# Bachelor cooking



## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

I'm a reporter. I keep odd hours, and I'm always broke.

I try not to eat fast food or other crud between dashing from one thing to the next. The last time I ate McDonald's food resulted in a series of personal events so brutal and shocking that decorum prohibits my giving the details here. (Weirdos may send a PM.)

Luckily I know my way around a kitchen. Here are a few ways I keep myself in reasonably healthy feed at a reasonable cost:

Brown rice and steamed (or sauteed) veggies: I cook up a bunch of rice and put it in containers for use during the week. Combined with veggies and judicious use of spices and what-have-you a nutritious and tasty gop (generic term for "mess o' stuff") can be whipped up in no time. And I can eat as much as I want.

Breakfast: Cereal and fruit if nothing else. Boy, does having a little something in the tank make it easier to resist the box of doughnuts some evil-minded co-worker brings in.

Little granola bar things: I like the Clif bars. Admittedly, it's a bit like glued sawdust. Some of these have a lot of corn oil or sugar in them so I read the labels carefully before gnawing. Also they're not that cheap, really. I keep a couple in the car.

Now Let Us Praise Famous Crock Pots: Especially during the cooler months, the crock pot is essential for the solo chef. An old sneaker tastes good after eight hours in one of these babies.

This morning, for instance, the supermarket had some boneless pork ribs for cheap. Trim the fat, braise in skillet and into the crock pot, with: jar of Paul Newman sauce (on sale for $1.89); lightly sauteed onion, three different kinds of pepper and mushrooms; jar of Imus salsa (medium) just to liven things up; some molasses I had kicking around to thicken it up. I could have added beans but wasn't feeling that ambitious.

This makes almost two quarts of gop, to be served over (natch) brown rice. I figured it out once to about $.87 per bowl. I can take a tub to work and nuke it there as well.

My co-workers, who are as wretchedly paid as I am, spend vast sums on takeout every day. $6.50 for a chili dog. Feh!

Let's hear from others on how to keep a respectable bachelor kitchen.

(Cigar ash - The Secret Ingredient)


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

Patrick06790:

Never tried the cigar ash! But then I'm *not allowed* to smoke inside! :icon_smile_big:


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## spinlps (Feb 15, 2004)

Patrick,

Sounds like you've got it worked out... although I prefer a nice heavy cast iron pot to the crock pot. Either works for transforming cheap, sinewy cuts of meat into juicy, flavorful morsels. If you can find it, try some oxtail. Tip: freeze any fatty cut of meat; trim the fat from the frozen meat the night before you'll be cooking it. Much easier to trim!

Slow cooking also works in the winter or summer months with roasts if you carve the roast into thin, thin slices and store in single servings. The sliced meat is very versatile:

- Quick sandwiches.
- Freeze the servings and heat them in a flash with your rice & veggies.
- Boil diluted, low salt broth. Place quick-cook oriental noodles, veggies and sliced roast in a bowl. Pour boiling broth into the bowl, cover and let stand for 5 min (I usually put it in the oven or microwave to retain as much heat as possible).

Oddly enough, bachelor cooking isn't that much different from family cooking, particularly two working parents and young (at least one toddler) children. We also have pre-cooked rice, half cooked pasta, frozen veggies, pre-cooked meat, etc... in the freezer ready for that quick, last minute dinner.

Go figure.


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

I slow cook a lot on the weekends. If you like Greek food, google some recipes for Greek 'stifado'. It's a beef stew with unusual spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves - I know this sounds crazy but it really tastes good). I serve it with rice. Since you already do the rice and slow cook in the crock-pot you might want to try this. I'd give you a recipe but I never make it the same way twice - I have 4 or 5 recipes I look at when making this dish and use a combination of them. Anyway - sounds like you're doing ok.
Cheers


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

mpcsb said:


> I slow cook a lot on the weekends. If you like Greek food, google some recipes for Greek 'stifado'. It's a beef stew with unusual spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves - I know this sounds crazy but it really tastes good). I serve it with rice. Since you already do the rice and slow cook in the crock-pot you might want to try this. *I'd give you a recipe but I never make it the same way twice - I have 4 or 5 recipes I look at when making this dish and use a combination of them.* Anyway - sounds like you're doing ok.
> Cheers


C'mon - give me a hint.

