On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 21:25:38 -0500, Andrew H. Carter
> scribbled some thoughts:


>Sorry, but I am a 40 year old bachelor, never married due to
>not finding a female with a warped enough sense of humor.

BTW, I don't have a TV.

--

Sincerely, | NOTE: Best viewed in a fixed pitch font
| (©) (©)
Andrew H. Carter | ------ooo--(_)--ooo------
d(-_-)b | /// \\\

>My suggestion would be to get yourself an inexpensive set of spice jars
>and then go to some place where they sell them in bulk. They may not be
>the freshest spices around, but not likely to be any worse that the
>popular bottles stuff that is outrageously expensive.

Another thing you may want to do is go to your local dollar store, where you
can pick up spices very cheaply. I go to the Dollar Tree, where they have
plastic containers of parsley and cinnamon and italian seasoning 2 for a
dollar.

Another item you will need is a pepper mill for fresh ground black pepper; they
aren't very expensive for the plastic ones although the wooden ones can get
pricey. Places like Walmart and Target carry them and the plastic ones cost
less than ten dollars and usually come with a matching salt shaker.

For salt, I prefer Kosher Salt because I like the texture, and I use it in my
salt shaker, where the holes are barely large enough for the salt to go thru.
Sea Salt is good also; unless I'm in a restaurant, I never use normal Morton's
Salt.

Michael O'Connor - Modern Renaissance Man

"The likelihood of one individual being right increases in a direct proportion
to the intensity with which others try to prove him wrong."

>My suggestion would be to get yourself an inexpensive set of spice jars
>and then go to some place where they sell them in bulk. They may not be
>the freshest spices around, but not likely to be any worse that the
>popular bottles stuff that is outrageously expensive.

Another thing you may want to do is go to your local dollar store, where you
can pick up spices very cheaply. I go to the Dollar Tree, where they have
plastic containers of parsley and cinnamon and italian seasoning 2 for a
dollar.

Another item you will need is a pepper mill for fresh ground black pepper; they
aren't very expensive for the plastic ones although the wooden ones can get
pricey. Places like Walmart and Target carry them and the plastic ones cost
less than ten dollars and usually come with a matching salt shaker.

For salt, I prefer Kosher Salt because I like the texture, and I use it in my
salt shaker, where the holes are barely large enough for the salt to go thru.
Sea Salt is good also; unless I'm in a restaurant, I never use normal Morton's
Salt.

Michael O'Connor - Modern Renaissance Man

"The likelihood of one individual being right increases in a direct proportion
to the intensity with which others try to prove him wrong."

in article , Dave Smith at
wrote on 12/10/04 12:51 PM:

> Steve Calvin wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> If doing this I'd recommend the addition of a Tilia Foodsaver vacuum
>> sealer as well.
>>
>
> For a bachelor starter kit?? I have been cooking for more than three decades
> and
> never found a special food saver tool necessary. It might be a handy thing to
> have
> if you are into gadgets but I would have thought that a basic started kit
> would put
> something like that way, way, way down the list of priorities.
>
>

YEAH , I gotta agree with that one.
Otherwise you wind up eating the same damn thing day after day after day.
Cooking for one is a drag. But it beats relying on commercially prepared
frozen dinners.

A vacuum sealer is a great investment for a single person, because you can
divide up the larger packages of food you always seem to find for low sale
prices and not have any waste.

My suggestion for a bachelor's Starter kit:

A cast iron skillet (from a second hand shop or yard sale, already
seasoned!)
A Box of assorted Farberware pots and pans
A non-stick 8 inch skillet (for eggs)
A black and white speckled covered roasting pan (not too big)
Spatula, assorted wooden spoons, a large slotted spoon, wire whisk, tongs.
8 inch chef's knife
small paring knife
cutting board (plastic or wooden)
vegetable peeler
vacuum sealer system

as for groceries, it really all depends on what you like to eat.
Spices....I wouldn't get the stuff from the dollar stores b/c they really
have no flavor. You're better off at a place like Trader Joes or buying from
the supermarket, if you don't want to go the Penzey's route.
Basic ones to keep on hand, you will use all the time:
Garlic and onion powder, basil, oregano, a nice "Italian herb" blend.
An all purpose seasoned salt, kosher salt and a pepper mill. Again, depends
on what you like to eat.

What you really need to go with your new pots and pans is a good, simple
cookbook. I recommend Better homes and Gardens, the one with the red and
white plaid cover. From there, you can figure out what groceries you need
to keep in the house, based on what you like to eat.

Things that I keep in my house:
assorted frozen vegetables
assorted pasta shapes
canned tomatoes
jarred or canned spaghetti sauce
peanut butter
jelly
Rice
Instant mashed potatoes
Egg noodles, different widths
onion soup mix
instant chicken soup (or cans of chicken and beef broth)
cans of soup, including 1-2 cream of mushroom
I always keep a stouffer's single serving vegetable lasagna and a couple
single serving frozen pizzas. For those nights when I get home starving and
want to eat, but not cook.

