Weekend Reading - Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant

Friday at last! It is just me or has this been a particularly long week?

This week I’m reading “Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant”, essays on dining alone compiled by Jenni Ferrari-Adler. Some of the essays focus on the act of dining alone, and others are more focused on the recipes. Essayists include M.F.K. Fisher, Marcella Hazan, Amanda Hesser, Ann Patchett, Steve Almond and others I haven’t gotten to yet. The tone varies from essay to essay but all are masterfully written and enjoyable to read.

Reading the book has me thinking about what some of my favorite foods are to eat when I’m by myself. When I’m out I love a buffet – especially Indian – or any place where I’m likely to encounter new foods on my plate. I love a sushi combo platter too.

At home by myself, nothing makes me quite so happy as a bowl of lentil or veggie soup (something really tart and salty) with at least 2 types of pungent cheese and more bread than is healthy (heated 30 seconds in the microwave and drizzled in olive oil). My current favorite bread is the When Pigs Fly kalamata olive and roasted red pepper – very salty and spicy. After arranging it all on a plate I pour a glass of cheap red wine – I like blends with lots of zinfandel. My favorite is Beaulieu Vineyard’s Beauzeaux, but I haven’t been able to find it in a while so I usually end up with whatever’s cheap with an “Adjective Noun” name (Red Truck, Gnarly Head, Big House, etc. especially anything with big or red in the name. If my blog were a wine I would certainly drink it). The Barefoot wines are always good too. I could eat this for every meal every day.

What do you eat when you’re alone?