M. Suzanne Terry

When I first lived alone, I relished coming home and having popcorn or a bowl of strawberries for dinner. One of the perks of living alone is that there is no one else to cook for unless I specifically invite them over, so I can always do what I want.

But it didn’t take long to start to miss cooking (and eating) proper meals. And while I’m not opposed to leftovers, I also don’t find it appetizing to eat the same thing four times a week. However, my cooking experience was in cooking meals for groups.

I needed guidance.

So I started acquiring a nice collection of cookbooks about cooking for one. The one pictured above is my favorite (and not just because her shoes are amazing – click on the following link to check out those shoes). Even the title is the best: The Pleasure is All Mine: Selfish Food for Modern Life by Suzanne Pirret.

This book is two parts cookbook, one part memoir. She has great stories and great recipes. Added bonus – the cocktail pairings. She has a fantastic name, too. I feel that she and I could be friends.

There are other books that I love in this specific genre. Judith Jones’s The Pleasures of Cooking for One is wonderful. Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant is one that I bought just for the title, but it’s right up my alley – a collection of essays on the subject of cooking and dining alone.

What sub-genres do you love?

I am writing 31 days of shelfies.