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Quick and Easy – Eating for One

This well-illustrated book is a must for anyone who is just about to leave home (and mum’s cooking) and start a life alone, or anyone who now finds themselves cooking for one. It’s a cookbook full of, as it says, quick and easy recipes but on closer inspection it’s rather more than that, it’s the “desert island” cookbook, the one any sole survivor would take if they wanted to eat well on their own (with the use of a good supermarket!) but also, using the same book, be able to make a lovely meal for the band of rescuers.    Turkey Skewers

The author, Catherine Atkinson, has chosen easy, healthy but also quite exotic recipes. She has sections on sweets, snacks, meats, fish and vegetables. Yes, as you would expect, there are several pastas but not your “it’s Wednesday night so its spag bol night” but Linguine with Chicken and Asparagus or Oriental Prawn, Pepper and Pineapple Noodles. These probably take less time than your usual mid-week pasta, they are a lot healthier and they would make excellent meals when you have company.

All the recipes could easily be increased and this is very encouraging for a novice cook. You can practise these dishes when you have just yourself to feed, become more confident and then produce volumes appropriate for entertaining when mum comes over to see how much weight you’ve lost. She will be impressed!

Catherine has included a Planning Ahead section with menus for a month. Each day has a recipe as well as shopping lists for both fresh and larder ingredients, so there will be no need to resort to baked beans from the tin.

The Vegetables and Vegetarian section has some lovely Mediterranean recipes like Feta and Pine Nut Stuffed Peppers. The Spiced Coconut Rice with Cashew Nuts only takes 20 minutes and makes enough for two, so invite a friend. The Fish section offers, amongst other dishes, Lime and Ginger Salmon with Fruit Salsa steamed in a foil parcel which would be great for a smart dinner party.

These are not reworks of the usual “cooking for one” recipes but interesting dishes that just happen to be portioned for the single diner. They are truly simple recipes that would convert any take-away enthusiast but would be equally useful for anyone new to the single life.

Quick and Easy – Eating for One
Author: Catherine Atkinson
Price: £7.99
Published by Foulsham
ISBN 978-0-572-03420-7