What to cook if you're home alone - CBC.ca

By Clover 12 Aug, 2020 Post a Comment

What to cook if you're home alone - CBC.ca

Posted: 11 Aug 2020 03:12 PM PDT

I am engrossed in one of my summer reads — Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant, a collection of essays — and it got me thinking about how our eating habits change when we are alone.

It raises the question of why we cook: do we enjoy it?

Or do we reluctantly assemble and consume food in order to stay alive?

For many, the joy of cooking is in feeding people. It's a nurturing process, a way of showing love and support. So the question becomes: Do you take the time and put in the effort to nurture yourself? Or do you take advantage of the situation and eat Cheezies and wine in the bathtub without judgment?

Living alone and feeding oneself daily allows the home cook to develop useful habits and cooking skills.

With so many recipes orchestrated to feed four to six, cooking for one seems more intuitive, less reliant on following precise instructions, and guided more by personal tastes and the seasons.

Those of us who are typically charged with the care and feeding of others might find freedom in the rare occasion of being alone at dinnertime. Relieved of the pressure to cook, some choose not to. We who live with others might jump on the opportunity to eat the things our partners have aversions to, or the secret things we crave.

There are zero-cook dinners: a sleeve of saltines with butter, popcorn and wine, toasted anything with anything (toast is the answer to so many of life's questions, including what's for dinner).

And then there's a step up: Ichiban noodles, personal charcuterie boards (crackers and cheese), all manner of salads, grilled cheese or naturally-portioned-for-one eggs.

At this time of year, I'm happy to boil a few potatoes or ears of corn and eat them with butter and salt, or slice ripe tomatoes on toast.

If you want to extend a bit of effort toward feeding yourself, a small saucepan of risotto might be just the thing — you rely more on feel than precise measurements to make it anyway. You can toss in just about anything: peas or greens from the garden, beets, bits of cheese, mushrooms, sausage.

Aim for about a 1:4 ratio of short-grained rice to stock, stir regularly (it doesn't have to be constant), and start tasting after about 20 minutes. It's the perfect dish to get the hang of.

Basic Risotto for One

Pea risotto is a quick and easy dinner for one. With risotto, you can toss in just about anything: peas or greens from the garden, beets, bits of cheese, mushrooms or sausage. (Julie Van Rosendaal/CBC)

I went with ½ cup rice to 2 cups stock for the sake of simplicity. This will make a generous portion, or provide leftovers to reheat or fry in a skillet with butter the next morning. Feel free to sauté some mushrooms at the start, or add garden peas along with the stock (they'll cook as the rice does), or fresh greens or leafy herbs, like basil, at the end.

Ingredients:

canola, olive or other vegetable oil, for cooking

a bit of onion (a shallot is perfect), finely chopped

salt, to taste

½ cup short grained rice, such as Arborio

a splash of white wine or vermouth (optional)

2 cups stock, warmed (plus extra if needed)

butter

grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Set a small-medium saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat, add a drizzle of oil (and a bit of butter, if you like), and sauté the onion, with a pinch of salt, for a few minutes, or until soft. Typically you don't want it to brown, but mine always does. Add the rice and stir for a minute to coat the grains with oil.

Add a splash of wine, if you like, and wait until it cooks off. Then start adding the stock a bit at a time. I often use a ladle, or free pour from the room-temperature carton, cooking and stirring (not constantly, but often), until the liquid is more or less absorbed and your spoon leaves a trail through the bottom. Keep adding stock until the rice is just tender, and the mixture is loose.

Stir in a knob or two of butter, a handful of chopped or torn greens, if you like, and a handful of grated Parmesan. Taste and adjust the salt, if it needs it, and serve right away.

Serves 1.

Frico Quesadillas

Whip up a tasty, comfort-food dinner with tortillas, melted cheese and any kind of filling you want. Grating some cheese into the skillet first creates a crusty exterior that contrasts with the soft, cheesy insides. (Julie Van Rosendaal/CBC)

Grilled cheese is another cooking-for-one classic, and quesadillas are along the same vein. Made with flour tortillas (or other similar flatbread), you can add bits from the fridge, canned beans, use up cheese ends or leftover roasted veggies.

Grating some cheese into the skillet first creates a crusty exterior that contrasts with the soft, cheesy insides. And salsa totally counts as a vegetable on the side.

Ingredients:

canola or other vegetable oil, for cooking

flour or corn tortillas (as many as you want to eat)

queso fresco, cheddar, Monterey Jack or other melty cheese

green onions, bits of chicken, sausage or shrimp, black beans, or anything else you can think of that goes well in a quesadilla or taco

Instructions:

Set a heavy skillet over medium-high heat and add a drizzle of oil; swirl to coat the bottom of the pan.

Grate some cheese directly into the skillet, over an area slightly larger than your tortilla; place the tortilla on top of it.

Grate more cheese on the tortilla, and pile on any fillings you like: meat, veg, beans, shrimp.

Fold it over and cook until the exterior is crusty and the insides are gooey. Serve as is, or with salsa, sour cream or guacamole (or all of the above).

Serves 1.

Listen to Julie's full segment here:

With files from the Calgary Eyeopener.

Spicy, crisp, buttery or tender, radishes offer something for every season - The Washington Post

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 10:02 AM PDT

"What do I know of man's destiny?" Samuel Beckett wrote in 1966, "I could tell you more about radishes." Our fates are indeed a mystery, but radishes — crisp, colorful and peppery — are a known factor, a gardener's first fruit and a staple at grocery stores, farmers markets and in CSA boxes.

[4 tips to help you get the most out of that farm box or CSA share]

A root vegetable, radishes are a member of the cabbage family, related to kale and cauliflower and, as the name suggests, horseradish.

