Cooking for One Shouldn't Require Special Tricks
Rochelle Bilow
If we were a different magazine, we might have responded to news from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that there are now more single people in America than there are married folks by publishing a “Cooking for One” article, featuring casseroles baked in tiny ramekins and more eggs than any sane person would want to eat. But we’re not a different magazine. We’re Bon Appétit, and at Bon Appétit, we’re dedicated to cooking and eating food. Real food. You know—the food that everyone else (couples, families, our parents, our friends) eats.
If you’re single, a consumer of the media, and you eat food, you’ll no doubt encounter some clever single-gal or -guy cooking ideas (make pizza-for-one out of a pita pocket! microwave chocolate cake in a coffee mug!). But here’e the thing: Don’t listen to that racket, even if microwaveable cake is pretty great. You’re better than that. Sure, there are ways to make cooking easier and more enjoyable if you’re flying solo—picking up a half loaf of bread and buying a pack of chicken thighs and freezing extras in individually wrapped packets are just smart moves. But those are moves that anyone who wants to cook more efficiently should adopt.
If you’re single and you like to cook, just keep doing what you’re doing. Do you. Don’t worry about whether baking an entire pan of lasagna bolognese is okay (it is) or if half-pint Mason jars are oven-safe (they are).
Here’s why pandering cooking-for-one ideas are a scam: Cooking a full-scale recipe for yourself doesn’t have to result in food waste, which seems to be the battle cry of solo-cook recipe writers everywhere. What they dotend to result in is a haphazard meal that doesn’t have all of the deep, satisfying, layered flavors that can only come from real cooking, the kind that takes time and starts with an onion sautéed over a slow flame. Instead of slapping a slice of Cheddar on an English muffin with a smear of jarred marinara, take the time to pull together a tomato and stracciatella pizza. Instead of layering slices of raw peaches with quick-cooking oats and a drizzle of hot butter, bake an apple and blackberry cobbler. It’s a little more work, sure, but it’s immensely more satisfying. Worried about your food going bad before you can eat it all? Freeze half. Eat it for lunch the next day. For dinner, doctor it up with a new look—roasted chicken can always be made into a taco (just saying). So there! There are three totally doable ideas for eating well and sustainably as a single person, and not once did we mention the word “mini.”
Listen: It’s a tough world out there for the single crowd. Between the endless drama of swiping left, swiping right, and dodging your well-meaning great aunt’s “Met anyone yet?” inquiries, there’s a lot to grapple with. Cooking shouldn’t be a stressor. Hell, cooking should be the way to unwind, recharge, and relax. And—of course—the end result should taste really, really good.
Not feeling up to cooking? We hear you. Browse these whiskey cocktails instead.
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