On Cooking for One

by sarah on May 28, 2011

 

I recently came across an interesting new cookbook, Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One, by Washington Post food editor Joe Yonan. Though I haven’t purchased it yet, the concept of this book is intriguing to me, as well as some of the lively debate that has ensued following its publication. Why do we attach an inherent sadness to a meal cooked by and for the same person, and that person only?

People often complain about the hassle or challenge of cooking for one, but I actually find that I learn many important lessons from the risks I’m willing to take in the kitchen when I know I am the only person who has to deal with the repercussions of experimentation. Also, cooking alone is at times the most comforting way to cook – it allows us to feed our most personal cravings without having to worry about pleasing a crowd. I fully embrace the beauty and joy of preparing food for friends and loved ones, without a doubt. There are few things that make me happier than feeding the people I care about. However, there is also something special, if not a bit more subtle and mysterious, about the food we make for ourselves when we are flying solo in the kitchen.

This simple dish of roasted asparagus and soft-scrambled eggs is a prime example of the kind of cooking I like to do for myself. As Yonan recently said in a Washington Post article, “to me, cooking is the greatest act of self-appreciation,” and I tend to agree with this sentiment. This dish takes less than 15 minutes to prepare, and is dead simple – in essence, you preheat the oven, prep the asparagus, and scramble a couple of eggs (perhaps with a touch of cream if you’re feeling decadent) while the asparagus quickly roasts under a thin slick of olive oil, salt and pepper. But the result of these few moments in the kitchen truly feel like a gift – the verdant, yet smoky deliciousness of roasted in-season asparagus coupled with the soft richness of the eggs make for a meal that is both comforting and nourishing, and an apt reminder that there can be beauty in solitude, in the kitchen or otherwise.

 

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Why food?

by sarah on May 17, 2011

“How did you get so interested in food?”

I never know how to answer this question. I’ve been fascinated by all things food-related for as long as I can remember. Old family photo albums are filled with pictures of Little Sarah, happy as a clam, eating the things I loved as a kid (ice cream, in particular, which I still adore). My mother, an amazing home cook, started teaching me how to improvise in the kitchen as soon as I was tall enough to comfortably reach the kitchen counter.

Eventually, I also became increasingly aware of the unique power of food to bring people together. There are few better feelings in the world than feeding the people you love. Furthermore, very few things in life have the ability to bring people together as sharing food, regardless of whether it’s a family dinner, an extravagant restaurant meal, or in my more recent travel memory, a traditional Bolivian “almuerzo” of corn, potatoes, beans, and llama meat – eaten with our hands out of cloth containers at a large communal table.

I suppose it is this universality of the “food experience” that contributes to my keen interest in all things culinary. But deep down, I think I am mostly drawn to two things: the potential canvas for experimentation in the kitchen, and the joy of consuming food that has been made with care, wherever in the world that may be. There is a reason that people are willing to wait in line for hours, just for a taste of something extraordinary. Good food has the ability to reach something primal and personal in all of us.

My first contribution here is a recipe for simple and delicious lemon-buttermilk cookies, flecked with Meyer lemon zest and vanilla beans. These are actually more “cake” than “cookie,” in my opinion, and are a perfect afternoon snack with tea or coffee. Regular lemons are called for in the original recipe by Edna Lewis (one of my culinary heroes), but I try to use Meyers whenever possible (they are only available for a few months out of the year, at most) – their slightly sweet and floral, yet tangy flavor, gentler than traditional Eureka lemons, is utterly addicting, in my opinion.

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Sweet Fruit in Bitter Circumstances

April 27, 2011

Several people commented on facebook that I should skip the smoothie stand and just try the fruit on its own. Well, in principle, I totally agree. But in practice, getting someone to grind up the fruit for me is much easier than picking up a prickly, football-sized fruit and hiking it back to my hotel [...]

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The Drinks Menu at El Enano

April 11, 2011

So its election eve in Lima, and the Peruvian government has prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages.  Can you imagine?  Not a drink to be purchased anywhere on a Saturday night in a city of 9 million.  Needless to say, I decided to have a quiet night. I remembered a bright little corner bar my taxi [...]

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