I use stuff like onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup every once in
awhile, but it's good to keep on hand. I know people eschew cream of
mushroom soup here, but it's easy and it works, and sometimes that's what
you need. For a simple meal, cooked egg noodles or rice, frozen veggies, a
can of cream of mushroom soup, and some leftover chicken, turkey, ham or a
can of tuna and you have something tasty and filling, and you can eat it for
lunches the rest of the week. Like I said, it's not something you do
everyday, but once in awhile, it's exactly what you want.

You really have to follow your tastebuds on this stuff.
But get yourself a good recipe book and you will have a place to start from.

in article , Dave Smith at
wrote on 12/10/04 12:51 PM:

> Steve Calvin wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> If doing this I'd recommend the addition of a Tilia Foodsaver vacuum
>> sealer as well.
>>
>
> For a bachelor starter kit?? I have been cooking for more than three decades
> and
> never found a special food saver tool necessary. It might be a handy thing to
> have
> if you are into gadgets but I would have thought that a basic started kit
> would put
> something like that way, way, way down the list of priorities.
>
>

YEAH , I gotta agree with that one.
Otherwise you wind up eating the same damn thing day after day after day.
Cooking for one is a drag. But it beats relying on commercially prepared
frozen dinners.

A vacuum sealer is a great investment for a single person, because you can
divide up the larger packages of food you always seem to find for low sale
prices and not have any waste.

My suggestion for a bachelor's Starter kit:

A cast iron skillet (from a second hand shop or yard sale, already
seasoned!)
A Box of assorted Farberware pots and pans
A non-stick 8 inch skillet (for eggs)
A black and white speckled covered roasting pan (not too big)
Spatula, assorted wooden spoons, a large slotted spoon, wire whisk, tongs.
8 inch chef's knife
small paring knife
cutting board (plastic or wooden)
vegetable peeler
vacuum sealer system

as for groceries, it really all depends on what you like to eat.
Spices....I wouldn't get the stuff from the dollar stores b/c they really
have no flavor. You're better off at a place like Trader Joes or buying from
the supermarket, if you don't want to go the Penzey's route.
Basic ones to keep on hand, you will use all the time:
Garlic and onion powder, basil, oregano, a nice "Italian herb" blend.
An all purpose seasoned salt, kosher salt and a pepper mill. Again, depends
on what you like to eat.

What you really need to go with your new pots and pans is a good, simple
cookbook. I recommend Better homes and Gardens, the one with the red and
white plaid cover. From there, you can figure out what groceries you need
to keep in the house, based on what you like to eat.

Things that I keep in my house:
assorted frozen vegetables
assorted pasta shapes
canned tomatoes
jarred or canned spaghetti sauce
peanut butter
jelly
Rice
Instant mashed potatoes
Egg noodles, different widths
onion soup mix
instant chicken soup (or cans of chicken and beef broth)
cans of soup, including 1-2 cream of mushroom
I always keep a stouffer's single serving vegetable lasagna and a couple
single serving frozen pizzas. For those nights when I get home starving and
want to eat, but not cook.

I use stuff like onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup every once in
awhile, but it's good to keep on hand. I know people eschew cream of
mushroom soup here, but it's easy and it works, and sometimes that's what
you need. For a simple meal, cooked egg noodles or rice, frozen veggies, a
can of cream of mushroom soup, and some leftover chicken, turkey, ham or a
can of tuna and you have something tasty and filling, and you can eat it for
lunches the rest of the week. Like I said, it's not something you do
everyday, but once in awhile, it's exactly what you want.

You really have to follow your tastebuds on this stuff.
But get yourself a good recipe book and you will have a place to start from.

in article , at
wrote on 12/21/04 4:37:

