“Sometimes I open the fridge and discover that I have plenty of food - just apparently nothing that has agreed to become dinner.” — Kitchen Granny There are evenings when I look in the fridge and see half a tomato, a boiled egg, a little cheese, three slices of cucumber and some leftover chicken. Technically, there is food. It just doesn't look much like dinner. This is when I make what I call a bits-and-pieces dinner. You may also hear it called a snack plate - a collection

“The best dinner isn't always the fanciest one. Sometimes it's the one that doesn't leave you staring at a sink full of dishes afterward.”— Kitchen Granny There are evenings when I enjoy pottering around the kitchen. I'll chop this, stir that, use three different bowls and somehow manage to dirty every wooden spoon I own. And then there are evenings when I look at the kitchen and think: One pot. That's all you're getting from me tonight! If you feel the same way, one-pot meal

“Some days you want dinner. Other days you just want something small and nice. Both are perfectly good ways to feed yourself.”— Kitchen Granny There are days when I can happily sit down to a proper dinner, and there are others when one look at a full plate makes me feel as though I've been given a job to do. If your appetite isn't what it used to be, you're certainly not alone. Some older adults find they get full more quickly or simply aren't as interested in a large meal as

Living alone certainly has its advantages. You can eat when you like. Nobody complains if you want scrambled eggs for dinner. And if you fancy the last piece of cake, there's no need to negotiate! But cooking for one can also be surprisingly tricky. Most recipes seem to feed four people. Fresh food can spoil before you finish it. You open a can and use half. And some evenings, going to all the trouble of cooking a proper meal for just one person can feel like...well, rather a

Cooking for one or two has its advantages, but judging exactly how much food to make isn't always easy. A spoonful of vegetables here, half a chicken breast there, a little rice left in the pot - before long, the fridge can become a collection of containers containing things we're not quite sure what to do with. And eating exactly the same dinner again tomorrow isn't always very appealing either. Instead of thinking of leftovers as yesterday's meal, I like to think of them as

Having visitors should be something to look forward to. But I'll admit there have been times when I've been so busy getting everything ready that by the time the doorbell rang, I was already exhausted! I'd cleaned. I'd cooked. I'd fussed around trying to make everything look just right. And instead of sitting down and enjoying the people I'd invited over, I was thinking about what needed to come out of the oven next. Eventually I thought: This is crazy. I'm supposed to be enj

Cooking for one sounds as though it should be easy. After all, there's only one person to feed! But I've found that it comes with its own peculiar set of problems. Recipes seem to assume you're feeding four people. A bag of salad is enormous when there's only you eating it. You open a can of beans and use half. You buy a loaf of bread and suddenly feel as though you're in a race to finish it before it goes stale. And then there's the biggest question: Is it really worth cooki

So, here's the problem! Some days I have plenty of enthusiasm for cooking. Other days, I'd quite happily stay out of the kitchen altogether! Maybe you've had a busy day, haven't slept particularly well, spent the afternoon gardening, or simply reached dinnertime with very little energy left. Whatever the reason, being tired can make even a simple meal feel like a lot of work. That's when I think it's time to forget about what dinner should look like and concentrate on what yo