Four Ways To Enjoy Cooking For One

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No, I don’t love cooking. I cook because I need to eat. Like many of you, I have been cooking more because we are in a pandemic. When you do something more often, you often get better at it. This weekend I realized that I was really enjoying riffing on recipes: my comfort level and calm in the kitchen were at a high level. Since this awesome feeling rarely visits me, I decided that if I tried to decode how I got here, maybe I could replicate this situation more often.

Here are some of the keys that led to my cooking happiness. Give them a try!

1. Cook when you are not pressed for time. I live on my own and I don’t have to eat a specific times. So, I can cook when I am most relaxed. This seems to be early in the morning or late in the evening, for the next day. Usually, it will be dark at these times. During the day, I seem to be on the go and taking care of business. Ain’t nobody got time for cooking during business hours. Therefore, cook when you have the peace of mind to get into a groove.
2. Cook once, eat four times. I am not the queen of cooking just enough for one, so I just cut the meat portion in half, eyeball the non-meat ingredients, and cut the spices to my taste. I prefer a spicy, peppery flavor profile so I am just as likely to leave those ingredients at their full potency or even add more in. Most recipes that I select are…