Reply
Fri 13 Dec, 2002 10:24 pm
I am totally incapable of preparing just enough of anything. So, if I'm cooking for 4, there's at least enough for 8 and, of course, oodles of leftovers (which is fine because it means no cooking sometimes for days). Often I start by serving a wide variety of appetizers, hot and cold of course, and then by the time dinner is served nobody's hungry (which means even more leftovers). After all these years, you'd think I would have figured out just how much is enough, and I guess I have. It's just that 'enough' is not sufficient.
Why do I do this? Because I was raised by a mother who honestly felt that among the worst things one could do was run out of food when there was company present. Heaven forbid that anyone leave our house hungry.
Silly, yes. But it is a curse I must live with.
It's kinda strange, isn't it? Seems like we ought to be able to multiply the food we need for one or two by the appropriate number and come up with the right amount for 4 or 6. But it appears to always work out as the right amount squared. Never was all that good at math.
It does seem to be a phenomenon.
Interesting subject.
Funny, I never NEVER make enough! Well, not if I'm cooking for more than lil ol me.
Okay, littlek, were your brought up in a household where there was absolutely no overindulgence for company? Just curious if it's a genetic thing or something.
we rarely had company, we rarely had waaay too much food. BUT, I think the big reason is that I've lived on my own for well over a decade where I only cook for myself.
I think if I lived alone I probably wouldn't bother to cook at all (other than heating up some frozen stuff or throwing things in the microwave). I just don't like to do it all that much and to cook for just me, nah.
That is indeed what I do mostly. I have a good stock of pretty healthy frozen pastas and entrees. I have lots of cans. I make a big pot of risotto on occasion. I make quicky pasta sauces, but sometimes I just throw olive oil on the pasta. I often toss some spinach or broccoli into the sauce and then into the microwave for a minute.
I can cook along the lines of indian, japanese, thai, italian, vegan, but I just don't much anymore.
It's much more rewarding to cook for someone else, I think (as long as that someone appreciates the food). Know what's good? Cook your pasta, drain it, put it back in the pot and then mix in a slightly beaten egg. The egg will cook from the heat and it requires no sauce at all and it's yummy -- a good way to serve leftover pasts (just reheat with a little olive oil in a frying pan and then add the egg.
too much food. one of my specialties. luckily, Setanta is very gracious about it. The first time i made breakfast for him, i started by cooking up a pound of bacon, and went from there with eggs and ... i'm surprised he didn't die on the spot.
generally, if there are more than 2 people, i cook as if i'm cooking for a buffet for 10. I have to really pay attention to my cooking to prevent that.
Salad for one is an impossibility, so i will often get a take-out salad from a fast food place on my way home from work.
Trouble with salad is that most salad bowls are huge and if you make just enough for two or four it looks lost in that big old bowl so you have to make a huge salad for the huge bowl.
the trouble with salad ....
my trouble with salad is that i buy all the ingredients i want - make a salad for one and then have to toss about 80% of what i bought before i can use it up - very very very expensive salad.
Beth, that's why I started by the prewashed salads in a bag. I can take out enough for one and the rest will keep. It's easy to take a bag to work, too. Great for a quick lunch at my desk.
I buy salad, wash and spin dry, store it in a tupperware box in the fridge- always ready salat for different mixtures and whoever shows up.
Too much food, yes, but when the kids are home it seems there are no left overs ever.
I always make more than what is needed, whether I am serving only the two of us or an army. This affliction came on gradually as we added children to our family and the numbers and portions increased steadily, year by year. When they were into their teens, eating the enormous amounts that growing youngsters need, it seemed that I never had enough food; one child or another was always looking for seconds or thirds, and the pot was empty.
With six children, this large-portion cooking went on for years and actually got more extreme when most of them married and came back for holidays. There were spouses and children; the crowd grew until many holiday meals were for 15 or 18 or 20 people. It became automatic to purchase large amounts of food and prepare it, without a thought to the actual number of eaters.
I tried to get this bad habit under control a few years ago. I cook only for my husband and myself, now, so I decided to control strictly the amount of food I prepared. I stuck with it for about a week. Three different nights, my husband said, "This is good. Is there any more of it?" and my reply was, "No, I made just enough for the first servings." He looked astonished and a bit disgruntled, so I began thinking more generously.
When they are here for holidays, my children tease me unmercifully, asking me if I'm planning to feed the Russian Army tonight, or was I planning to ask folks in off the street?
lol.....Better too much than too little, Kara!
I'm still fixated on my 'too much salad' problem. I like salads with lots of interesting ingredients - salad in a bag doesn't quite do it for me - so the salad from Harvey's or Swiss Chalet or something else comes into play with a few added ingredients. To get all the ingredients i want into a salad can cost upwards of $20 making it from scratch - that's a lot for 1 or 2 servings. a $2 prefab salad with $2 or $3 of extras is more sensible for my life.
I'm the same way, ehbeth. If I decide to make a salad ~ the way I like it ~ I need to be in the mood to eat salad for a week. Otherwise, I buy all the extra stuff to keep at work and I'll buy a house salad from our restaurant. (The salad in the bag always dies before I have a chance to use it all.)
<note to ehBeth -- I was trying to scroll through this but the sozlet kept saying "Rudolph!" and insisting that we admire your avatar.">
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace