There are millions of recipes on the internet, but you still don\u2019t know what to cook. Tell us about it! Dear Bon App\u00e9tit<\/strong><\/a> is an advice column where we answer your culinary conundrums with hand-picked recipes and well-seasoned advice. Submit a question here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n I have been making meals for my family of five for 20+ years. My last child is preparing to leave the house and I am finalizing my divorce. In a few months I will be responsible for feeding only one person\u2014me. I am looking for ways to stay in the kitchen to prepare food for myself. (I take lunch to work five times a week and eat dinner at home six nights a week.) I love veggie-centric, high-flavor dishes. Thoughts, recommendations, resources? \u2014New Era<\/strong><\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with a round of applause. By my math, that means you\u2019ve cooked over 6,000 dinners<\/em> for your family. And that\u2019s just dinners! I bow down to you. I hope your children (cough, cough, if they\u2019re reading this) do too.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s tackle lunch first: Since you are beyond proficient at feeding a group, I\u2019d channel that skill toward this tough-to-fit-in meal. Cook a pot of soup\u2014even double the recipe if you have freezer space\u2014and freeze it in pints. (These wide-mouth mason jars<\/a> are my go-to. Freezer-friendly, microwave-safe, and sturdy enough to survive a ride on NJ Transit. Which is saying something!) I\u2019ve made this lemony red lentil soup<\/a> many times; you\u2019d never guess it was languishing in my freezer for half a year. I throw in some leafy greens toward the end of cooking (usually pre-washed, pre-cut kale) and skip the garlic topping altogether (it\u2019s fun, but not happening in the office kitchenette). If it\u2019s hot where you are this time of year, a cold soup is more perishable but worth it. Whip up a blender full of this gazpacho<\/a> at the start of the week and pop it in the fridge. Tote the soup in one container and some chopped veggies in another for sprinkling on top al desko. A treat! And if you tire of soup, make a sturdy salad. Bob\u2019s Chicken and Cabbage Salad<\/a> has many fans at BA HQ (you could halve it to cover a week\u2019s worth of lunches), as does my colleague Hana Asbrink\u2019s aptly titled Happy Fridge Salad<\/a>.<\/p>\n Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Emilie Fosnocht, prop styling by Sean Dooley<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n For dinner, your description made me chuckle because\u2026did I write this? Veggie-centric, check! High-flavor, check! Our food director Chris Morocco is spectacular at this exact category. In fact, he has a recipe called Big-Flavor Broccoli<\/a>. Red onion, anchovies, garlic, parm. Serve with some crusty bread and your pick of hummus (store-bought really is<\/em> fine), Greek yogurt<\/a> or labneh, or a big blob of burrata, and you have a lovely little supper. (Leftovers can easily morph into another meal. Toss with pasta, spoon over polenta, etc.) Chris\u2019s kale pesto<\/a> is another banger. He pairs it with whole-wheat spaghetti (love), but it has range. It would be great on soba or udon. Or ditch the noodle and spoon it over roasted vegetables or even scrambled eggs. You can make the full batch and chip away at it for days, or freeze the surplus in portions for weeks to come. And Chris\u2019s salad ramen<\/a> is a fun, riffable template to zhuzh up a single serving of instant noodles.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n My biggest advice is to take advantage of whole foods. These are workhorses for solo cooking. What\u2019s an ingredient your ex or kids hate? Now\u2019s the time! A juicy heirloom tomato, a honking zucchini, one of those cute fairytale eggplants. (Can you tell I\u2019m excited about summer?) Especially at the farmers market, you can buy one or two items, so you\u2019re getting only as much as you need. Then eyeball-down a recipe accordingly. (I never measure these sorts of things and no one has died.) All year I look forward to this zucchini recipe with sour cream and dill<\/a>. It could effortlessly halve to become a single meal with warm pita, or my pref, some boiled baby potatoes. Come fall, these cottage-cheese-stuffed honeynut squashes<\/a> could be downsized similarly.<\/p>\n Let me know how it goes in the comments. Wishing you all the best in your new adventure!<\/p>\n Warmly,![\"recipes](\"https:\/\/assets.bonappetit.com\/photos\/65e600898e4432f073a015ac\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/20240130-WEB-0224.jpg\" "\\"recipes\\"")
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Emma<\/p>\n