> On Sat, 11 Dec 2004 01:12:00 -0500, Ed Nuxters > wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 08 Dec 2004 20:03:35 -0600, Levelwave© >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Ed Nuxters wrote:
>>>
>>>> Well,.. I'm finally living all alone. I'm making some simple chicken
>>>> for now, but eventually I want to make something better. What should
>>>> I get to have in my cabinets? Spices and stuff like that. Just a
>>>> general cooking ingredients type deal.
>>>
>>>
>>> For a bachelor? Lots and lots of beer of course. Duh!
>>>
>>> ~john
>>
>> I've got that covered! Beck's! Pricey but the best!
>
>
> I am an expreienced bachelor. This is whats in my fridge.
>
> Three 12 packs of beer. All are missing a few cans
> Two 12 packs of soda, one is Coke, the other is Mountain Dew
> 3 liter bottles of flavored soda
> 1 box of baking soda (not sure why I got that, i think it came with
> the fridge when I rented this place)
> 1 bottle of ketchup
> 1 jar mustard
> 1 bottle of mayonaise (moldy too)
> 1 jar of whole pickles (without any more pickles)
> 1 jar of sliced sweet pickles
> 1 fresh loaf of white bread
> 1 stale and moldy loaf of wheat bread
> 1 empty box of generic margarine
> 1 empty beer mug
> 1 bag of some sort of green slime (used to be a salad)
> 1 jar of peanut butter
> 2 empty jelly jars with a teeny tiny amount of jelly left
> 1 almost empty bottle of pancake syrup
> 3 dirty plates with forks (when you dont want to wash em, stick em in
> the fridge, that way you can just use em again without washing em.
> 1 dried up cup of coffee from last April or so
> An egg carton with 2 eggs (the carton says use by May 2002)
> Another can of beer that I just found way in back
> A bottle of Jack Daniels with less than a shot left
> Some sort of goo in a plastic container that really stinks
> One half pound of cheese that has totally dried up
> A styrofoam thing with some ground beef that has turned green and
> stinks
> A couple more forks and spoons laying in the pool pf water on the
> bottom of the fridge
> A rotten apple, or it might be an orange
> A couple of cookies that fell in the pool of water and got nasty
> and finally, a McDonalds hamburger I forgot I put in there last June
> or July
>
> ---
>
> I was going to tell you whats in the freezer. but it looks like
> everything turned into snow or is it called frost. I cant see any of
> the food that was in here.
>
> I hope this helps.
>
> PS. I just noticed there is a plastic bag on top of the fridge with
> some dried up banannas.
>
>
I love it!

While I have little in my own fridge, and consequently little to spoil, I
found your post amusing.

However, you KNOW it's a sad state of affairs when you can recall the
contents of your fridge off the top of your head.

Dieter Zakas

Ed,

I'm a bachelor that likes to cook so I think I have some good
suggestions for you.

1. What do you like to eat? What have you made for yourself previously?
I'm of Irish descent so potatoes and all their variations are a
necessity. Same goes for pasta. Atkins is not in my dictionary. Put
together a list of what you actually eat and look on foodtv.com and find
out what ingredients and how much you need to prepare enough for your needs.

2. Let everybody know your out living on your own now. I got lots of
"hand me downs" to get me going in my new home. Ask for what you need or
want for your birthday and Christmas.

3. Only buy what you need. Don't get spice sets, knife sets, etc. Going
to the store frequently to pick up just what your going to use that day
is much more useful than spending hours in a store trying to imagine
every dish your gonna make that month. (Been there, done that. Lots of
wasted food and money and I still needed to make trips every other day
to get stuff I forgot.) You will accumulate what you actually use.

4. Buy good stuff when you do purchase. I bought a 6" Wusthof chef's
knife just recently. The super knife set I was given as a housewarming
gift had got me along for 10 years. I tried the Chef's knife at a local
cooking school and I found it was really worth the $50. (So much
expensive stuff nowadays is just marketing B.S., I like to try stuff
hands on and see if they really do what I want them to do.)

5. I recommend stainless pots and pans. Skip the non-stick stuff. When I
stir or scrape something in a pan I don't want to worry about damaging
the finish. When I forget to turn off the stove (electric) and burn the
remains of a meal in a pan I want to use steel wool or oven cleaner to
clean it.

6. Get a dog. They are great for disposing of what didn't turn out quite
right or if you have prepared too much and don't like leftovers. Most
recipies are for more than one person and it's difficult to size the
recipes for only one serving. Unless you have burnt things to a crisp,
Fido will be very appreciative and supportive of your cooking.

7. Skip the toys. Do you really need a mixer? A food processor? A
electric can opener? A pasta roller and cutter? A toaster oven?

I enjoy playing with my Cuisinart food processor but it was a Christmas
gift. I could (and often do) chop up stuff on a cutting board instead.
I do have a mixer as I like to make cookies and is necessary for the
mashed potatoes I seem to need at least twice a week. Borrow these toys
from friends and relatives and see if they really meet your needs. I
borrowed a bread maker and determined after one loaf and a batch of
doughnut dough that I wasn't too interested in it. Just look at the
Goodwill kitchen appliance area (or EBAY) and see how many of these toys
are just sitting in their owners kitchen.

Hope this gives you some good ideas.

Bart


Ed Nuxters wrote:
> Well,.. I'm finally living all alone. I'm making some simple chicken
> for now, but eventually I want to make something better. What should
> I get to have in my cabinets? Spices and stuff like that. Just a
> general cooking ingredients type deal.

--
Bart D. Hull

Tempe, Arizona

Check http://www.inficad.com/~bdhull/engine.html
for my Subaru Engine Conversion
Check http://www.inficad.com/~bdhull/fuselage.html
for Tango II I'm building.

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