Table for One

So, over the years I have become fairly adept at making wonderful meals for two. Believe it or not, the more people you have to cook for, the easier the meals are to make. Measurements and all that jazz. Making dinner for two, while not particularly difficult, does require a bit more finesse, so as not to end up with heaps of leftover random bits of meal. 

Now cooking for one. Usually, this is such a pain in the butt that most of us don't even bother. I mean, it's just so much simpler to run out and grab something with friends, right? 

Right. 

Well, right now, JP is overseas for work. Boo, hiss. Come back now, JP. I am not a fan of this plan.

So, to entertain myself, and to also not get on the nerves of my friends begging for them to go to endless dinners until JP's return, I have decided to take on cooking. For one. 

And here is my favorite creation so far! Now, keep in mind that this is easily expandable for more people. That is the joy of cooking for one. Just expand if cooking for more.

Ok, so here we go. Simple, super fast, and minimal ingredients. Asian inspired salmon and greens. You need some ground ginger, and some ground garlic. Soy sauce, and some pepper. A plastic bag, and of course the greens and the salmon. I chose to go with bok choy, keeping with my Asian theme.

And this is where it gets simple: 1/2 cup of soy sauce.

Grab the plastic bag, put the salmon in it, pour over the soy sauce and add some fresh ground black pepper.

Then add this much ground ginger.

And this much garlic powder.

Shake it all up in the bag

And place it skin side up and let it sit for at least 5 or 10 minutes to marinate.

So, while the fish is marinating, grab yourself some bok choy.

Lop off the bottoms.

Then add this much olive oil to a pan.

Meanwhile, grab a baking pan and line it with tin foil. This makes for easy clean up, and that makes for a happy For One. Make sure to spray some non-stick on it... no one like stuck salmon.

Plop in the salmon skin side down, and put it into a 180º C oven. Or 375º for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about.

While the salmon is baking away, pile the bok choy into that pan I was talking about up there... you know, the one with the olive oil in it. Yeah, that one! Put it over medium heat. Best part: you are almost done!

As the bok choy starts to wilt, add in just a splash (or two, if you feel like it) of soy sauce. No other flavors needed!

Now the cool part. About the time the bok choy is starting to look wilted and tasty, take it off the heat, and cover with some tin foil. Trust me this makes sense. It allows the bok choy to steam a bit, and not sauté  but also allows the soy sauce to thicken enough to stick to it. Great plan, I know!

Only allow the fish to cook for about 10 minutes. Otherwise it gets a bit tough and not so tasty in my opinion.

Look how awesome that looks. It is such a great, healthy, and quick meal. It took less than 20 minutes start to finish.

And even less time to devour it. And, just trust me on this one, your plate will look just like this when you finish this meal.

Enjoy, my pets!

xoxo
Craig