Читать книгу Vegan Cooking for One: Over 150 simple and appetizing meals - Leah Leneman - Страница 8

Recipes in standard cookery books often call for 1 onion or 2 onions, which is a bit meaningless since one can buy onions as small as 2 oz (55g) or as large as 8 oz (225g). When I specify a ‘small onion’ I mean 2–4 oz (55–115g). It is usually quite easy to find onions of this size, but if your local shop only has large ones you can chop off this amount, wrap the remainder in clingfilm and store it in a fridge until onion is required for another recipe. Garlic cloves are also very variable in size; if the only kind available seems large enough to flavour a dish for four people then this too can be quartered with the remainder wrapped in clingfilm and stored in the fridge (though it’s a good idea to put an extra plastic bag round it to keep the fridge from reeking of garlic). When a recipe calls for a small carrot I mean 2–3 oz (55–85g); a small green pepper is about 6 oz (170g), a small courgette (zucchini) 3–4 oz (85–115g).

Certain vegetables are more awkward for one person to use, for example cauliflower. I have tried always to incorporate such vegetables into more than one recipe in a week’s menu so that you are not left with a large chunk of it in the fridge with no idea what to do with it. Celery is a particular nuisance I find because a little of it goes very nicely in some dishes but as a whole head is difficult to use up. Spring onions (scallions) are arguably in the same category except that they will keep in the fridge for some weeks.

I know that some single people prefer to keep a stock of frozen vegetables, but I can’t see the point when it is easier (and a lot cheaper) to buy half a dozen fresh Brussels sprouts than to pull out the same number of frozen ones. The only exception I make is green beans or peas when they are out of season.