Tips for Cooking when Solo!

We become solo for many reasons in our life. Some prefer to be single, some get divorced or need to separate, others are widow(er)ed. I am searching for helpful tips and secrets from cooking for a family to cooking for one lonely person -- me! Going from cooking for two or three, to cooking for one, is a challenge. If you have been following this blog since 2008, you will notice posts about the meals I lovingly cooked for my Mom and my husband.

Operating on autopilot, as happens in some circumstances, I found myself making the same amount of oatmeal as I did for my husband, Jules, and found that when I do this by mistake, it is best to put half of it in the refrigerator for the following day or day after. Cooked oatmeal does well in the refrigerator and it is fun not to have to cook it the next day. I have never been successful with making it in the microwave and I prefer traditional oatmeal to instant. Being on a restricted sodium diet many "instant" type foods have more sodium.

I spend much time in nature and see that even the geese have mates that they follow around in the pond. I find it is easier to eat in another room than where I ate with family. I rarely eat on the kitchen or dining room table these days. I eat in the living room using a coffee table and look out the window at nature. When weather permits, I plan on eating out on the deck or take my lunch to a park. One day, I will be used to the empty seats at the dinner table, but not yet.

Rather than spending the early "solo" days with a group when one is not up to it, invite a few people that are close to you to dinner at your house. I invited my sister and her husband for Thanksgiving dinner. I decided to try new recipes and this kept my mind totally occupied. I knew if I had any problems or if my eyes teared-up, my sister and her husband would understand as they were sharing the losses. I am blessed to have one very special local sister.

Here are my first suggestions from "solos":

Invest in some smaller pots and pans or plan on washing your small ones over and over again. Using the large pots tends to make some of us sad as we remember the family that once was.

When making homemade soups, freeze portions in freezer bags. Once the soup has cooled, put it into freezer bags and leave it flat on a cookie sheet to freeze. Once frozen the bag can be stored upright or continue to keep it flat. This is very useful if one is on a restricted diet, such as low sodium as canned and store prepared soups are too high in sodium. It is also more economical.

Once frozen, they can be stacked vertically as in the door of a freezer or kept flat.

Buy foods you like and may have refrained from buying or eatting in the past. Try new spices, recipes, attend cooking classes, try new grocery stores as walking down the isles of the favorite foods of the loved one can be difficult.

Find a group of like-minded individuals and go out to lunch, thus one is not always eating alone and has an event to look forward to.

** The photo at the top of this column is a cucumber sandwich on blueberry/cranberry bread. The recipe for one large sandwich included 1/3 cup thinly sliced cucumber, 1/4 cup diced carrots, a cut up small compari tomato (or a few cherry tomatoes), 3 Tablespoons yogurt, and some sliced almonds (optional). Half a sandwich is pictured with the remaining cucumber filling which would make another generous half sandwich.**

Please forward any suggestions to rosaraskin@gmail.com or post in the comments. Thanks to everyone for reading this post.

Little Time to Cook and Must Be at the GYM

I froze lots of Copper River Salmon this past summer and now we are enjoying it. To be honest, salmon is not my favorite fish, but my husband is allergic to iodine and has no problems eating it. I am very careful what fish I give him.



Since I have to be at the track these days, a self-imposed regiment before I get one officially, this is how I get it all done. I no longer do two things at once as I used to, those days are long gone. Anyone that tells me what I should be doing, unless they are in the medical profession are ignored because I most probably have already done it.

I respect those who are kind to me and wish to let them know it and am opening my mouth to those that could care less, that are less than honest with me. I have so much to be happy about, especially working for the goal of seeing my little red-headed niece who lives on the other side of the country. I pay more attention to everything including me. I am doing this because as the commercial says "I am worth it." I want to see my great-niece graduate from preschool to Kindergarten.

