How do you feel about cooking, more particularly, cooking for yourself?
I absolutely love to cook. Coming up with new recipes and watching friends and family indulge in a meal I have made gives me a certain kind of satisfaction. Opening a great bottle of wine, slicing, dicing, taking in aromas coming from the saucepans, hints of garlic and onion floating through the air, the beautiful presentation of the food and pairing it with the perfect side dish; this is all a creative art.
But to be quite frank since my divorce two years ago, cooking is not something I do as much and I really miss it. I recently decided that at least once a week I am going toa make a spectacular meal at home, even if it’s just for me.
I started a few weeks ago and this is the routine. Saturday morning is the Farmers’ Market where I live. Before heading out I decide for what I am in the mood. Then I make a grocery list of all the necessary items and then head for the door, before I talk myself out of it!
Upon arriving home, I find it meditative to start cleaning my vegetables and meat for tonight’s meal. After things are soaking and marinating, I do some household chores. Before you know, it’s 5:00, the perfect time to open up that bottle of red wine and get started. Tonight it’s a Barolo and a Northern Italian Spaghetti Bolognese. It’s a recipe I got out of the Wine Spectator years ago and it has always proven to be great. I turn on some music and go to work on making a meal I will enjoy, knowing I will probably have left-overs. All the better!
Two hours later - the perfect meal, with a Caprese salad and some soft garlic bread on the side. The only thing, no one is here to witness the greatness of this. That is no one, but me! You know what? I’m fine with that. I’m great with that because it’s about doing something nice for myself, treating myself well, taking care of me.
As I finish up in the kitchen and sit down to eat, I’m not worried about making conversation with anyone across the table. I’m not worried about what I’m wearing (I’m in pajamas.) I’m not worried about anything. The only requirement is to enjoy. It’s worth keeping this tradition in my life - the tradition of feeding the soul with nutrients from my labor of love.
If you live alone, don’t settle for food to go, ten minute cooking, microwave meals or restaurant dining every night of the week. Give yourself some nourishment; make a special dinner, just for you.
Shamcy's Barolo and a Northern Italian Spaghetti Bolognese
A bolognese sauce that will be delicious to the most discerning of tastes!
Ingredients:
1 bunch of chopped basil
1 large finely chopped onion
3 large chopped carrots
4 sticks chopped celery
1 large can of chopped tomatoes (or three cups of very ripe tomatoes, puree)
1 1/2 lbs of ground beef
1/2 cup of red wine (any kind)
olive oil
1/2 bulb of finely chopped garlic
1 cup of cream
1 tablespoon of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
Package of fettuccini or spaghetti (because fettuccine is a wider, flat noodle, it holds the sauce better)
In one large pot (6-quart) pour the can of tomatoes in and put on low heat (Later all ingredients will go in this pot, so make sure it’s a large enough pot). In a separate saute pan put olive oil in first and then the ground beef and cook on medium until lightly brown.
Pour half a cup of red wine over the meat and allow it to burn off on medium high. When the wine is saturated and the meat is a cooked, pour it into the large pot, where the tomatoes have been. Increase the heat to high for 5 minutes, stirring the whole time, allow the juices from the meat to mix. Then return to low.
In a separate saucepan, put olive oil and then onions and garlic. After the onions begin to soften just a little bit, add the carrots and celery. Let the vegetables saute until carrots and celery are cooked, but still slightly crunchy.
Pour these vegetables into the big pot with the tomatoes and meat. Bring the temperature up to high, allowing the vegetables and meat to boil for a few minutes, stirring the whole time and then reduce the heat back to a simmer.
Simmer for thirty minutes or longer (the longer it simmers, the more tasty it will become.)
After simmering, thirty minutes before serving, put the temperature on very low and put in the basil.
Add 1 cup of cream and one tablespoon of nutmeg (it’s important not to bring the heat up, once you have added the cream).
Add salt and pepper, for taste. Keep on very low.
Preparing the Fettuccini or the Spaghetti
While the sauce is on low, get out a pot and fill it half way with water and bring to a boil. Then dump in the fettucini/spaghetti. Boil for ten minutes or whatever your package calls for.
After it is cooked, pour into a strainer, rinse the pasta under warm water to remove excess starch.
Pour the pasta noodles onto a large serving plate, and then pour the contents of the Bolognese sauce over the pasta.
There you have it!
Serves: 2 hungry eaters or 3 dieters or 1 person with leftovers.
