On cooking

[robbat2]

I enjoy eating spicy food. The full gamut of spicy - from mexican to thai, and all the way in between.
Since I've moved away from my parents, I've been doing 90% of the food preparation (of the remaining 10% it's been more going out than Marissa cooking). That in itself however is not my problem, it's just that the real problem is more noticable because of how often I cook.

At least once a week, I try to cook something with a kick to it. However whenever I've been on my own, cooking spicy stuff for one has turned out to be on the edge of too spicy. On this front, I've got 3 things of leftover spicy food in the freezer - chilli-cilantro beef; lamb tandori; and tonight's thai green curry (beef).

Cooking for one has also been challenging, in that it's significently easier to get the quanties right with larger groups - to cook for one, you need smaller quantities of everything, and it just doesn't work right. Can anybody suggest tricks or tips on this?

Regardless of how many I'm cooking for, I find it takes 1-2 hours to prepare and eat most meals. How do resturants manage to get their prep time down so much (besides having the vegetables ready to throw in).

Hints? Tips? Recipies with quantities for a single person?

Comments

[starsandgarters.livejournal.com]

Well, for example, I tend to cook things like thai curry with coconut milk so you can always just add more and if it gets too soupy just drain off and store it -- you can make rice and add the juice and it'll be a cheap meal in itself. Always test when you're adding spicy stuff. And know that spicy things in particular lose their kick as they get old -- when you buy new, don't forget to test its potency before throwing in the usual amount.

It takes a long time because you are preparing quite complex dishes. I love to make complex foods. But sometimes it's just nicer to spend the time blobbing out in front of the telly and just cooking some noodles and premade sauce instead of a real put-on dish. Also, learning that when I make meals for myself I don't need a meat, a rice/noodle and a vegetable section every time was helpful. Also, I agree with the other suggestions about reheats.