Quick Food for the Single Man

Well I don’t know about you, but as a single guy I feel underrepresented in the recipe world. Sure there’s tons of glossy books that claim to cater for the single, but it isn’t the kind of food a single guy pieces together when he’s hungry in the real world.

Make no mistake – if Gordon Ramsey didn’t have a wife and family to impress, he’d be knocking up beans on toast or a curry flavoured Pot Noodle for many a lunch, just like us.

And please don’t get confused about food for single guys and food for single women – trust me, they are NOT the same thing! Ever been to a single woman’s home? I have. Head straight to her kitchen cupboards and have a rummage – you will find all manner of ingredients and potions in packets and tiny bottles, most of which you will give up trying to pronounce, believe me!

And you pop round just after she’s cooked for herself and you’ll likely find her eating smoked trout with a dash of lemon, or a walnut salad with crispy iceberg lettuce and a sprinkling of Parmigiano-Reggiano. And when she cooks for company? Well, numerous creations appear from all those seasoning packets and pasta shells.

Splendid. But as single guys it’s just not our world, is it?

My kitchen is not a place I like to spend a lot of time. There is no Internet in there, for a start. Nor a mirror!

In fact there’s nothing interesting in the kitchen for me, so it’s my grab and run room. I grab what I need and then I’m outta there. The dishes get done when my schedule permits. I have found my recent move towards more take-away food has greatly reduced dirty dishes, which cannot be a bad thing.

Occasionally, when I’m the right mood, I’ll tolerate a spell in my kitchen to knock up a real beauty – just for the hell of it. And I would like to share one such recipe of mine with you now.

So here we go…

Ingredients

Microwavable rice.
Canned mixed vegetables.
Mayonnaise.
Black pepper.

Instructions

1. Get a packet of microwavable rice into your microwave for 2 minutes (doesn’t matter what brand they’re all 2 minutes). And here I’m using wholegrain rice because I’m health conscious. You have white rice if you prefer.
2. Open a can of mixed veg and tip the lot onto a plate.
3. Get your squeezy bottle of mayonnaise ready!
4. The Microwave pings; your rice is ready (2 minutes flew by and there wasn’t enough time to do that washing up, so don’t fret about it just do it next week).
5. Remove the rice bag from your microwave and put your plate in that’s got the mixed veg on it – for 1 minute.
6. The microwave pings. Remove the plate of hot mixed veg.
7. Tip your rice all over your mixed veg and give them a good stir round.
8. Now squeeze dollops (and I mean dollops) of mayonnaise over your rice ‘n veg.
9. Add black pepper for final seasoning.
10. Any beverage of your choosing.
11. Enjoy. I do!

But, if you’re comfortable spending more time in the kitchen than I am, then I suppose there are recipe cook books around that’ll have you knocking up quick and tasty grub in no time.

One such book seems to be about the best, so I’m told, and it comes from Mr Michelin Star himself, Gordon Ramsay.

I have found it for you – and it’s over there to your left.

Danny has worked as a Radio Presenter at a number of stations around the UK since beginning his career in 1994. He has a love of travel, motorcycling and, of course, writing. He is currently single and lives in Northampton, England. When he is not here with us at JAQUO we know where to find him… over at his personal blog The Purveyor !