The great advantage of the crock pot over an iron pot (or Dutch oven) is it can be left on while out.

Last winter I had to cover what I knew was going to be an endless town meeting and the weather was bad. I set up Ye Olde Crockpot but put it on a timer so it wouldn't melt down if I ran late.

My pessimism was justified; the citizenry wailed and moaned for hours as the ice formed on the narrow country lanes. But when I staggered in the door at long last, there was dinner - nice and hot.


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## EL72 (May 25, 2005)

Patrick06790 said:


> Now Let Us Praise Famous Crock Pots: Especially during the cooler months, the crock pot is essential for the solo chef. An old sneaker tastes good after eight hours in one of these babies.


LOL... Great post, thanks for sharing. Crock pots are great in the winter. Many observant Jews use them to cook for Saturday, when cooking is prohibited. Plug it in Friday night and by Saturday morning the entire house smells of that mixture of meat, potatoes, chick peas, rice, wheat, barley... some call chulent or dafina in morrocan judeo-arab dialect.


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## samblau (Apr 2, 2005)

Good topic. I try to cook and keep costs down despite my taste for high end clothes and food in NYC coupled with my paupers job and $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ schooling. A few tidbits of my own:

1. Buy different items at different stores, I pay top $$$ for certain produce conditioned by the fact that I go several times per week to avoid waste. Buy seasonal vegetables, tomatoes are great now but $5 per lb. for mealy garbage in the winter is not worth it, I get my tomato fix with some imported canned tomatoes over whole wheat pasta

2. Look for specials, usually there is at least one variety of fish on sale, anything basic can be broiled with some lemon and butter in 10 mins and come out better than some $20-$30 rip offs I have had in NY. For some reason pork chops seem to be on sale a lot

3. Make the trip to Costco/Price Club (or have your folks do it  ) once a month for certain bulk items. The canned tuna/salmon is great and costs about > $1 can. I like Pellegrino sparkling water which is $10 per case of 12, not bad. 

4. I agree with the sauteed vegetables, zucchini, peppers, onions, tomatoes (for a sauce) etc. are great and easy. I also eat a lot of eggs, my typical caloie cutting involves 4 egg whites and 1 yolk but nothing wrong with plain old sunnyside up/over easy once in a while, to brown rice I will throw in cous cous, really like the stuff, can micro in three mins, almost 200 calories a serving but no fat and being that I run 5 days a week I don't feel bad about it 

5. FOREMAN GRILL! A throwback to my college days, good for apts. hot dogs, burgers, grilled chicken,.....don't go to crazy 

6. Find someone that can cook (my mother for me) and have a few frozen dinners on hand.....nothing like a nice brisket outta the freezer after a hard day

7. Have a 24 hour bagel/deli on your block and a bar open til 4 am in your building (food til 2) 

8. Don't order in/go to fast food unless absolutely necessary 

9. Bring lunch to work...still not cheap but u can control what you eat.....better meats, whole grain breads in my case, no problems with them throwing mayo on your sandwhich if you don't wants, fresher salads (see if your work has a fridge) and with the few $$$ you save you can go out and save a few hundred calories a week by not stuffing your face full of garbage

10. No/limited soda, soft drinks have WAY too many calories

11. Long lasting fresh fruit: Apples/Pears/Oranges/Grapefruit etc. will last a long time and while there are natural sugars they are more satisfying than a candy bar long term and have a lot of vitamins minerals. Strawberries and other seasonal fruits are discounted often

12. Whole grains, I am a convert, at this point I can't eat white bread because I don't like it! They even have whole grain bagels that are good! 

