Living alone or just with one other mouth to feed doesn't mean you have to close up your kitchen and eat only takeout.
It's worth your health and your savings to cook at home, and some small appliances and a few time-saving tips are the easiest way to keep your meals for one or two at a minimal mess in the kitchen, especially if you want to avoid using the stove altogether.
Bellingham resident Lana Mountford has been cooking for one for more than 20 years. A true foodie, she has more than 2,700 cookbooks in her collection. Mountford reads her cookbooks like textbooks, picking up ideas that she has transformed into her own recipes and scaled down for her one-person household.
Mountford, a moderator and former manager at the "cooking for one or two" forum on eons.com, an online community for baby boomers, says items such as a toaster oven, a microwave and a slow cooker can make easy work of small meals.
TOASTER OVEN
The toaster oven is Mountford's go-to tool in the kitchen when she's not hosting friends for dinner. She often roasts vegetables in her toaster oven along with a chicken breast or fish for a quick meal.
Mountford says the key to using a toaster oven for cooking is getting one large enough to hold small cookie sheets, which are perfect for a few vegetables or a piece of meat.
"I use it at least once a day," Mountford says of her Cuisinart-brand toaster oven.
Although her toaster oven doesn't have a convection oven feature, she nsays it works fine. But she says the toaster oven must have a thermostat so you can control temperatures, particularly if you use it for roasting.
For vegetables, slice up some squash, peppers and potatoes, or anything you prefer, sprinkle with grapeseed or olive oil, add salt and pepper and put them in a 425-degree toaster oven until caramelized to your liking.
SLOW COOKER
As a member of Garden Street United Methodist Church, Mountford often makes large batches of soups or stew to share with her congregation. For that, she uses her largest slow cooker.
Mountford says smaller slow cookers - about two quarts - are perfect for cooking for one.
"I think sometimes the ads for slow cookers have gotten in the way," she says. "They make it sound like to put in everything in the morning and it's ready for your family when you come home from work. But for those of us who are retired, we can't relate to that."
Mountford often buys inexpensive pieces of meat, such as a beef roast, and cuts it in half. One half goes into the slow cooker; the other half goes into the freezer. A simple division of ingredients to a one- or two-serving dish typically doesn't affect a recipe's outcome.
CONTACT GRILL
Or - as it's become known even if it's not marketed by the former heavyweight champion - the George Forman. Mountford says the small devices are indispensable for grilling a single piece of meat or small quantity of vegetables.
She cuts zucchini lengthwise in thin slices and grills them right on the contact grill. Bell peppers, thin slices of sweet potato and rounds of onions are also easy to cook alongside a skinless chicken breast, steak or piece of fish.
Panini is one of Mountford's easiest meals on the contact grill. The grilled sandwiches can contain any filling, yet have a crisp, grilled exterior and a warm, melty interior that are just as good as any restaurant offering.
Mountford's formula for panini is bread, herbs, cheese, vegetables and meat. One of her favorite combinations is sliced fresh mozzarella, tomato slices, prosciutto and basil leaves. She brushes the exterior of the bread with grapeseed oil and presses it in the grill until the cheese is melted.
RICE COOKER
Although not on Mountford's list of small appliances, rice cookers give cooks an easy way to make perfect rice, and more, at home. Rice cookers often come with inserts that can be used to steam vegetables, fish, even chicken.
Rice cookers also can be used to cook a variety of whole grains, such as quinoa, bulgur, barley, millet and wheat berries. Morning porridges, soups and stews can even be made in a rice cooker.
There are plenty of sites online to find recipes using whole grains in rice cookers, and to find the perfect water/grain ratio for your countertop rice cooker.
Explore such sites as ricecookerfetish.com, or check out some of the new rice cooker cookbooks, including one by famed movie critic Roger Ebert called "The Pot and How to Use It: The Mystery and Romance of the Rice Cooker."
MICROWAVE
The microwave isn't necessarily a chef's tool, but for the home cook, it makes life a lot easier. And it doesn't have to be just a glorified popcorn maker, either.
Mountford says her microwave gets the most use for reheating. But it also cooks an egg easily, and with no mess. She uses Egg Beaters, but a single beaten egg will do. Use a small plastic container, put in about 1/4-cup Egg Beaters and a little butter. Sprinkle with cheese and add some diced ham, crumbled bacon or other breakfast meat. Microwave on medium for a minute. The eggs puff up like a mini soufflé.
Mountford says her microwave is a workhorse in her kitchen. For example, she uses it to cook a full package of bacon between paper towels. Then she puts the zapped bacon in freezer bags so when she needs a few slices, it's already precooked.
SLOW COOKER RECIPE
BBQ County-Style Pork Ribs for one, adapted by Lana Mountford
Ingredients
1 pound country-style boneless pork ribs
3/4 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce, such a KC Masterpiece
1/2 bottle of beer
1 small sweet onion, such as a Walla Walla
Directions
Brown pork ribs on all sides in a small amount of grapeseed oil in a heavy pan. Place in 2- or 3-quart slow cooker. Add barbecue sauce and half bottle of beer. Cut onion into eighths and add to slow cooker. Cook on low for five to six hours.
Mountford shreds the pork for sandwiches, or uses it on pizza.
A similar dish that Mountford makes has no specific measurements. She browns a small tri-tip or chuck roast and adds it to the slow cooker with sliced onion, Worcestershire sauce, red wine, garlic and thyme. Cook the mixture in the slow cooker for 5 to 6 hours.
COOKBOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
Mountford recommends these cookbooks:
Better Homes and Gardens "Great Cooking for Two"
"Excellent collection of recipes ranging from basic to fancy," Mountford says. "Includes some color photos, and menu ideas for each recipe."
"Cooking for Two" by James Barber
"Very simple recipes with an international flair, designed to be made in a hurry. This is my 'go to' book for quick throw-together meals."
"The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cooking for Two"
"Don't let the name throw you; this is an excellent beginner's guide to cooking for one or two. The recipes are easy to follow, every step is explained well, and the results are consistently good."
