Chick peas and spinach for one.

[commodorified]

Ian and Cat are off to Montreal; I didn't feel well enough. So I'm making myself something to eat.

99 percent of what people say about self-esteem aggravates the living Hell out of me, and the fact that I know many of these people to be sensible, decent, loving people and therefore suspect that it's a matter of the vocabulary being inadequate and the discourse being poisoned doesn't help as much as it ought to (so if you feel you want to open the topic in comments please bear in mind that I am a bear with a sore paw stomach and hip today, and we all know How Sore Bears Can Get, and be conversational and not didactic), but this is my present contribution to the debate:

The fact that you are cooking only for yourself is not a reason to omit the saffron when you make rice.

I am very gently simmering

1 can of chick peas, liquid and all[1]
1 1/2 cup of chopped spinach (frozen, originally)
1 T Patak's Madras curry paste
1 T Patak's Biryani curry paste
1/2 t Penzey's Rogan Josh curry powder
2 T finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 pinch salt.

It smells very good.

[1] Someone asked me about using bean liquor and about saltiness recently, and the answer is that I generally buy President's Choice Blue Menu beans, and their broths and tomatoes as well. If I do end up using beans, tomatoes, or broth with salt in it I proceed with caution, try to make damn sure I don't have more than one thing with salt, and don't add any extra salt at the end or at the table (and warn people).

Also, this is the 6-bean mix I am always going on about. I find most brands have a bean mix, which normal people apparently use for bean salad. I do not like bean salad, but I use them for just about everything else. The PC Blue are very nice.

Comments

[kake]

Chickpeas with spinach! Today I've been cooking a load of food to freeze and transport to my sister's house (she's due to give birth next week) and spicy chickpeas with spinach is one of the things I made. This is the recipe I use. Yours sounds good too!

[cxcvi]

The fact that you are cooking only for yourself is not a reason to omit the saffron when you make rice.

As someone who's never used saffron before, what does it do for the rice?

[commodorified]

It's mostly an aromatic. It turns it a lovely golden colour and gives it a very soft, slightly floral scent.

[indywind]

That one is cooking only for oneself would seem to me to be a very good reason to do exactly as one wishes; it's when cooking for others that one might wish to omit things they don't tolerate.

That reminds me, I need to replenish my supply of saffron.

Pistols for two - chick peas & spinach for one

[james_g4clf]

I do agree about the saffron - the pistol is for anyone who would suggest curbing creativity when cooking just for oneself.

I would allow rather simpler serving (as opposed to flavour) aesthetics when eating alone, but that's a matter of convenience, not self-esteem.

This recipe, to me, cries out for some paneer, chopped into 1 cm cubes. YMMV of course.

I wish I could come and make it CP&S for two, with or without the paneer, as I'm ravenous and bears with sore tummys need company - but I can't eat anything today after the extraction of a broken tooth and you're 5000 km away.