cooking for one – In Good Taste

How-To: Go Grocery Shopping for One

Maris Callahan — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 13:00:07 +0000

No matter how talented you are at cooking for one, when you live alone and are grocery shopping for one, you will ultimately end up wasting food. Several years ago, a neighbor and I decided to split a CSA and when it arrived on Friday, we were plenty excited about the daikon radishes, beets and seemingly endless supply of fresh basil. Come Sunday, when we were ready to cook for the week, our organic, preservative-free produce was shriveled and wilted. We might as well have been throwing our $24 per week directly down the trash incinerator in our apartment building. It’s hard to be a savvy shopper when you’re single or if you have different dietary restrictions than the rest of the people in your household. If your schedule is prone to late nights at work or spontaneous dinners out, you’ve probably thrown away more than your share of defrosted shrimp and salmon. Simply put, shopping for one, or even two, is no easy feat. Next time you’re in the grocery store, follow a few easy tips for stocking a fridge, freezer and pantry that will leave you with all of the fixings for healthy meals without the waste. Shop […]

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Grilled Salmon with Roasted Corn Relish

Maris Callahan — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 05:00:25 +0000

Cumin is quite easily one of my favorite spices to use in cooking. The love affair began when I was in college and knew how to make approximately one recipe from scratch: chili with ground beef or turkey, pinto beans, tomatoes and a combination of chili powder and cumin. Of course, in college, I didn’t know what else to do with the spice so I would end up throwing out half-used jars at the end of each semester. Since my initial chili cooking days, I’ve used the nutty, warm spice in a lot of different recipes, generally in situations where I wanted to try my hand at more exotic or ethnic dishes. Cumin is native to the Mediterranean and also common in Middle Eastern, Asian, and Mexican cooking. Only recently did I think to apply cumin in the simplest of ways: in a spice rub for grilled salmon. While a little cumin will go a long way, it lasts up to six months when stored in a cool dry place away from light. You’ll know if your spice is still potent if you can smell its warm, nutty aroma an indicator that the spice is still flavorful. This is a […]

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Baked Salmon with Dijon Glaze

Maris Callahan — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 05:00:56 +0000

I used to think that if you really loved cooking and wanted to make it a priority, it could happen. An “if you build it, they will come” mentality. Then I started a business and it suddenly became quite clear to me that when you love to do something, it becomes a priority, but when you do something out of duty, it’s easy to let it fall by the wayside. Sometimes, work and late nights out take me away from home for longer days including numerous dinners out at amazing restaurants. In case it’s never been clear, the only thing I might love more than experimenting in the kitchen with new recipes is dining out and I will happily jump at any excuse to try a new restaurant. When I don’t have the time to spend experimenting with new recipes and cooking complicated meals, I try to keep the ingredients on hand for a few easy go-to meals. Even though I have about twelve unopened cookbooks and enough recipes bookmarked online that I could print them out, build a fort and live in it, I have been making the same salmon recipe repeatedly. It’s a riff from a Cooking Light that […]

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Herb Roasted Halibut

Maris Callahan — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 01:11:15 +0000

Since I started training to run a half-marathon this coming November (I’m up to six miles…only seven more to go!), I’ve found myself cooking more frequently. It isn’t because I’ve gotten all health nut or have decided to start treating food as fuel. No, nothing silly like that. When I run on the treadmill at the gym, I watch the Food Network. Even though I usually can’t remember what day it is, where I need to be at 3:00 p.m. or what is next on my to-do list, I can remember what recipes I’ve seen on a tiny TV screen attached to a treadmill so that I can replicate it several days later. Back when I started this blog and had ample counter space and a dishwasher, I thought cooking for one was easy! Anyone can do it! I still think that anyone can cook if they really want to and anyone can be good at it if they really want to, but I also now realize that not everyone is going to want to. For some, the barrier to cooking lies in doing the dishes. There are some nights when I get home late or have newly manicured nails […]

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Pan-Seared Shrimp with Ginger-Hoisin Glaze

Maris Callahan — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 23:50:23 +0000

Most people find it very difficult to cook for one. I have no problem cooking only for myself when I’m making something like browned butter shells and cheese, where I eat one or four servings and freeze the rest. I also have no problem cooking for one when I’m making s’mores cookie bars, because I can justify that any amount is one serving and that ALL of the calories in the batch are in the portion that I give away to friends. On occasion, I do find it difficult to cook for one and that occasion is when I am trying to eat healthier. It’s one thing to cook for one when you’re making a hot, meaty pasta dish that you can send straight to the freezer, but it’s another thing to cook for one when you’re looking at fresh foods that rot or spoil easily. Enter, pan-seared shrimp. I love seafood and will often choose it over any braised, fried or deep-dish anything on your typical restaurant menu. I don’t cook it at home as frequently, because it has a shorter shelf life that the average veggie + pasta situation that can last a leisurely week resting comfortably in the […]

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