I love cooking for myself because the pressure of others' tastebuds and schedules is completely removed. All I have to worry about is the cooking itself, and it's such a delight. The only drawback (but is it really a drawback?) are the abundance of leftovers I often find billowing out of the freezer and fridge in the aftermath.

I love cooking for myself.... and others! :)

I love cooking for myself because I love being able to prove to the world that being single in the kitchen doesn't mean living on ramen and frozen dinners.

There is something incredibly satisfying about having a dinner that could have easily come out of a restaurant, but it came out of *my* kitchen.

I consider cooking for myself a great experiment in finding new dishes to entertain friends.

I started really cooking in college, when boring internships allowed me to waste time on the internet trolling for recipes. Some of the best "college traditions" i have include staying in the dorm during Thanksgiving break, thrilled to have the place to myself (free from my 4 roommates) and spending those few relaxed days shopping and cooking. Full Thanksgiving meals (with cornish hens substituting for turkeys) with all the sides and trimmings were assembled in a 4'x6' kitchen, and then lazily enjoyed, watching tv and enjoying the overall silence.

This Thanksgiving? Same plan. The boyfriend will be at his parent's house and i will be breaking in my new kitchen in my new apartment with a full Thanksgiving spread (with leftovers for weeks). That way i can guarantee that no one will steal the drumstick. :)

Cooking for myself tends to fall into one of two categories:

Relatively utilitarian (produces enough for plenty of leftovers, cheap, nutritious — something like a big pot of lentil soup, for example);

Or pure hedonistic pleasure, either taste-wise (amaretto-soaked cherries swirled into homemade chocolate ice cream) or for the joy of the process (making risotto, kneading dough, forming dozens of tiny meatballs to put in a pot of tomato sauce).

Cooking for myself gives me the freedom of trial and lots and lots of error. It's funny, though -- even the big mistakes still taste better to me than about 90% of the meals I've ever eaten in restaurants.

Since there's usually someone around who wants to eat whatever I'm making, cooking for myself tends to focus on individual desserts. If not, I'm making larger meals and freezing leftovers - when you spend most of your time cooking for two or three, the habit goes away slowly. Besides, I like having the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Cooking for one means using as much garlic and anchovies as I want!

I hated cooking for myself. It just never seemed worth it. I made elaborate meals for my family growing up but ate a lot of peanut butter and jam sandwiches once I left home. When I met my husband I found a very appreciative audience for my creativity and rediscovered my love of cooking. I guess, as The Cars say, I needed someone to feed.

I live with my fiance, so I don't always have to cook for myself (in fact, sometimes it seems like I have to cook for 4 people just to keep him properly fed). However, on those occasions when he is traveling for weeks at a time for business, I find myself at a loss for what to eat. I hate most frozen dinners, and it seems like a waste to make up an entire recipe if I'm going to have to throw most of it away (or end up eating it every day for a week). Usually, I just throw up my hands and make some pasta or buy a bag of lettuce. Or worse, I pick up fast food on my way home from work. I would love to find some great tips for preparing quick, healthy meals for one.

My usual solo meal is a perfect fried egg sandwich--my husband hates eggs, so I eat them alone. But the last time I was cooking for just myself I made mirza, a persian eggplant dip, which seems particularly appropriate for this prize!

I live by myself so I frequently cook alone. I find it be very relaxing and rewarding.

I love when I have the opportunity to cook for myself because I can cook whatever I want... cooking for my boyfriend requires we have a "square" meal. If it's just me, no one cares if it is a dinner of side dishes or un-matching ethnicities.

I always prefer cooking for someone else. When I cook for myself, though, I tend to use less butter, less oil, and more vegetables. When it's just you, it doesn't have to taste outstanding, just good and maybe a little healthy. Having said that, I've also eaten many dinner that consisted of a fried egg - over salad, over toast, over rice - or garlic butter noodles. Cooking for myself is usually simple so as not to use too many pans... because I'd be the one washing them!

i probably cook for myself 95% of the time. i like it because it's just for me, adusted to my taste. eating out is a bigger problem since i don't want to eat in a restaurant alone but i guess it saves me money in the end!

I learned how to cook for my family, so my easy dishes all serve five, plus leftovers. I have a really hard time scaling down now that I'm on my own, so I end up eating a lot of cereal.
Recently, my friends and I have started having a regular game nights. So I'll have an outlet for my family-sized meals again.

i love cooking for as many people as possible, but the boy won't always eat his veggies; especially not eggplant. i need to learn how to cook small portions so the veggies won't rot!

I cook for myself because my roommate's idea of gourmet is a digiorno pizza. Yet I still haven't mastered the single portion, and alway have too many leftovers and an overflowing freezer.

I'm with Amanda Hesser -- nothing relaxes me more than grocery shopping. Well.. unless it would be cooking. But the shopping starts the process.
And Julia -- I'm with you. I have an overflowing freezer too. I can't grasp the concept of single portions apparently.