In the United States, popular radish varieties include Easter egg — which can be white, pink, purple or crimson — French breakfast, daikon, mammoth white and Spanish black, but there are many more, including: watermelon radishes have a green exterior and pink starburst interior; purple daikon, sometimes called purple ninja, are a deep violet; white icicle are cream-colored and oblong; chonggak are pear-shaped; and lime radishes have a green tint.

[The French Breakfast radish makes a handy snack]

Radishes are a year-round crop and mature quickly; many can be harvested after just 30 days in the ground. Here's how to tell when they're at their peak, how to store them and a few ideas on how to eat them, from whole as a snack to sliced or shaved into salads or slaws to roasted until buttery and tender.

Picking. "One of the unpredictable things about radishes that people always ask about is how to know if they're mild or spicy," says Aaron Choi, farmer and co-owner of Girl & Dug Farm in San Marcos, Calif. "This will vary by season, but my rule of thumb is smaller radishes are milder, while larger ones are going to be more likely to have a sharper flavor." Some say radishes grown in hot weather will develop spicier flavors faster, but this can vary by variety and the region in which the radishes are grown.

Choi, who is about to harvest a new radish variety that he describes as slightly oblong and "red on red, with bright red centers," says that it's easy to tell if a radish is fresh: "It's hard to find radishes with pristine tops, because of how they're farmed and watered, but if you find them with full, unblemished leaves, get those. It's a sign they're very fresh."

But, if the radishes don't have tops, or their leaves look a bit mangled, fret not: Give them a squeeze. "What you look for is firmness, which means they've been grown properly and stored in the right conditions," says Jamie Swofford, a farmer and forager based in the foothills of North Carolina. "They shouldn't be squishy. … They should look alive, vibrant, even if they're not just-picked." Choi agrees, noting that "if you hear or feel any hollowness, chances are, it's going to be limp instead of crisp, and may be unpleasantly fibrous inside."

Storing. Here's where I'll admit I've been storing radishes wrong for most of my life. (The shame!) Every expert I spoke with said radishes can last a long time — provided they're kept in produce or zip-top bags, away from excess moisture. Wenjay Ying, the founder of Local Roots, a New York City-based farm box collective, likes to "take the tops off and place them in a separate produce bag with a dry paper towel. The roots can be stored in another produce bag. Separating the tops and roots keeps the roots fresher, for longer." Swofford also stores radishes in a bag — paper or plastic — in the crisper drawer of his refrigerator. "I have a daikon in my refrigerator that I pulled out of the ground in May. It's still crisp and perfect," he says.

Eating. Good news: Every part of every kind of radish can be eaten raw or cooked. Choi loves serving smaller radishes whole and raw, leaves and all: "Take the whole thing, tops, root, everything, and just dip it in soft fresh butter, a little salt, a little lime juice. Done," he says. Radishes are often seen sliced into coins or matchsticks and used as a garnish or in salads and slaws. Radishes make great pickles, too, as in this recipe for pickled carrots and radishes with coriander and star anise.

Don't forget to eat your greens: "Radish tops taste like arugula and can be eaten raw, sauteed or made into pesto," Ying said. Saute them in oil with a bit of garlic, or toss them into salads.

[How to cook with radish greens.]

Both Choi and Swofford recommend cooking radishes that don't feel firm or are past their prime. "Roasting them, with some butter or oil and salt, will smooth out that fibrous texture," Choi says. Roasting radishes also softens their pungency.

[Roasting radishes brings out their sweet side.]

"A lot of people don't realize that you can cook radishes, like you would any other root vegetable" says chef Daniela Gerson, a food stylist and photographer based in Southern California who writes about cooking on her blog, Waves in the Kitchen. Gerson likes to roast radishes — whole, halved, chopped or even thinly sliced, which produces crisp radish chips. — but she has also pan-fried them and braised them with butter and aromatics like garlic and herbs.

Popular around the world, radishes are most often eaten raw or pickled. They make a great taco garnish, can be fermented into kimchi or eaten out of hand. Roasted or braised, they make a substantial side dish. Radishes may not be as sexy as eggplant or tomatoes, but treat them right and they'll earn their keep. Here's more inspiration from our Recipe Finder:

Jennifer Chase for The Washington Post

Radish and Pea Slaw. Raw watermelon, daikon and red radishes sliced into a fine julienne add their peppery bite to this crunchy, summery slaw.

Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post

Orange and Radish Salad with Olive Dressing. Sweet orange slices tame the peppery kick of radishes in this salad that's great with grilled or sauteed fish.

Stacy Zarin Goldberg for The Washington Post

Pea, Mint and Radish Salad. Simply sliced and tossed with blanched fresh or defrosted frozen peas, red radishes add textural and visual contrast to a simple side salad that's dressed with feta and mint.

Tom McCorkle for The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post

Corn, Radish, Tomato and Tortilla Chip Salad. Mix fresh corn and tomatoes with radishes and tortilla chips for a summery salad that could be a main course or an easy side.

Stacy Zarin Goldberg for The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post

Roasted Radishes, Potatoes and Crispy Lentils. Roasting radishes renders them sweet, nutty and tender. That texture pairs well with crispy potatoes and lentils in a bright buttermilk dressing.

Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post

Spring Polenta with Radishes. A quick saute of radishes, garlic scapes, chickpeas and broccolini puts garden produce to work for lunch atop soft, creamy polenta.

More from Voraciously:

Who makes the best tortilla chips? We tasted and ranked 14 popular brands to find out.

You can pickle that with these 10 recipes for briny onions, carrots, beets, avocado and more

5 simple, summery tacos to get dinner on the table quickly