Saturday, February 26, 2011

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!

6 comments:

  1. We have two cats like that, but haven't cooked either of them yet, either.

    Try to avoid the temptation. ;)

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  2. TImmy almost went into the crockpot the other day instead of the chicken. But calmer heads prevailed.

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  3. LOL- 'some' animals DO deserve to be sauce... I know he appreciates your cooking :-)

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  4. > 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.

    That's missing out on half the fun!

    (But, yes, reloading is cool too)

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  5. > (Did I just shut Gremlin in a cupboard?)

    Young Mr. Wyatt shut Ocho up in the under-construction attic bedrooms today.

    Sigh.

    Critters.

    ...and 7 year olds...

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  6. Hey, I made eggs for dinner last night just fine. No fires this time either...

    I can cook, I just choose not to.

    If Mozart were living in your house, would you try to hog the piano? I think not.

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