What We Eat When We’re Alone
In a marriage of synchronicity and luck, just as I was weary of cooking I found myself a guest at one dining room table after another. The timing couldn’t have been better–the holidays ushered in a handful of invitations just as I was wandering the produce section of our grocery store, fresh out of fresh ideas. So instead of trying to put dinner together each night, we were trunching through fresh snow on our way to plates of creamy lasagnas rich with béchamel, homemade gnocchi, zucchini salads, and enough glasses of champagne and red wine to warm us on our walk back to the subway and onwards toward home.
Just as Brillat-Savarin says, my happiness had been taken charge of and placed in the hands of gifted and generous hosts for as long as I was under their roofs. We ate well, drank well, concocted big ideas for the future, and I reveled in the delights of being the guest. Because perhaps I so enjoy entertaining myself, the tiny touches were not only lost on me, they gave me a wild thrill: someone had done this just for our pleasure! The vintage magazine covers to mark the seating arrangement, the preparation of one guest’s favorite dessert, the candles placed just inside the front door so as to be the first sight of warmth as we step in from the cold.
And now, for a few days at least, before the singing of Auld Lang Syne sets in, we’re back to eating alone. At this point, after all the cheese and chocolate, it feels a bit like a relief. We can return to the quirks and peculiarities of eating solely for our own pleasure. At a dinner party a few months ago, we went around the table with whispered confessions divulging what we like to eat when we eat for one. One woman made herself a bowl of plain, buttered rice. One of my favorite people enjoys a singularly unique dish of sautéed purple cabbage with crushed red pepper, fish sauce, and sour cream. Another friend pairs hummus with fig jam for a sandwich he finds healthier than pb&j. When alone in the kitchen I used to turn to a bowl of couscous topped with a poached egg and eaten with a few cloves of raw garlic for kick (hey, don’t knock it till you try it). Now, though, I like to make a huge salad with crunchy-fresh romaine lettuce with the vegetables of the season–not so much a recipe per se as a longing for bright crisp greens paired with some supporting fellows and eaten luxuriously alone. And what about you — what do you eat when you’re alone? And what will you eat these last low-key days before the next holiday hurrah?
Romaine Salad with Cauliflower, Chickpeas, and a 4-Minute Egg
Serves 1
Wash and dry leaves of romaine before ripping them into smaller pieces and tossing into a big bowl. Coarsely chop cauliflower florets and canned chickpeas and add to salad bowl. Place an egg in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring water to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 4 minutes. Toss salad with lemon juice and olive oil. Drain hot water from pan and rinse egg under cold water until cool; peel. Place egg on top of salad and let the warm yolk run over the cold, crunchy greens.
Diane Carol: Sad to say, but if I have the opportunity to eat alone….it is usually homemade pizza with hot dog slices and cheddar cheese…and sprinkled with garlic salt. It may not sound appetizing…but it is YUMMY!35 weeks ago
Katie: It’s kind of fun to see what you can come up with for yourself without worrying if someone else will like it, isn’t it? I just made myself a small pot of soup with leftover homemade chicken broth, ginger, garlic, a handfull of leftover veggies and some gyoza from Trader Joe’s. Lately, I’ve also been doing salads with goat cheese, dried cranberries and candied pecans, or cheese melted on whatever leftover bread happens to be lying around.35 weeks ago
Amy C: I always make a rice pilaf with whatever is season in my fridge…lately it’s cranberries and leftover turkey
35 weeks ago
Erin: I used to be all about random pasta concoctions when eating alone - my favorite being angel hair, spinach, tomatoes, leftover grilled chicken, and a LOT of feta cheese. But my waistline stopped allowing for that and now I gravitate towards whatever random veggies I’ve got on hand, and, uncharacteristically, am loving it. Nice how our tastebuds can begin to accommodate our changing metabolisms, huh??35 weeks ago
Alison H.: I love eating alone at home- it’s finally when I can catch up on all my veggies. Like Erin, I am a big pasta concoction fan, but now am making soups filled with veggies. You can throw anything in a soup - last night I mixed squash, potatoes, escarole, chick peas, leeks and carrots… with a bit of mint, dill and garlic. I read a version of this in Martha Stewart something. Anything will do in a pot of soup!35 weeks ago
Diane Carol, I admire a woman who knows what she likes and gives it to herself — no apologies!
