Healthy Bachelor Meals -- any ideas?

[Behemoth]

Oh, also, I made cold sesame noodles -- just Udon with a super-secret paste I invented. They are chilling in my fridge right now and I will totally rock them during my lunch hour.

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Oh, try it with soba noodles and cucumber sometime. I like to julienne the cucumber so it is about the same size as the noodles. Crunchy!

Rice cookers rock. Plus then you can make thai fried rice with the red curry paste that you already have.

[gus_tatory]

...

Should I get a rice cooker?

...What is Pork Tonkatsu?

if you get a rice cooker (which i wholeheartedly reccommend), get one that's *not* a steamer, i.e., the bottom doesn't let liquid drain through. then you can use your rice cooker to make soups, stews, and things that need simmering. (i use my rice cooker to make chicken stock, lentil soup, etc.)

and pork tonkatsu is a Japanese-style breaded (panko crumbs) and fried pork chop. mmm...

[niv]

destro800 - thanks for starting this thread. When I'm alone, I tend to eat complete garbage which I need to stop doing. I'm interested in some solo recipes that are fairly easy (I save the elaborate cooking when others are eating with me).

[mnebergall]

I always massacre rice when doing it the normal way.

How is this possible? Rice must be the easiest stuff in the word to make. 2 parts water to one part rice, dash of salt, twist of pepper. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat to lowest possible and cook for 20 minutes. Do not remove cover until ready to eat. Turn off and let sit for 5 minutes. Never fails.

[ElfWorks]

would it be easier to just get another girlfriend????? (or, pardon my previous assumption, another boyfriend?)

seriously, go buy yourself a crockpot. soups and stews can be a breeze to make and are loooooow carb. do you have a weber or some other kind of grill thing? hibachi? learn to grill. it is easy and fun and will make the cliche bachelor-throwing-a-dinner-party more fun!

what are your favorite foods? if you start there with the learning thing, you will find it easier to learn how to adjust seasonings and cooking techniques etc... as you already know how you want it to taste.

lisa

Edited May 26, 2004 by ElfWorks (log)

[phaelon56]

Do I like cauliflower?

When it's roasted you do. If you think you hate cauliflower... just ask yourself if you like home fries. If the answer is yes then you'll love roasted cauliflower. Also worth noting is that if you're looking to de-bachelorize yourself soon - the ladies love roasted cauliflower just as much as us guys do. And, unless they've been hanging out on eGullet, chances are they haven't tried it yet. Impress the hell out of your next date when you cook dinner for her by using cool things you learn on eGulelt (it works for me )

First thing worth checking out is this book that my ex-GF gave me for a gift at Christmas (after we were no longer dating so I guess I'm not so bad after all).

Almost From Scratch

The recipes rely quite often on "convenience foods" such as precooked bacon, precooked potatoes, bagged salad greens, precut veggies etc. but in almost all cases it adds only a few short minutes to any of the recipes to just use the old fashioned ingredients and prep them myself. What I really use the book for is ideas - ethnic variations abound, he has many great ideas using pre-made curry sauces, Thai peanut sauce etc. (much as described above), and it's easy to just riff on the basic recipe ideas. Most are quick to fix and on the healthy side.

Other have already covered most of the basics for good bachelor cooking. I second the notion that the freezer can be your best friend. I buy chicken thighs in bulk, de-bone them and freeze the bones and scraps for stock making.

I've found moderate carb consumption to be no issue provided I keep a handle on fat and sugar intake.

Ricemaker: get one - they're the bomb. Mine does a better job cooking two cups of raw rice (total of four cooked cups) than one cup. I just take the leftovers and heat it in the microwave as needed.

Other essentials:

Dump the Tupperware and get the new Gladware containers with the blue lid. They['re way cheaper than Tuperware or its equivalent and the whole container, including lid is safely microwaveable. I make things like beef stew, paella , greens and other dishes in bulk and freeze individual dinner or lunch servings in these containers.

Cous Cous: nice variation for a side dish. The Israeli type is big pellets and fun. There's also a regular cous cous in tricolor that I just tried - really jazzes up the plate and is easy to fix.

Bagged salads: 'nuff said

Homemade salad dressing: buy some really good quality vinegars - the expensive balsamic (find a store with Italian imports and get the $20 stuff) and maybe some of the flavored vinegars (pear, fig, blood orange etc.). An ounce or less of top shelf vinegar with some sea salt, white pepper and perhaps a minced herb or two and even a dash of mustard whisked in with just a tiny bit of EVOO. Great dressing, coats the salad nicely and way low on carbs and sugar.

Grocery Store rotisserie chicken: yeah.... I know.... it's cheating and I'm supposed to roast my own but when they're on sale they're crazy cheap and so easy. I eat the legs and wings the first night , remove the skin and cut slices from the breast meat for a few days to add onto salads or sandwiches. on the third or fourth day I strip the carcass and freeze the bits for soup use later on.

I don't drink and if I did I would drink wine only with meals. I keep on hand the best quality Merlot and Chardonnay that I can get in 8 oz bottles (usually Sutter Home or the like). Great for doing a quick wine reduction sauce after sautéing some seafood or a piece of beef. I generally use only half of the bottle and refrigerate the rest. I also keep an 8 oz bottle of Cognac on hand for similar purposes.

Stock: The "Better Than Bouillon" brand concentrate really rocks. It's sort of a gel viscosity and the closest thing to real stock that I've yet found. Seems to keep forever in the fridge and is available in both chicken and beef.

Parchment paper: get a roll. So easy. I cooked fish last night - threw it in the parchment with some EVOO, lemon juice, S & P, some sprigs of fresh thyme, slivers of garlic and some jarred jalapeno bits. Wrap the parchment and throw in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes depending on fish type, thickness and temp. Works great and almost no cleanup.

About veggies and greens going bad and getting wasted - it's still a problem for me although I now have a humidity controlled crisper drawer in my new fridge and it helps. Others on this site have tried and swear by

Evert Fresh Bags

I'm sure more ideas wil come to me later on but the fact is that I've gotten most of my best ideas for cooking from eGullet and the great majority of them are easily applicable to bachelor cooking.