Mmmmmm! Ham! Food of the God’s! We seem to have similar appetites, when it comes to food, as well. And, I’m also a picky eater. I was even addicted to Peanut M&M’s, for a while. Luckily, the took away the dispenser that used to sit on the reception desk, at work. That’s how I got addicted, in the first place. The withdrawal, and I’m not kidding about that, was unpleasant, but probably for the best. Not like heroin withdrawal, or anything. But, noticeable.
You’re not Rhino’sHoney’s Rhino? (Try saying that five times, fast!) Boo! Hiss! Impostor!
Just kidding. Welcome aboard.
New Yorkers only think they know good pizza. Homemade rules! Although, I buy my dough. There’s a supermarket in the next town that makes it, in their bakery. It’s good!
I used to cook, most of the time, when I was living alone, but I wouldn’t do anything elaborate. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next time I live alone, because I’ve been doing a lot more cooking, recently. So, I might continue, or I might stop. But, I doubt I’d eat much takeout. Most takeout sucks, IMO. Most foods don’t take well to cooling off, and that’s hard to avoid. Plus, there’s the pickiness factor, as well.
I cook a new recipe from scratch every Sunday night - that’s my official cooking night. Like others have mentioned, it’s a pain when most recipes serve anywhere from 4 to 8. I’ve learned to like leftovers 3 days in a row (sometimes the food actually gets better the second time around!), and the freezer is definitely my best friend. I’m trying to aim more for cooking main dishes - so I can get away from high-sodium packaged frozen meals, that I bring for lunch. I must admit, though, that baking is my weakness.
I think this Sunday night I will be trying a recipe for dark chocolate pudding or ful - Moosewood Low-Fat cookbook, both recipes. I have a very full freezer right now - I have 2 1/2 pounds of ground turkey to use - luckily, I was smart, and portioned it into 1/4 lb. packages, so I can use it in smaller amounts.
[flagrant hijack]
I just saw a new Sprint commercial. The punchline was “I never thought I’d get emotional about a rat.” Somehow, that just made me think of you, Flyboy.
[/flagrant hijack]
I knew I shouldn’t have posted in this thread! I can’t see anyone could equate eating the same thing 5 out of seven nights, or grabbing a quick bite, or even doing something as un-American as getting a meal out of a can as “sad”. Sad!?! It all depends on the individual’s perspective.
There are some who would equate food with happiness.
With all the obesity in this country, that may no be the healthiest of attitudes
Others consider grabbing a bite just that…something you gotta do to avoid starvation.
[size=1]In my case, on weekdays, I’ll spend 10 minutes preparing & eating dinner & throwing away the paper plate and use the time I saved going out w/friends, playing volleyball, blading down to the beach, whatever.
As I’m playing bachelor-girl for the last couple of days, I’ve eaten 2 well-balanced and healthy meals at the hospital today and I’m sick of it! I’m happily eating Sugar Puffs and Cocoa Pebbles for dinner! Just like my single days!
Cyn, equating sugared cereal with happiness. Again.
I’m single. I can’t cook. Anything I prepare at home has to come in a box or can with cooking (more like heating) instructions printed on it. I wish I had learned how to cook when I was growing up. As a little boy I thought that when I got to be a grown-up I’d have a wife do this for me. That’s what I get for growing up thinking that cooking is something only women do. :rolleyes:
If I could afford to eat out more I would, but I just can’t. I eat fast food for lunch most days and this takes a good part of my food budget. At least once a week, usually Friday nights, I go to my mom and dad’s house and have a real “home-cooked” meal there, and sometimes I get breakfast Saturday mornings. Otherwise, breakfast is either a bowl of cereal or two Pop-Tarts™.
I’ve thought of opening this thread a hundred times.
I think I like to cook as much as anybody. Problem is, I hate cooking for myself. Just myself, that is. My fridge is sorta. . . mini. It’s not exactly small, but it’s not a regular sized fridge, either. My freezer is about 15" wide, and about a foot deep. (It is also constantly filled with frost, which is more than a bitch to defrost.) There’s not a lot of room for meat and cooked meals that I could then freeze and eat later.
I also hate the whole cooking for an hour and cleaning up for thirty minutes for fifteen minutes worth of dinner. Another thing is that I grew up with a mother who cooks for an army. I know how to cook for an army. I don’t know how to cook for one. Or two. Biggest reason I don’t cook at my apartment? I have approximately two square feet of counter space. That drives me crazy.
Latent Jewish agnostic mother, thankyouverymuch…basically, it’s the same thing when it comes to food, though.
I wouldn’t say I equate food with love, per se, but
a) eating healthy and yummy food, even if you’re single, is one way to show it’s important to take care of yourself;
b) as stated above, I enjoy cooking and find it relaxing and therapeutic; and
c) yes, cooking for someone else is one way to show love, but in the sense that you are showing you care enough about him/her to go to the trouble to create something that will put a smile on his/her face. It can be comfort food, but it can also be something light and healthy, too. The important part is putting in the thought to choose something the other person will appreciate.
Believe me, if my dad managed to learn to cook post-divorce, ANYONE can do it. It’s pretty sad when your 10-year-old daughter has to show you how to fry a burger in such a way that half of it doesn’t stick to the pan. He’s not half bad now, though, and Lord knows he didn’t learn frm his own mom; she can’t cook to save her life. (We cut her some slack, though; she grew up mostly in an orphanage, so she didn’t exactly have a lot of role models in the domesticity department.)