13. When eating no-no's like pizza, ice cream etc. GET SOMETHING GOOD FOR GOODNESS SAKE! I live in NY...I REFUSE to eat reheated pizza, thin crust fresh buffalo mozz. make a better tasting better for you pie than a greasy thick crust reheated disgusting mess. Burgers....get a good one once a week with fresh fries, mcdonalds etc. is a waste. Stay away from takeout chinese...never had a good experience although some places...if you know a good one can make certain steamed/grilled/light dishes that come out fairly well

14. Eat breakfast, even if it is small, to start your day and no behemoth size portion of white flour as in pancakes.....save those for Sundays....a little OJ, some ceral, a slice of whole wheat toast, I tend to keep either fat free plain yogurt in the house (mix with fruit and honey, very good and better than the artificially sweetened garbage) or cottage cheese, usually 2% to save the carbs. 

15. Don't deprive yourself...if you are hungry, eat something. If you are easily tempted DON'T KEEP BULK SNACKS IN THE HOUSE! I for one will buy a small amount of good chocolate and eat it with some fruit or I afford myself a decent dessert once a week. I find that sorbet (I like Sharons Raspberry but I think it may only be available in NY and surrounding areas) is a great sub for ice cream but has a lot of sugar.

16. Beer. Ain't nothing wrong with that.....but mix in a few vodka tonics / wine, mix all three and you won't need to eat at all. 

17. Work out but not to the point of exhaustion and stay focused. 

Well I wasn't planning on writing that much however I managed to loose 75 lbs. after college and have kept it off for nearly 2 years....if I, a bachelor with two jobs and a full time student can eat well and maintain a healthy lifestyle so can you!


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## GettingCleanedUp (Sep 12, 2006)

It looks like you play an instrument. Is that a trumpet case in the
picture.

Having kids now, we often cook en masse and it has occurred to me
that I could have used these techniques when I was single but with
an income.

1) Get a foodsaver or at least some ziplocs. Cook up large portions of
anything really and then break up into meal size portions. We do this
a lot know with pork chops and chicken breasts. We will load up when
these items are on sale and then braise them in wine and herbs. We
vacuum pack them and they are good for much longer than a year.
Thighs are good jerk style (there is an excellent herb recipe at a local
spice house). The once a month cooking sites are a good place
to look for recipes. Also, if you are going to Costco, don't forget their
frozen stir fry mix. That works pretty fine in a pinch.

2) We cook steel cut oats on the stove and then use that for breakfast.
This is a no effort method. Take 1 part oats to 4 parts water, boil
for 5 minutes on the stove and then turn off the burner and let sit
overnight. A quick microwave with some raisens and milk and you have
a hearty breakfast with no fuss. Leftovers are good for several days
in the fridge.

3) Have the right electric appliances. This helps cut down on "burner
load". I don't think I could get along now without 1) foodsaver 2) rice
cooker 3) vegetable steamer.


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

"Power Bars' are overpriced and underpowered in true nutritional value. There is a vastly superior product once carried by WW1 soldiers in the trenches and countless explorers and adventurers. I am refering to that almost universally abhored yearly offering of- fruitcake. Ingredients include: flour, eggs, vegetable oils, dried or candied fruits and nuts. Some are further enhanced for flavour and shelf life with various liquors. Anybody can make a bad fruitcake, and everybody can make, or find excellent ones. Try it again sometime. The annual migration from their summer nesting grounds in Atlantis is about to begin, with herds appearing @ December. Ignored, the object of jokes and redicule, you can harvest several without a hunting tag or limit and store in your freezer.


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## Chuck Franke (Aug 8, 2003)

Oh man... can't eat food until I drop another 20 pounds but love to talk about it.... 

Give me an occasion - Romantic date, willing to pass wind in front of each other date, home alone date...