Katie, Mmm, that gyoza soup sounds terrific. I’ve been wanting to make something like that myself.
Amy C, Like a Thanksgiving pilaf! Sounds absolutely delicious. In Casserole Crazy there’s a recipe for a Thanksgiving casserole with similar ingredients and I’ve totally got my eye on it.
Erin, Yes, it’s nice when those moments occur…I just wish they happened about three times as often!
Alison H, Yes, I know just the recipe you’re talking about in the new issue of Living. All those herbs make a wintery soup sound so fresh and full of pop. Your version sounds absolutely amazing. Why don’t I put potatoes in soup more?35 weeks ago
Christine S.: When it is just me, I have a tendency to eat really badly…like those mac-n-cheese Bob Evans things they sell that are microwaveable…ick, ick, icky (not really, though, kind of a guilty pleasure)…35 weeks ago
Seton: Homemade panini with jarlesberg, ham and honey mustard on buttered whole wheat toast…ooey gooey goodness:)35 weeks ago
Michelle: My husband doesn’t have a long standing love affair with junk food like I do and can’t quite understand the appeal of an unhealthy meal. So out of some mixture of shame and embarrassment, I tend to eat better when he’s around (though not LESS, unfortunately). But, on nights when he’s out and I dine alone, I revert back to my twelve year old self and have a party of one with frozen pizzas, mac & cheese, chips & dip, cookies….any combination of over processed, pre-packaged, nutritionally deficient food is heaven for me.35 weeks ago
fefe: its usually carb heavy-either spagetti carbonara or mashed potatoes. red wine with both!! dessert is a crisp apple dipped in sweetened condensed milk…yum!35 weeks ago
Nikki: Sometimes broiled fish but I usually make mixed frozen veggies with a soft boiled egg and feta cheese, if I’m going to make something that is. It’s a bowl of oatmeal squares cereal if I can’t be bothered to cook.35 weeks ago
Evon T.: You mean besides Lucky Charms cereal? Well, whenever I get tired of paying nearly 5-bucks for 1 box of dried marshmallows, I enjoy a small plate of Amish macaroni salad. It has a nice tang that I love. Also, I make a couple of devilled eggs and eat them with whatever leftovers I have on-hand, including white pizza topped with garlic-infused oil and mushrooms. And… I don’t always bother to eat like a lady when I’m alone. I love that aspect of it.35 weeks ago
Carrie: Some of my go-to meals (I’m single, so I eat alone more than a few times a week)
-fried egg atop rice with soy sauce
-goat cheese and beets on whole grain toast
-soup or chili from the reserves in my freezer
-pasta with whatever veggies are onhand35 weeks ago
Wendy: If there is spaghetti w/sauce around, I’ll fry some and top with a over easy egg. Or a slice of pizza w/egg.
We have a really good diet around these parts, due to deit restrictions, so when I am alone, which is rare, I eat bad stuff.Peanut butter and brown sugar sandwiches. Egg salad. In front of the tv. A big no-no usally.35 weeks ago
anonymous fan: Sarah (and others) - you must, must read the book “Alone in the kitchen with an eggplant” which is all about the idiosyncrasies of what people eat when they’re alone. amanda hesser, norah ephron mfk fischer and other top food writers reveal their guilty pleasures. it’s one of my favorite books ever.