With enough willpower and a willingness to experiment until you get it right, anything is possible.
I dread to think what my non-cooking-skilled friends eat. Sunday was super-duper Carrol Shelby’s beanless chili dogs with old fashioned frankfurters and some home-made rotisserie chicken plus corn-on-the-cob on the side.
Tuesday was hand-smoked salmon (30 pound king caught last week by a friend) worked with minced shallots into a cream cheese appetizer ball served with fresh sourdough baugette. Main course was blue cheese, shallot and mushroom stuffed New York steaks plus a mixed greens, kiwi fruit and blackberry salad topped with fresh toasted almonds and a rice vinegar dressing along with some white asparagus on the side.
Last night my friend brought a store bought rotisserie chicken. He also made sautéd leeks and spinach while I served fromage d’Affinois double cream soft cheese, a Stilton and cheddar combo hunter’s wedge along side some thin sliced Toscano salami and Triscuit[sup]™[/sup] for appetizers plus a side of some nice home fries for dinner.
Yes, I was eating with friends each meal. No, I refuse to consume frozen and canned food all of the time when I’m alone. It makes things drop off. Life is too short for sh!tty food.
I’m single and I cook. I love homemade soups in winter and pasta anytime. Ii start every evening meal with a big salad, and sometimes that is the evening meal.
I don’t do much take-out. Occasionally Chinese or a big cheese omelet breakfast. I’m vegetarian.
I’m single and do try to cook regularly. At one time I was getting take-away meals almost every night and I didn’t like it one bit. It never feels as healthy as a real cooked dinner. So now I try to have a self-cooked meal four nights per week: one meal in the weekend, heated over the next day, and cooking another meal somewhere in the week, re-heat that to. The other three nights I feel I’m allowed to take the lazy route. If I’ve got dates or so, this schedule may get shifted.
Thing is, though I love to eat a properly cooked meal and appreciate a variety of tastes, if you cook for yourself only it is not very rewarding to eat it. We cannot all aspire to the greatness that is Zenster. For that reason I did start a Quick & easy recipes thread recently and got some good tips. I’m trying them out now, with good results.
I love to cook. I do great pasta, excellent soup and stew, fantastic stir fry and noodles, and damn good curries.
But some nights I get home and I’m tired and there’s no food in the house, and I’m too poor to go buy any, and those nights I eat toast or breakfast cereal.
Often I eat leftovers for lunch a few days and freeze some for later dinners. I don’t like eating the same thing 5 meals in a row if I don’t have to.
I have a single mate on these boards (looks in Maxxxie’s general direction) who seems to eat nothing but microwave lasagne, pop-tarts, dark chocolate and vegemite toast.
Well I have kids now but in my single days, I generally lived off doggy bags. I don’t eat that much at one sitting and restaurants al;ways give me enough for two or three portions so I would just bring the remainder home and graze off of it.
I like to cook…but I never do, simply because I am a busy little undergraduate student. I always eat lunch on campus (mostly to socialize, since I rarely see some friends outside of lunch). As far as dinner…at least three nights a week, I have about an hour (if that) to get some grub in me before running off to another commitment. If my schedule isn’t busy, it’s because I’ve cleared it to study. Summary: NO TIME. So I subside on frozen food, canned soup, grilled cheeses, and various boxed pasta dinners. If I’m feeling adventurous, I’ll fry some frozen french fries and talk the bf into grilling.
So, being young and having little time to practice, my cooking skills are a little lacking. But I do enjoy it. A couple of times a month I make a big, nice dinner…last time it was a pork-with-spiced-apples recipe (from the back of last month’s Cosmo) with double baked potatoes. But it took me forever…I started making dinner at 2:00 in the afternoon and still wasn’t done at 6:00 when I had my bf come eat with me. sigh
[hijack]
Oh yes…I’ll ask here, so I don’t have to start a whole new thread.
How do all you single folks keep milk? I don’t drink it by itself and I usually eat cereal dry, but I NEED IT for my various canned soups and boxed pasta! I’ve found it doesn’t freeze well, so that’s out. And even a quart expires before I can finish it off. Argh!
I go through phases. Sometimes I cook like crazy for weeks at a time and sometimes I eat chips and salsa or hotdogs for dinner. Or nothing. Or beer. Beer makes a good dinner.
I’ve yet to buy a frozen dinner, though. Can’t stand the things.
I like to cook, but I have to admit I usually opt for the easier route most of the time (i.e. take out). After I get home from work, I’m usually just too tired, frustrated, etc. to whip much of anything up. However, I do like to make myself something “fancy” from time to time, but when I do, I’m usually improvising and I only make one portion. If I ever cook anything that’s too big for just me to eat, I’ll usually freeze/refrigerate it and eat it the next day.
We seem to have similar appetites, when it comes to food, as well. And, I’m also a picky eater. I was even addicted to Peanut M&M’s, for a while. Luckily, the took away the dispenser that used to sit on the reception desk, at work. That’s how I got addicted, in the first place. The withdrawal, and I’m not kidding about that, was unpleasant, but probably for the best. Not like heroin withdrawal, or anything. But, noticeable.
