Cooking for Bachelors

Calmer Half and I have a housemate who is a good friend and confirmed bachelor. Like many bachelors, he's perfectly happy to go reload .44 special and 20 gauge and many other different things, and leave the cooking to us. I really like cooking - I like the challenge, the blend of art and science, history, economics, and tasty delicious reward when it goes on the table. Unfortunately, that means if I cook every day, the leftovers in the fridge and freezer threaten to take over the available space and possibly go bad.

Fortunately, I have another bachelor friend, only a few miles away, who's often focused more on his projects and work than on food. Cooking at his house is often akin to a game - given these random ingredients, these random cooking utensils and pans, and a very interested black cat that will try to steal whatever he thinks is most delicious, what dish can I create? It's a game that requires skill, dexterity, creativity, internet access to search for recipes and substitutions, and situational awareness. (Did I just shut Gremlin in a cupboard?)

Of course, I cheat - I sometimes go grocery shopping with him, or for him, so staples are usually present, and the spices are fairly diverse. Still, there's no telling what I might get up to, from cinnamon-raisin bread from scratch to poached orange roughy with tomatoes and onions in a garlic-mustard sauce on lemon-flavored rice. I like feeding healthy food to him. The best outcome is to come up with a meal that is healthy, tasty, and with at least three extra portions that freeze well.

Today I poked my head in the fridge, saw a half-pack of sad-looking mushrooms, and in the freezer saw a half-bag of shrimp. I should be thinking Scampi, or similar - but for no good reason, the brain is stuck on one of those lots-of-work-for-little-reward dishes... shrimp-stuffed mushrooms!

When asked, yes, I'm up to chaos and mayhem in the kitchen - but it's not murder and mayhem, as the shrimp are already dead. And I'm not quite annoyed enough at furball to cook him into a sauce. Yet. Mayb... Get Out Of That!