http://www.amazon.com/Alone-Kitchen-Eggplant-Confessions-Cooking/dp/1594483132/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262188048&sr=8-135 weeks ago
Kristina: It’s the post-holidays health kick, a reliable as January snow. Like you, we’re eager to snarf mounds of crunchy lettuce (reminiscing, as we chew, of the mounds of crunchy cookies we consumed last week…) Tonight, in fact, I’m making a romaine chopped salad with marinated white beans (in a caper-lemon dressing, fron Bon Appetit). Maybe we’ll throw in some canned tomatoes, too. Just for kicks.35 weeks ago
EB: I tend to eat something simple like cheese toast with sirracha, a couple of cuties or two, and a glass of wine… simple. comforting. tasty. Happy Holiays sweetie!35 weeks ago
Gail: Your salad sounds really good, Sarah, even if I skip the egg!
Glad to hear you had a happy holiday season! Thanks for continuing to share so much of yourself on the Pink of Perfection!
And I wish you, and all the special people in your life and any of your readers who don’t fall into that category a Happy, Healthy, and Blessed 2010!35 weeks ago
Roxy: Eating alone at home is probably the only time(other than going to a restaurant) that I can eat seafood(my husband hates it).
My favorite right now is pretty simple. Canned tuna, with sauteed red onion and asparagus, a bit of mayo, and freshly ground black pepper. Then I dig into it with some grainy crackers. Or I’ll roll it up in with spinach in a tortilla.35 weeks ago
Christine, I’m all for guilty pleasures. I happen to love the Sausage Biscuits from McDonald’s more than necessary.
Seton, Mmm…Jarlsberg is a new discovery for me. Love it!
Michelle, You and Christine should get together and share some Bob Evans mac and cheese!
Fefe, Sometimes nothing but a bowl of pasta will do. Add red wine and the world is right again.
Nikki, Both of those options — though so different — sound so good to me.
Evon T, You and Nikki made me wish I kept cereal in the house!
Wendy, PB & brown sugar!? This is a news to me! Good for you for not eating in front of the tv. I so wish it weren’t one of my favorite activities…
Kristina, I’m nothing if not predictable, and that Bon App salad sounds so good. But strangely, after a couple of days of vegetables, I’m feeling ready for cookies again.
EB, Long live sirracha. I saw picture of someone as sirracha for Halloween and I kind of thought it was genius. Is there a difference between clementines and cuties?
Gail, Skip the egg and maybe add some feta. Love you!
Roxy, When the cat’s away the mice will play! That tuna salad with crunchy crackers sounds really good. Yum.35 weeks ago
Paul Wynn: Wow, i’m missing out. Eating healty now?? Happy New Years Sarah!35 weeks ago
Rae: I was so excited when I saw this photo! It looks remarkably like what I call “Hot Salad” (said with a Christian from Project Runway “Hot Mess” inflection). I lightly saute Spinach, mushrooms, garlic and red onion with olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper (just enough to warm them up, but still crunchy) then plop an egg on top. Fierce.35 weeks ago
Rae, That sounds ridiculously delicious! I’m going to make Hot Salad myself!35 weeks ago
Maris (In Good Taste): This reminds me of Amanda Hesser’s book, Cooking for Mr. Latte. She writes about what she eats and cooks during her relationship with her now-husband and one of the chapters is “What we eat when we’re alone” or something of the like.
I eat the same when I’m alone as when I’m with others - and then I have leftovers for the next day!34 weeks ago
Gina: This post was lovely. Maybe I’m a Nosey-Nancy, but it is so interesting to discover what people are eating behind closed doors.
I work at The Cookbook Store in Toronto, and a book came out this past year by Deborah Madison with a similar title. We polled our customers about what they eat by themselves and got some great (and entertaining!) ideas. I put it together as a blog post for the store, for anyone who shares my intrusive curiousity!
http://cookbookstoreblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/what-we-eat-when-we-eat-alone.html34 weeks ago
Plain Jane: Noodles & butter. Real butter. Sea salt.
Yeah.33 weeks ago