Table for one

Why is it that people think they are not good enough to cook for themselves?Let me ask it this way – why are other people so much more important than you? They must be because you’ll cook for other people but you’ll only cook for yourself if there are at least two place settings at the table.Not long ago Kait said she hated cooking dinner. She said it was the worst meal for her because she doesn’t like to cook for one.”Why bother, it’s just me,” she said, or something to that effect.It’s that kind of thinking that will lead to the eventual breakdown of civilization as we know it.Now I’m certainly not above takeout if I find myself solo for dinner, but I also love the idea of making pancakes or beef stroganoff or eggplant anything because those are things my husband doesn’t like but I do. The best thing about cooking for yourself is you get to make all the things you like without compromise.Some things are easy to make for one. Once you get the hang of amounts, stir fries, chili, salads, pasta, even meatloaf or meatballs, are easy to turn into one person meals. Even if you go overboard and make too much, things like meatballs, red sauce, meatloaf, chili, most soups or even eggplant or chicken parmesan freeze well. Package them up in single serving sizes then just defrost.Other dishes just have to be scaled back. If you want beef stroganoff, make it, just cut the recipe to fit. If it calls for 1.5 pounds of sliced sirloin, use half a pound and have lunch for the next day, too. Add as many mushrooms as you like and cut the sour cream to a half-cup or less. You can use the leftover sour cream for the burrito you’re going to make later in the week with the leftover sirloin.Shopping for one is a little trickier but certainly doable. You can hit someplace like Meat Land (Eastern Avenue), Whole Foods (Swampscott) or Shubies (Marblehead) and buy single-serving everything from entrees to side dishes but that can get expensive. You can shop for one right in your favorite grocery store, and if you don’t have a favorite grocery store, start visiting different ones and find the one that fits.Frozen veggies in plastic bags make it easy to shake out as much as you want. Fish and seafood, steak and even pork chops are sold singly. Chicken can be rewrapped and frozen into separate serving sizes. If you want to roast a chicken or make a pot roast, either do it with friends or learn to love leftovers.Leftover pot roast can be sandwiches, soup or turned into hash and served with scrambled or fried eggs. Puree the veggies and pour over pasta.It was a small chicken and you even made enchiladas the next day but you still have leftovers? Cooked chicken freezes just fine. Save it to use in soup or an individual pot pie (use a biscuit for the top crust) or to add to red sauce with some red pepper flakes for a little cacciatore action. Or toss it with barbecue sauce and add it to a personal-sized pizza.Crave real pizza dough rather than Boboli or a tortilla? Most local grocers sell fresh dough. Freeze half to use for pizza on another night or turn it into bread sticks or a calzone.You know what else you can do with leftovers? Share them. Do you have an elderly neighbor that doesn’t get out much? He or she might love a visit, even a quick one just to drop off a treat. Do you have another single friend that hates to cook for himself or herself? You don’t have to have dinner with him or her every night but you could trade off leftovers – especially if that person is a good cook.I know that according to Three Dog Night, one is the loneliest number but it doesn’t have to be. Break the curse, set the table, light a candle even and serve yourself even if it’s take out because honestly, if you don’t take care of yourself?who will?