Dinner for 20, snacks for 100?

Too many to choose from, give me a setting and let me play virtual chef... 20 more pounds before I stop eating turkey breast, guac, and fresh tomatos wrapped in a low carb, high fiber wrap 3 times per day.

Ate (????) some Odwalla green power drink today. Spirulina - that's latin for pond scum. Mixed it with Isopure ready to drink - if you want a protein drink but are not into passing wind or drinking chalk they are superb - 40G of protein, nothing else and taste like fruit juice... mix in a couple ounces of POM Blueberry.

My current menu sucks.


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## Chuck Franke (Aug 8, 2003)

Oh man... can't eat food until I drop another 20 pounds but love to talk about it.... 

Give me an occasion - Romantic date, willing to pass wind in front of each other date, home alone date...

Dinner for 20, snacks for 100?

Too many to choose from, give me a setting and let me play virtual chef... 20 more pounds before I stop eating turkey breast, guac, and fresh tomatos wrapped in a low carb, high fiber wrap 3 times per day.

Ate (????) some Odwalla green power drink today. Spirulina - that's latin for pond scum. Mixed it with Isopure ready to drink - if you want a protein drink but are not into passing wind or drinking chalk they are superb - 40G of protein, nothing else and taste like fruit juice... mix in a couple ounces of POM Blueberry.

My current menu sucks.


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

I was looking at houses the last couple of weeks, and the realtor - a young lady of a rather menacing appearance, reminiscent of the former Seattle Seahawk and Grade Z actor Brian Bosworth - was amazed when the first thing I looked at was the kitchen.

"No good," I said as we walked into one.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

I opined that the kitchen had probably been designed by a man who never cooked anything more complicated than picking up the phone to call Domino's, and demonstrated by miming meal prep. The sink was on the wrong side, meaning everything would have to be carried ten feet to the stove, and the cabinets were situated in such a way as to immediately lose 60 percent of counter space.

Now I am so anxious to get out of Kabul that I am looking for a rental and while it's no time to be picky, boy do I want a gas stove. Electric, in addition to being hideously expensive, just blows.


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## crs (Dec 30, 2004)

The thing about "bachelor cooking" is that if you become good at it, you may not be a bachelor for long.

I started learning how to cook in my 20s when I realized most of the women I dated did not or could not cook. Of course, I wound up with a woman who could and does, although I cook a bit better than she does.


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## 44XT (Aug 2, 2005)

Kav, brilliant! I am one of the few people on the planet that loves fruit cakes, and I also have been in the market for the convenience of "power bars/breakfast bars" that I actually like. Wy I never thought of this correlation before is beyond me. I will build one tonight and divide it into individual portions for later convenience. Given the mythical longevity of fruitcakes are you suggesting that I just keep them refrigerated or should I freeze individual portions?

Patrick, great thread, thanks for starting it, I am in the same culinary position as you, and will contribute a few of my recipes as soon as I decide on which ones are truly great!


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

Since moving I have dropped eight pounds, which makes no sense because I seem to be eating quite heartily.

Or maybe it does make sense, as I am making everything from scratch again. In the crack den, I brought in takeout and ate standing up, in case I had to make a quick dash for safety.

I had to review "Heat," a book by a NYer writer about this Mario Batali guy who is on the Food Network or something. It was pretty tedious material but I came away with one thing - try giving your sauteed dish, whatever it is, a quick spritz with lemon or lime just as it's coming out of the pan and on to the plate. I did this with some chicken and peppers the other day, and the zing plus a little tarragon had my occasional lady friend in a tizzy.

Or was it a swoon?


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## Prepdad (Mar 10, 2005)

I think you could saute shoe leather in tarragon and garlic with a little butter and get a fairly tasty dish.


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

Prepdad said:


> I think you could saute shoe leather in tarragon and garlic with a little butter and get a fairly tasty dish.


