My 8 favourite things about cooking just for myself

Cooking is a love language, why not give it to yourself ?

I was always astonished at the number of people who told me “oh I am alone at home most of the time so I don’t really cook.” — WHAT THE FORK JANICE, that is the best reason to cook.

Of course I also sometimes feel lazy so I understand that cooking every evening crazy dishes for yourself is not gonna make the cut. I get it, absolutely. What I am talking about goes more towards giving yourself love when you need it, through cooking. Just like you would take a relaxing bath or masturbate. This is about doing things not only for others but first and foremost for you. Creating a relationship with yourself is key. Cooking is the way I love to do it. And there is precious little things I enjoy doing when cooking for myself.

1. Having a little snack on the side. Yes, as I mentionned before, this is a DATE. Whether it is snacking on a olives or a few leftover pasta (in my home we call it pastapero), snacking is just the best. And cooking without snacking is torture. What if you are not hungry for the dish after ? Stop being your own parent, just let yourself be a child, you’ll eat it for a yummy breakfast. This is freedom.
2. Cutting fresh aromatic herbs that you painfully grew and now call your babies. Yes, they will make you want to cook and then grow more. This is a cycle of deliciousness.
3. Going to the market and letting yourself be inspired by what your body feels excited about. I can feel like the most idiot happy person when I am choosing between two tomatoes at the market. Don’t let people intimate you, they love talking about their best products, you don’t need to know everything. I know nothing.
4. Turning the music on: you need a cooking playlist !!! Some songs are just the best for cooking, I’ll share soon my best cooking playlist. Spoiler alert: Kokomo is in there.
5. Having a nice beer, a glass of wine or a nice lemonade. Again, THIS IS A DATE.
6. Taking your sweet time. You have snacks, you have a drink. There is no rush. Some nights are for a quick reheated bowl of pasta, some nights can be deliciously slow around the stove. Stress should not be part of the show. I let it ruin some of my finest dishes way to often. You need to have space & time. That’s key.
7. Siting in front of the oven and reading while watching the food cook. I love snuggling in front of my oven, it makes me feel like a kid and is often much needed.
8. Researching everything you are not sure about. Make it an experience, allow yourself to fail and be curious. Too often I self-sabbotaged great moments or recipes by being hard on myself. By wanting myself to be a chef or nothing. This is about you. You don’t have anything to prove to anyone. If it is bad, you’ll try again and laugh about it. Life is too short to make food something else than fun.

Just start. Try it out and have a drink for me to celebrate the time you are giving to yourself.

A nice recipe to start is Amatriciana. For the recipe go to my instagram, it is simple, sexy and makes me want to cry EVERYTIME.