I have spent many years in medical settings and being a caregiver to family members.I want to share what I have learned along the way in regard to cooking foods as ultimately, if we do not eat, we do not heal. During these holidays, say "thanks" to those who truly care and for those that do not, "turning the other cheek" may work for awhile, but stress accumulates and sooner or later it will take its toll. We have vegan days, eat some fish and chicken. Our calcium source are green leafed veggies, brocoli and almond milk that I use for everything -- from heavenly mashed potatoes to pumpkin pie. I drink it like milk, use it on cereal, cook oatmeal in it and have used it to make puddings. Many of the recipes are searchable in this cooking blog which is also in Kindle format on amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Precious-Cooking/dp/B008NTAH30

My best advice is that none of us are immune to our heredity. We can do our best to be in the best shape we can, but genes are important. My mother was in continuous Atrial Fibrillation and my father had his first heart attack at age 65. I never would have guessed that I would have inherited either of these, but I can say had I not been walking 5 miles per day, I am not sure how I would be now. If I am tired, I stop pushing myself., this is a major change for me. I went on a trip to NYC at the end of September that was a big mistake. It involved agenda's that did not happen, late dinners, and all the things my husband and I have had to avoid to stay healthy. I knew better, but hoped going would be a chance to meet old friends, only none of them came, not a single one that I knew so many years ago. My husband wanted to leave 2 days early as soon as he realized the situation, but I did not listen, and refused to listen to him as could not believe someone would give me an agenda that was bogus. I think it was meant well, but things were cancelled for whatever reason and I had no clue. I paid a big price for this. The first time I felt an irregular heartbeat was on that trip. No one's fault but my own, yes my "heart was broken" and it now shows. It is permanent, blood thinners and 8 meds at the moment, for the rest of my life. Imagine if I had run down 19 flights of stairs, as I almost did, to help someone and it turns out I was the one that really needed the help. Wow, do I learn things the hard way! My friends said I never should have agreed to checking on anyone, they would not have done it, but I have a different nature and if I can maybe help, I will try. If you have company staying at an expensive hotel, do your friends a favor and check it out personally.

If you know something to help some one, and the person is not receptive, try once or twice and please give up. I am telling you it is not worth the stress. It will break our heart, like it broke mine, but that is life and again, it is "my reaction to the situation" as someone I believed in and wrote about, turned out not to be who I thought. It hurts like hxll, but that is life and I would not give this life up for anything. I should have realized the person was using me, not the first time, but for sure the very last, as I have to protect my heart. I am sad as there was much potential to do good, but I know my business and what I am doing and this is just not recognized. I even wrote it out in my blog, should there be any misunderstanding. I am also gullible, you tell me you can not afford $250.00 and I believe it until I see what one really spends -- and then I am shocked. The person is in my prayers, but a friend would never behave in such a manner. Years ago the person made me chose between an important speaker and going to Mobile to work on a project very important to me. Again, this is something that could have been handled another way. I should never have been forced into such a choice, but was so happy at the time -- one can see it in my face -- I will show it here --- happy that I had survived cancer!

I need to get back to this feeling, can't tell, but this was my red-headed stage of my hair on the way to becoming blond? I want to be as happy and get the smile back I had in this picture. Maybe writing it here will help.

Getting back to dinner, our first course was canned Progressive Hearty Tomato Soup which tastes the most like that of my Mom's that I have found to date. My Mom made it fresh from her tomatoes (and mine) from the garden.

For the salmon, I took it from the freezer and placed in the refrigerator over night. It was defrosted and I took a paper towel to make sure it was completely dry. I put some Pam in the stainless steel frying pan, let it get hot and put the skin side down in the pan. This allows for a crispy crust. My husband likes everything well done and if he is presented with skin, it better be crispy or he will sit there picking it off and turn off whomever is eating dinner with us.

Before turning the fish, I put a teaspoon of real Maple Syrup on it, it can't hurt and a cap full of the volcanic lemon juice I keep in the house at all times. I used to put a little Burbon on it and a bit of brown sugar, but Maple Syrup is easier and I love COSTCO's Volcanic Lemon Juice that has no preservatives in it, unlike any you can find on the shelves of grocery stores. COSTCO's lemon juice is like a fine wine and it says so on the bottle from Italy, we love it whenever I need lemon.