Especially calf - the butter gets in the mico-creases. Just rolls off corrected-grain.


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

I bake fish a lot. It's healthy, and even if you eat 8 to 10 ounces, the calories aren't outrageous.

I usually bake it for 15 to 20 minutes at 350. For some of the blander fish like whitefish, I will cover the top with Italian seasoned bread crumbs. It comes out great.


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

Do you just heave it in a Pyrex baking dish and let 'er rip, or what?


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

Patrick06790 said:


> Do you just heave it in a Pyrex baking dish and let 'er rip, or what?


I bake it in folded up paper (parchment) but have used aluminum foil. Add any of the following: olive oil/lemon juice/white wine - just a drizzel; thin sliced onion or carrot or celery or green pepper; a little minced garlic; dried herbs like basil-thyme-tarragon. the more you add the more complex the flavor. You can use just one liquid and one veg and one dried herb and it will be good too (like oilve oil, onion and thyme). I would do it for 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees.

fors, what's your recipe?


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## 16128 (Feb 8, 2005)

The power and wonder of leftovers.

On Sunday, throw a roast, potatoes, and carrots in a pan, with a bit of water and herbs and red wine. 

For Sunday lunch you have roast. The rest of the week you have fajita fodder, roast beef sandwiches, stir fry... (you already have that rice.)

When you work weird hours, having to just saute some precut beef strips, peppers and onions with cumin and red pepper and put them in a tortilla is a priceless time saver.

Ditto roast chicken. Roast chicken, and the next day, you have cold chicken caesar salad, very nice. Another great chicken salad consists of dark leafy lettuce, cold or warm herbed chicken pieces, walnuts, dried cranberries and vinaigrette.


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## Armchair (Nov 12, 2006)

I made a fantastic beef stifado today. Even better is the fact that there are leftovers for later in the week.


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

My parents drove up for Thanksgiving from the DC suburbs with about 80 gallons of a lamb stew in great tubs in a cooler. It is now in my freezer.

Plus Mom went nuts at the Stop and Shop and so now my ocbds are sharing space in what would be the pantry (in a normal household) with foodstuffs. Most disturbing to my bachelor way of thinking, but welcome nonetheless. (More money for clothes and fishing stuff.)


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## Prepdad (Mar 10, 2005)

Shirts in the pantry... drip-drying from the chandelier... this is what you people up east would probably call Yankee ingenuity. In the south we would call it slightly daff. Nevertheless, the thought has occured to me that you ought to be able to come up with something clever to do with the dishwasher. Wouldn't those pull-out racks make for neat storage of something? Maybe your watchband collection? Bow ties? Boat shoe drying? The possibilities are endless. Please report back.


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

Prepdad said:


> Shirts in the pantry... drip-drying from the chandelier... this is what you people up east would probably call Yankee ingenuity. In the south we would call it slightly daff. Nevertheless, the thought has occured to me that you ought to be able to come up with something clever to do with the dishwasher. Wouldn't those pull-out racks make for neat storage of something? Maybe your watchband collection? Bow ties? Boat shoe drying? The possibilities are endless. Please report back.


I could steam-clean my shorts, maybe.


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

Patrick, I'm sorry I didn't see your question.

Anyway, whenever I bake any meat, I use tin foil, also known as "the Lazy Bachelor's Friend."

Instead of having to scour a pan, you simply throw away the tin foil and give the pan an easy washing if needed.

When doing fish, I spray the tin foil with Pam (or another similar substance) to avoid sticking. If I do not coat the fish with bread crumbs (salmon for instance), I totally wrap the fish with the tin foil. This keeps it from drying out. I then stick the fish on a cooking sheet or whatever is available and put it in the oven.

If I cover the top of the fish with bread crumbs, I spray Pam on the tin foil, lay it on the cookie sheet and set the fish on top of it. I do not cover the top of the fish with tin foil if I'm using bread crumbs.


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