Single-person households make up nearly a quarter of the households in Australia and this proportion is rapidly increasing. Yet the majority of cookbooks present recipes that serve 4-8 people.

To me, that means eating the same dish 3 nights in a row only to throw out the remainder of the dish as I just can’t face it again!

My other option is to freeze the leftovers for another time. However, years of freezing for another time ....

The more I reflected on cooking just for me the more I realised it wasn’t just about having recipes with quantities for one. The single household faces many other challenges in relation to food.

I might plan my meals for the week but with a meeting date-changing and friends dropping in from interstate, suddenly the piece of meat that I bought on Saturday to eat on Monday is looking very sad by the time I get to cook dinner on Thursday...

The third difference I realised about cooking just for me is that I need recipes that are fast to cook. There is no starving family or grumpy partner to push me to produce a meal.

It’s just me and it’s easy to slip into the habit of not bothering.

Especially on weeknights when I get home from work and battle with that annoying and evil voice that pretends it is trying to help me when it starts saying insistently, ....

The fourth point in my exploration of cooking just4Me is "showing ME love and respect".

In talking with many people from single households it seems that we just don’t bother because it’s only for one. And it’s not just about what we cook it’s also in the way we present it. If friends come we get out the good plates, we set the table, we use proper glasses and we plate up like Masterchef contestants....