Supper for One

I remember hearing a piece on the radio about the book What We Eat When We Eat Alone and thought the idea was pretty interesting. The book, by Deborah Madison and Patrick McFarlin, contains both stories and recipes. You can imagine: some people are accustomed to eating alone and either relish it or not; others take a meal alone as a chance to eat something their dining partners dislike or to enjoy a secret indulgence. Sometimes it may be as simple as takeout, leftovers, or cold cereal.

I don’t eat alone often, especially not for supper. When I’m alone for lunch I almost never cook. This time, I decided to make myself an easy but hearty meal.

This was easy because I simply steamed a couple of red potatoes, cooked up some kale, and the sausages were almost ready to go. I make big batches of sausages along the lines of the chorizo in Vegan Brunch and keep them in my freezer. Pop one out, thaw it, then split it in half and brown it in a skillet and devour. I doused everything with a mustard-Vegenaise sauce that’s heavy on the dijon and poured most generously over the sausage.

If you want to hear the interview, it was on The Splendid Table and you can listen here. I haven’t read the book, but there is a video advertisement for it on the Amazon page that introduces the book as contrasting what you eat when you’re alone with what we talk about being healthy. That kind of reality-television twist on what was initially interesting decreases my desire to read the book. So instead, I’ll ask you.

Whether you’re accustomed to eating alone, perhaps enjoying saltines and jelly over the sink like Carrie in Sex and the City, or it’s a rare occurrence that you dread or love, what do you eat when you eat alone?