The Pleasures of Cooking for One

I love this book. It is practical and concrete, and addresses my main problem in the kitchen: how to cook for one without either boring myself to tears eating the same leftovers for a week, or wasting food by letting it rot in the 'fridge while I get take-out because I crave variety. The book reads like a relaxed conversation with an experienced home cook who is generously sharing her expertise. It's not just about cooking, it's about meal planning - how to use the leftovers from one meal to make something completely different and delicious the next night. Intermixed in there are some great traditional recipes that teach classic cooking techniques. Some of these I knew, but some I didn't. I love that it's not just a bunch of fussy recipes where everything has to be measured exactly. She doesn't have you jamming fresh herbs in a tablespoon. She suggests a splash of this, a pinch of that. She encourages creativity and ingredient substitutions. She's not just giving you recipes to follow, she's teaching you how to think like she does - how to solve the problem of meal planning and cooking for one. There's another subtle message in this book that's very important: the self-respect implicit in this fundamental form of self-care. This jumped out at me because I help people with emotional eating, and so much of emotional eating comes from lack of self-care, from feeling you don't deserve your own time and energy. She talks about this in the introduction, where she lists the reasons that people don't make nice meals for themselves: "Yes, I like to cook, they say, but I like to cook for OTHERS, to give my friends pleasure. Why would I want to go to all that trouble just for me? My answer is: If you like good food, why not honor yourself enough to make a pleasing meal and relish every mouthful?" I agree! I highly recommend this book. Even those cooking for more than one will find it useful. What home cook doesn't need ideas for creative ways to use leftovers? This book teaches how to look at home cooking as a process, rather than a series of discrete meals. And it shows you how home cooking can be relaxing and creative rather than a chore. Sheryl Canter Author, Normal Eating for Normal Weight

This book is absolutely perfect for anyone who finds themselves cooking for one or two people. Not only are the recipes absolutely wonderful, the recipes for using left-overs are also great. Jones shows you how to shop, stock your pantry and freezer, and make wonderful meals for yourself that don't take forever yet taste like they did. I have over 50 cookbooks, and this is the one I find myself turning to again and again for my daily meals. This is real food - no processed shortcuts, no sacrifices. If you like to cook but think its too much trouble for just one person, get this book and you will have fun in the kitchen again.

My, oh my, this cookbook is like having a friend in the kitchen. It is a testament to all those out there whose passion is good, simple cooking. Judith Jones exemplifies what it means to honor your food. She show great respect for her ingredients and the rhythm of preparing a meal. The food is made to nourish both body and soul, and that fact comes across on every page. No diet police are evident, but that doesn't mean a misjudgement on the side of bad nutrition. So, buy this little gem of a cookbook and sit in your favorite chair. It won't be long until you set your own table with plate and silverware, and perhaps a flower in a bud vase - and walk into your kitchen to cook. Food is, after all, the "stuff of life".

I have several other "cooking for 1" cookbooks and have found many good recipes there. But this is the cookbook I've been waiting for. Ms. Jones has shown me how to take ingredients that cannot be purchased in small quantities and re-use these imaginatively to create entirely different meals. For example, a pork tenderloin becomes a small roast, scallopine, a gratinate, hash, and stir fry. Her examples have encouraged me to improvise myself. I can envisage a BBQ pork sandwich, a pasty with leftover pork tenderloin, skirt steak and potatoes. She encourages playing with the recipes to create a meal exactly to your own tastes. Several of her recipes also include vegetable substitution recommendations allowing for seasonal meals. Or, if you're like me and can't stand a particular vegetable then you can swap it for something more palatable. This cookbook creates a solid foundation for enabling a cook's creativity. Highly recommended.

Judith Jones is truly "having a moment," which is a wonderful thing. This new book is sort of an offshoot of her earlier memoir, which had a short but terrific recipe section. It is a sublime book--thoughtfully designed, detailed but not pedantic, practical, accessible, utterly personal, and completely charming. I'm not sure there is another book out there like this one, which takes us shopping and then into the kitchen to make the most of both common items and ingredients or dishes it might never have occurred to us to try. I can't wait to try most all of them. Of course, a little simple math will ratchet up a recipe for 1-2 to a recipe for 3-4 and so on--so this is absolutely a book for all cooks. The author does, however, sympathize with the plight of the single shopper and eater--supermarkets usually work to package more than we can possibly eat at one sitting. Short of a perpetual dinner party, what is the solution? Stretch the goodies over two or three completely different meals (trust me, this is NOT the same thing as just having leftovers). The title says it all--cooking for one should be every bit as pleasurable as cooking for others--maybe better, as the gaffes become your little secrets (and they are no less tasty). I would add that although the book is beautifully printed on high-quality stock and will make a truly fine gift (I do not work for the publisher--honest), it's no coffee table book. The size is perfect--it'll fit on the counter easily, although you might want one of those stand-up plastic stands to keep it open (and protect it, if that's important to you). All in all, one of the most thoughtful and user-friendly cookbooks I've ever encountered. I read it cover-to-cover, like a novel. Next I'm going shopping.