Not a rocket science dish, but I. am. in. love. I, too, will snatch them up at the market if I ever see them here in Atlanta. Can these be purchased dried? Or should I just save my nickels for fresh chanterelles?
Toggle Commented Oct 6, 2011 on My First Chanterelles at The Amateur Gourmet
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"UGH. There's nothing to eat." Have you ever said this while staring into your kitchen cupboards? I say it all the time. A recent house-sitting gig, however, caused me to change my attitude and muster my creativity. I spent the first week of August taking care of a dog, a cat, two birds, and a fish. A wonderful crew, really. While hunting for some doggie ice cream in the freezer one day, I came across a list taped to the side of the refrigerator entitled, "What to Do If I'm Bored." Clearly, a child had complained one time too many that there was nothing to do. Top of the list? "Build fairy hut in the front yard," which was followed by "Write down 20 (or 10) nice things about someone you know, and then give them that list," (on second thought, this idea was a little ambitious, I guess) and... Continue reading
Posted Sep 13, 2011 at Menu for One
Hello, everyone! Happy Friday! I'm just writing you a quick note to encourage you to check out this guest post on Amateur Gourmet today. The small ramen shop features a long bar the length of the restaurant with small dividers between each stool to create a ramen noodle eating sanctuary. A small sign in each dining cubicle reads: "We would like all of our customers to taste our ramen with no distractions and with a sense of zen emptiness. You can slurp with abandon. You can eat alone without feeling self-conscious." So with that, I wish you happy eating this weekend (new posts are forthcoming). May you enjoy a meal with no distractions, and slurp with abandon. --Kathryn Continue reading
Posted Aug 26, 2011 at Menu for One
@Anne: Totally! Let me know how it goes!
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[Note: This is arguably not the most impressive thing you can cook in the kitchen, but it is the easiest impressive thing you can cook in a kitchen, and takes less skill than required to boil an egg]. Eager to impress a date? Trying to prove to your mom you are perfectly capable of keeping yourself alive, and that no, you don't subsist on ramen and Kraft mac & cheese? Embarrassed that the friendly staff at Chick-Fil-A knows you by name? If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you'll want to roast a chicken. Now, this is bare bones here. There are a million ways to skin this chicken, so to speak, and we can get to that later. For right now, here's what you'll need: INGREDIENTS: SUPPLIES: A whole chicken. 3-4 lbs, preferably one that was treated well during its lifetime. If it ate well and... Continue reading
Posted Aug 21, 2011 at Menu for One
Thanks, Mary. Let me know if you give it a try! I checked out your blog and loved the hot weather comic featuring two corn on the cobs - perfect on a day like today!
Toggle Commented Aug 3, 2011 on French Onion Soup at Menu for One
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From time to time I get emails from fellow Menu For Oners out there like you who tell me about how they like to experiment in the kitchen. Keep 'em coming, and better yet, post them on the website! I think we'd all be encouraged and inspired by your ideas. This picture comes from Tavoris C. in Atlanta. Eager to try something new in the kitchen, he decided to give couscous a try - a rolled semolina dish that is popular in West Africa and the Mediterranean. Tavoris flavored the couscous with a little olive oil and roasted garlic, and topped it with cabbage, broccoli, peppers, and carrots he had pan-steamed in a little bit of butter and water. It looks great! Very colorful. This would make a great weeknight dinner because both the couscous and vegetables can be prepared in under 20 minutes. Truth is, Tavoris is not some... Continue reading
Posted May 22, 2011 at Menu for One
Hello, MenuForOne-ers! I wanted to draw your attention to a slide show posted on Bon Appetit's website today (6 Things to Do with a Can of Tuna: bonappetit.com). Writer Hannah Sullivan contacted half a dozen chefs across the country and asked them what they like to do with this inexpensive pantry staple. I, for one, am eager to try the Tuna and Goat Cheese Flat Bread or the Warm Potato and Tuna Salad (but they all look appetizing!). The best news is, these recipes are calibrated for 1 or 2 servings! Tuna and Goat Cheese Flatbread with Caramelized Onions and Fennel Tuna-Stuffed Squash Blossoms with Gazpacho Tuna with Kimchi-flavored Ramen Warm Potato and Tuna Salad with Capers and Arugula White Bean and Tuna Pasta with Olives, Capers, and Cherry Tomatoes Tuna Hamayaki with Sake, Ginger, and Potatoes If you try one of these, send a review and a photo! Continue reading
Posted Apr 19, 2011 at Menu for One
Cooking for one is totally doable, whether you're a newbie in the kitchen or an experienced cook who is used to cooking for a full house. Here are a few simple strategies to get you (back) in the kitchen: 1. Plan, plan, plan. Are you afraid to experiment in the kitchen? Glued to a recipe? Fear not, this strategy is right up your alley. If you do your weekly shopping with a plan in mind, you can save money and reduce food waste, big obstacles for MenuForOne-ers. Need help getting started? Try creating a weekly meal plan with this helpful chart. 2. Cook extra and re-purpose ingredients. Turn leftover shrimp into tacos, stir-fry, or fried rice. Roast a whole chicken and use throughout the week in enchiladas, soups, or salads. Make a large batch of roasted vegetables and add to pot pies, or serve alongside an omelet. Freeze homemade meatballs... Continue reading
Posted Apr 6, 2011 at Menu for One
Do you ever feel this way (link to a brilliant comic strip entitled "Why I Don't Cook At Home")? Don't let cooking for yourself get you down. Take a break, order a pizza, go out to dinner with friends, and come back to the kitchen refreshed. Sometimes I need to take a break, too. I'm not going to lie - I've been absent for the last few months, and for good reason: I've started a new job and moved! But this break from blogging has me eager to get back into the kitchen, so get ready for some more Menu For One! Remember: you don't have to slaughter your own Pekingese bison to enjoy a good meal, but as famous French chef Jacques Pepin once said, "If you have extraordinary bread and extraordinary butter, it's hard to beat bread and butter." I take that to mean that even the simplest... Continue reading
Posted Mar 28, 2011 at Menu for One
Great question, Kit - stay tuned! I find that one of the biggest struggles in shopping and cooking for one is that often food goes to waste before a Menu for Oner can eat it all. Canning fruits and vegetables, especially in small quantities can really help fix this problem. Check back next week for more on this! A myriad of vegetables can be preserved, but why did I pick(le) cauliflower? Because it's awesome! (and cheap, and in season).
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Thanks, Sarah Burt! We should cook together sometime - I'm interested in trying that lamb stock you made the other day!
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Saturday was the best day off I've had in a long time. The sun was shining, the leaves were starting to turn color, the air was crisp. My alarm went off, I opened up the kitchen windows, turned on some tunes (not to be confused with toons, come to think of it), and started planning. Every once in a while I love taking on a big kitchen project. Like the Insane Cookie Baking Festival (ICBF) of 2008 where my friend Kathleen and I made no fewer than 11 different kinds of Christmas cookies, or that day when my friend Emily and I tried to make perfect petit fours, little confectionary presents, and instead created the ugliest, squint-your-eyes-they're-so-sweet mini cakes you've ever laid your eyes (or tastebuds) on: No false modesty here. But I digress. What was I talking about? Oh right - pickled cauliflower, of course. As you may recall,... Continue reading
Posted Oct 29, 2010 at Menu for One
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It's Friday evening and I am exhausted. I've made myself a drink and I plan to be French for an hour (snacking on French bread and smelly, smelly cheese) while I fix myself some dinner (shepherd's pie). I wish you a wonderful holiday weekend (if you're lucky enough to have Columbus Day off). See you next week! The Gimlet Not exactly a menu for one, but it is a drink for one, and a simple one at that. For those of you who are new to mixing your own drinks, the is a great one to start with. What you'll need: - Gin (2 oz., approx. 1/2 c.) My local liquor store recommended Broker's Premium London Dry Gin as a nice, inexpensive gin. Plus, the bottle has a little bowler hat on it, just like Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins. Geez, I am such a sucker for packaging. - Lime... Continue reading
Posted Oct 8, 2010 at Menu for One
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In keeping with Menu For One's effort to make the most of these finals days of summer (and by "making the most" I mean making food memories of fresh, sweet corn, peaches, berries, etc. to keep with me throughout the cold winter months), I bring you Peach Upside-Down Cake. It's dessert. It's breakfast. It's both. It will bring a smile to your face. You can assemble it pretty quickly, but if you like, can make it the night before, and easily reheat the next morning. For some of you, you might have transitioned over into Fall in your neck of the woods. Hello, season of stews, and braises, and hot chocolate, and apple cider! Hello, apple picking and corn mazes! For the rest of us, who, willingly or unwillingly, are still surviving 90 degree whether (WHEN WILL SUMMER EVER END? IT'S OCTOBER.), the least we can do is enjoy one... Continue reading
