I hear you say 'bachelor and kitchen.... surely these two "things" are not made for each other! The thought of them being together brings into mind chaos and utter shame to the art of cooking fine gastronomic meals. The kitchen is alien to most bachelors with them thinking that its a place to look in the fridge for a snack before a footy match or even a place to leave the unfinished lasagna. Or some bachelor's have the top of the range kitchen glittering new and when you enter their flat they immediately show off their stainless steel cooker and electronic gizmo like its out of Star Trek - yet they will order in food from outside. And maybe you're right. Most of my friends, who are bachelor's enjoy the life of eating out or filling themselves with fast food from the local kebab house or burger joint to eating at some of the most exclusive restaurants in England from the Ivy to the Fat Duck that Heston owns. I have to confess I too, was one of those who enjoyed the fast paced, fast food and fine dining. The thought of eating in didn't even cross my mind- why bother when you can eat without the hassle of chopping onions and looking at timers to check whether the meat is cooked properly.
That was until one day when I was at home and I was suffering from a fever and a flue. My nose was red, the throat felt as though someone had used sand paper against it and the taste buds of my mouth had left me. I was hungry and I wanted to eat something hot and spicy that would blow the fever I had for six. I called up the local Indian and they told me a delivery wouldn't be possible because their delivery man was away, the Chinese takeaway didn't have a menu that was appealing to someone with a flu or a person without for that matter. I was running out of ideas, I had no car to go into town and the weather was pretty horrific. Finally, I took the brave yet unimaginable decision to cook something for myself. I opened all the cupboards and began piling up ingredients on the worktop next to the cooker. I had a can of mixed soup, packet of lentils, can of tuna, broccoli, potatoes and chilli powder, coriander powder, basil powder, black pepper and salt - and then i began panicking wondering what am i going to cook.
So here is what i did... i put all the vegetables in one pan and boiled, at the same time i boiled the lentils until they were soft and mashable. I chopped one small onion and a tea spoon worth of garlic and fried until they were brown - and the smell of two is very distinctive. Once the lentils had been boiled and soft I drained the water from the lentils and added the onions and garlic and mixed it thorougly. I added half a tea spoon of chilli powder and two tea spoons of corriander powder to the lentil. I then added boiling water to the mashed mix and boiled it until the lentil had become soup like. After 25-30 mins worth of cooking time I had a lentil soup that did the trick. I cut some fresh french stick breads and put them in the oven so they were open and soft and the lentil soup and the bread was my supper for the evening.
Not michelin star food - but this was the start of my cooking life and this blog is about my journey in discovering the perfect bachelor food. I hope to share my ideas and escopades with you and perhaps come up with recipes that dont need a genius to work out. I will be going to professionals and well known chefs to get some hints and tips that i aim to put up here for all those bachelors in need of some help in the kitchen.
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