When the fish looks almost done, I tell this from experience from looking at the sides of the fish as my husband wants it done, I prefer it a bit undercooked, but it is easier for me to make it his way than to present him with a bit of fish that is not over done. After 46 years of marriage, I realize there are some things I can not change. Men are a bit hard to convince, they have to come to the realization on their own or else they think I am "prodding" them, as a friend said to me lately.

If you think he likes his fish well done, you should see asparagus. He grew up eating canned vegetables and did not like fresh or frozen when we were married, it was a real task to get him to eat fresh veggies, having him help in growing a huge garden in Cincinnati helped much and before that he helped in my greenhouse at The Ohio State University, Yes, I will admit herein that I was not always associated with hospitals, but spent time at the bench, in government where believe it tor not I traveled the country and was introduced in 1973 to Mexican food, for example!

I turn it over and add as much fresh, dried baby spinach as I can fit into the pan and put a lid over it so it does not fall out. As much as I can get in will equal 2 servings although the fish itself is 3 as that is how I cut it in case we might have company. I will put the remaining piece on a plate and cover with plastic wrap when cool to accompany a salad tomorrow, or sometimes I love to eat COLD FISH -- which probably comes from my love of anything fish, being a Pisceas, born Feb 20 (on the cusp of Aquarius).

Vegetable - Purple Cabbage

Pictures of the raw and cooked purple cabbage by my dear friend, Gerhard Schlinke, of Merzhausen near Freiburg, Germany

One of my precious cooking memories involves the color purple when I was about three and a half years old. My maternal grandmother and my aunt, baby sat for me while my Mom took care of my father who was not feeling well. I looked out the window at my parents walking down the steep steps and through a courtyard of green plants and stonework.

As they left, I began to smell the most wonderful aroma and noticed the most brilliant purple colored vegetable, I had ever seen, in my grandmother's kitchen. My grandmother started with an object that looked like the ball (cabbage) above, cut it into the
tiniest of slices by hand and turned the purple cabbage into a product whose color and flavor I will never forget. The chopping seemed so effortless for her yet each slice looked perfect to me. My Aunt Lorle (Hannelore) stood beside my dear grandmother tasting each item and adjusting the spices for the most flavorful dish for her beloved nieces, my sister and me.

It was a wonderful afternoon in a cozy warm kitchen with lots of light coming in from the window above the kitchen table. The purple color was as intense as possible in the most comfortable of kitchens. I remember feeling so happy, warm, cuddled and safe in the presence of my grandmother and aunt whose eyes never left us while they prepared a wonderful Sunday dinner.

The final product of my grandmother's efforts was a side dish of sweet and sour purple cabbage whose intense color and flavor I have never again experienced. That Sunday afternoon in Karlsruhe, Germany, was the last meal I remember having with my grandmother and Aunt Lorle before my mother, father, sister, and I departed for D.P. Camp Vegesack, near the port city of Bremen, in anticipation of a trip to the U.S.A. Our parents told us the purpose of the trip was to meet our paternal uncle's kittens. We ate little on the voyage over the ocean in the Navy troop carrier, the General William C. Langfitt. I was seasick and perhaps a bit spoiled by my grandmother and aunt who made the art of cooking colorful and appealing.

The purple cabbage, kohlrabi, and meat was a heavenly meal made with the love of a devoted maternal grandmother and my dear Aunt Lorle. I remember the loving care of my grandmother and the meal she prepared with her youngest daughter, my aunt, as one of my most precious
memories. Whenever I see a purple cabbage, I think of that happy sunny day that I spent "cooking" with my grandmother and aunt. I longed for my grandmother, aunt, and their warm and cozy kitchen on the six week voyage to the U.S.A.

Fifty years later, when my grandmother's buffet and dish cabinet had no where to go, they too went on an incredible voyage by ship over the Atlantic Ocean. After serving as a small part of the cargo on a ship, my grandmother's furniture continued by truck to find a resting place in my home. At my house my mother enjoys her mother's furniture and it has taken me many years to truly understand how courageous and wonderful my mother was and continues to be at almost 91 years young on March 23, 2008.