Posted Oct 4, 2010 at Menu for One
Hello, Menu For Oners! I'm in the process of putting together a list of equipment that people cooking/eating solo should keep in their kitchen to prepare delicious meals. What do you use? What are some of your tricks of the trade? Post your ideas in the comment section! Update: Thank you for your comments! Remember Drew Barrymore's rant from He's Just Not That Into You? Unlike her situation, MFO's is a much more pleasant problem. Thanks to technology, you guys can submit your feedback by email, Facebook, carrier pidgeon - even Twitter (a different kind of bird I guess)! All work of course...but depending on the medium, not everyone may be able to benefit from your wonderful ideas. Here are some kitchen items you guys can't live without! (Feel free to continue submitting your ideas in the comment section.) Sarah B. of Minneapolis: "My 2 cup mini-food processor is an... Continue reading
Posted Sep 7, 2010 at Menu for One
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With the end of summer upon us, I'm dedicating the next few posts to summer produce so that we can all enjoy one last hurrah. Do you remember this moment from the end of Disney's Ratatouille when the snobbish food critic Anton Ego sits down to a rustic ratatouille? The smell alone is enough to melt away his ego (get it? Anton EGO?), but one bite transports him back to the dinner table of his childhood, where he remembers his favorite dish prepared lovingly by his maman. Food can be powerful, and whether you're seated at the family table or dining solo like Anton Ego, a meal can be more than just the means to keep you going throughout the day. I've enjoyed this dish twice this month, and each time it takes me back to the semester I spent studying in Paris. It was the first meal my host... Continue reading
Posted Sep 2, 2010 at Menu for One
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Dining Solo: Is Cooking For One a Waste of Time and Money? - The Juggle - WSJ Hi fellow Menu For One-ers, check out this discussion in the Wall Street Journal about whether cooking for one is actually worth the time and money. What are your thoughts? Continue reading
Reblogged Aug 31, 2010 at Menu for One
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Slowly, but surely, I am sprucing up this site. I am no spring chicken when it comes to cooking, but definitely am one when it comes to web design. Yesterday, I added a search bar that should make it that much easier to find recipes featuring particular ingredients or old favorites. To test out this new feature, I typed "chicken," and - low and behold - discovered that Menu For One did not yet mention a single recipe involving a chicken breast - America's favorite form of dinner time protein. I shouldn't have been that surprised, really. Truth is, I rarely buy chicken breast by itself. Boneless, skinless chicken breast is the most expensive cut of chicken at the butcher counter, and so I've tried to either a) buy a whole chicken (cooking it all at once and using the meat over the next several days) or b) buy cheaper... Continue reading
Posted Aug 18, 2010 at Menu for One
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via www.seriouseats.com I thought this was funny. Natalie Dee's comic shows what happens between egg friends when one them becomes a chicken. As Serious Eats put it, behold the trauma. Continue reading
Reblogged Aug 5, 2010 at Menu for One
Kathryn is now following Ruth Reichl
Jul 30, 2010
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Slaw week continues on Menu For One! This one is perfect beside grilled meat or seafood, and might even develop into a one-pot meal/side-salad with the addition of couscous, or a protein-rich whole-grain like quinoa. Now, when you read this recipe, you'll notice that there's no mayonnaise (mayo-haters rejoice!). I looked into it, and found that technically, slaws don't require mayonnaise. "Slaw" is a word derived from the Dutch word "sla" meaning salad. The term usually refers to shredded cabbage coated in some sort of "moist dressing," but can include other vegetables. Because there's no cooking involved, this Asparagus Salad can be assembled as fast as you can chop and stir. The key to this dish is to use the young, pencil-thin asparagus if you can find it. For me, that's always the asparagus I find at the grocery store and never the kind I'm looking for. Asparagus, Pecorino, and... Continue reading
Posted Jul 13, 2010 at Menu for One
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Needless to say, my post on making blueberry pie will have to wait. Continue reading
Posted Jul 8, 2010 at Menu for One