William Penn Life, 2009 (44. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2009-10-01 / 10. szám
Dinner for One FÁRADJON BE A MAGYAR KONYHÁBA. The weather took a turn for the best in New Hampshire, and we are finally enjoying the fall. It seems that the cold weather paid a visit to the WPA Picnic last month, but a good time was still had by all. I would like to welcome Tibor Check as a contributing writer to the William Penn Life. You bring another refreshing view of life as a Hungarian, and you're right, we can learn a lot from our Nagypapa and Apa! Feeding a family of four or more is easy to do especially when you have hungry children. Make a lot of food, put a gallon of milk on the table and watch it all disappear. One of the hardest things to do is cook for one. Why is that? Most food you buy is not designed for one person. Chicken breast comes two in a pack. Large steaks are enough to feed two. About the only thing you can buy for one person is a small can of soup or loose vegetables from the produce department of your local market. This month, let's learn about feeding a family of one. I fall into this category and will pass on some helpful tips and suggestions. Cooking for one can be a challenge, but with a little creativity and hard work, you can make mealtime a pleasure! For storing your food, I would suggest getting Tupperware or sealable containers you can reuse. Make a menu of what you would like to eat and make a shopping list to buy your raw materials. The rest is easy, I promise. If you follow this plan for a whole week, you'll have enough food for the next three weeks. Start on the weekend so you will have time to prepare the meal and store it. Every time you cook, you'll eat a portion and store the rest for another meal. Once you get enough meals ahead, you can start mixing and matching. Let's say one night you wanted chicken breast with mashed potatoes and green beans. Buy the two chicken breasts but cook one and freeze the other. Mash enough potatoes for two, eat half and freeze the other portion with half the green beans you didn't eat. If you buy a pound of ground beef, you could make a small meatloaf, eat some and portion out the rest. After a few weeks, you could go into your freezer pull out some meatloaf and have it with the mashed potatoes and green beans you prepared when you had chicken breast. See where I'm going with this? With some creativity and planning, you can eat like royalty even if the meal is only for one. Eating alone doesn't mean you're cooking all the time. Think of options outside your kitchen, like take out food you can get on your way home from work. A slice of pizza, Chinese food and a salad from the salad bar at your local supermarket make for a meal you don't have to cook. Not all meals need to be frozen. You can buy a bag of salad mix that comes with toppings and dressing in the produce department of your market. One favorite single meal I enjoy is broccoli florets with carrots, celery sticks and a flavored dip or bottled dressing. If you're really handy in the kitchen, you could make soups, stews, whole chickens or roasts, then fabricate meals adding vegetables, potatoes or rice. Try making a tomato sauce and portion it for future meals. By changing what the sauce will go on, you can add variety to your mealtime. One time, have spaghetti with your sauce and a side salad. Next time, try fresh ravioli with your sauce, and the third time try your sauce on bread dough with cheese as you make your own pizza. I'll leave you with a few simple reminders on eating alone. Try dining out with friends or other singles during the week. Mix in take-out food with what you cook for meal variety. French toast or omelets are easy to prepare anytime. Lunch items can be made for dinner or breakfast items for dinner. When all else fails and you don't know what to have, there is always the old stand-by of grilled cheese or peanut butter and jelly washed down with a glass of cold milk! A wise chef once wrote there is no such thing as leftovers—they are called "plan aheads"! Have a wonderful month. Jé faszai*iß*Ä» "The Hungarian Kitchen" is a trademark of William S. Vasvart/. 10 William Penn Life, October 2009