I don't often 'cook' for myself — I pull together hodgepodge meals of steamed broccoli and fried egg on toast, or a nice kale salad over brown rice — but every once in a while I put the time in to cook a full meal. I love going all-out when I do cook for myself, although the results are often so good I wish there was someone I could share them with! And when the results are not-so-good (tofu "fishsticks"? bad idea), well, it's only me.

i find that i am stuck with trader joes frozen veggies because they keep longer than fresh produce, same goes for meat products. i never know quite what to do to them to make them interesting, so i eat a lot of plain old boring reheated tasting meals... i would love to find some recipies for one that use FRESH ingredients and that would yield some tasty leftovers. free me from my microwave please!

I am, what you could call, an optimistic solo cook. 12 servings? No problem, I'll eat that later...I still haven't learned my lesson.

When I moved into my last apartment, I had a hankering for curry, and made the full recipe. Stubbornly, I didn't freeze any, and just ate it every day. Every. Day. I think the curry spices started to leak out of my pores. (Luckily I wasn't working at the time.) Eventually I finished it (or tossed it, I can't remember), and promised to Never Do That Again, but I keep finding recipes for things like lasagna, stews, and roast chicken, and what's the fun of doing a half portion of that? I am (getting) better about freezing things though!

I love cooking for myself because I can make the things that I love and make them the way I choose. I'm always looking for new and creative ways to combine vegetables. And on those nights I don't feel like cooking, I can pop in a great microwaveable dinner.

I recently started living alone again and I gotta say, I love love LOVE the fact that there's no one else eating my leftovers. Squidlette--I'm with you on the cooking multiple servings deal. And also, like you (it seems), I can cheerfully eat the same thing for every meal and not get bored. Plus, if whatever I make turns out badly, there's no one to know but me...

I love cooking because as an architect it takes years to to finish a project. But as a cook, i have instant gratification upon completion of a "project".

if you don't get the giveaway... go get the book anyway. it is positively hilarious and wonderful.

I live alone and cook for myself all the time. There's something very liberating about cooking playing whatever tunes you want as loud as you want, wearing men's CK boxer briefs and picking out of the pan with your fingers.

I live alone so I cook for myself almost every night. Some nights I go all out and make a huge meal for myself complete with dessert. Other nights I eat cheese and crackers. What I like about cooking for just myself is that I can have whatever I want, I don't have to worry about what other people will like. Plus I get to treat myself as a guinea pig and try out new recipes without have to worry about spoiling everyone else's meal.

I never understand the thought of not cooking because you're cooking for one. I'm usually cooking for two [or more], but on those occasions I'm alone, I enjoy cooking precisely what I want to eat when I want to eat it. And when I've cooked for one for extended periods, I generally cook for two anyway and treat the leftovers as a future dinner or lunch.

It's exhausting is what it is. 90% of the time I don't enjoy eating the fruit of my labor.

On the rare occasions I get to cook for just myself, it's great to not have to cater to anyone's tastes but my own. I actually tend to make healthier recipes when I'm on my own, because no one will complain that there's no meat, no cheese, etc. Spinach and chickpea curry is my personal favorite "home alone" food.

I've just moved into my first place without roommates and it's so hard to go home and cook for myself rather than going out to dinner with friends, but I really want to get back into my kitchen!

I love cooking for myself, it lets me experiment with all the weird stuff I get in my CSA box (yay okra!) and use as much or as little of my most and least favorite ingredients (yay garlic!) without anyone saying, aghast, "You don't like ____?!?!" or "You forgot the ____" which is so annoying, when I that was exactly the way I wanted to do it. Or maybe I was by the seat of my pants, whatever.

I live alone and don't cook for myself as much as I would like. However when I do, I have such a feeling of accomplishment. Additionally, I also like to cook to experiment with recipes so should I have company over I'll have tested a recipe or two before I spring it on them!

upside: no complaints
downside: no one to do the dishes

I like to cook for myself because then you can eat not only what you want but when you want. And for me, the most fun time to eat is just past midnight.

But you see, I wanted to be Julia Child, with an adoring husband and a large grocery budget, and lots of smart witty friends with vague, important jobs. We'd eat elegant little dinners by candle-light, and drink the local vino, while telling droll stories about shopping for food in the open markets of Kuala Lumpur, Madrid, or Diego Garcia.

I love cooking for myself - no complaints, no overwhelming portions, and no one to laugh at me as I dance around the kitchen cooking dinner. The only downside is the mountain of leftovers if you don't modify the recipe....

cooking alone gets rather lonely. i'm often tempted just to scavenge from the fridge.

Over the years, cooking for only myself has almost always meant a big bowl of pasta. Besides an unabashed love of pasta, it was mostly laziness and a reluctance to spend the time needed to make anything more involved. Oddly enough, it's only since I started food blogging this year that I actually cook anything that requires more than just boiling water when I'm eating alone. Somehow, cooking for one becomes more like cooking for a crowd when I know there are others out there in the blogosphere reading about what I make on a daily basis.

I enjoy cooking for myself; though I do love when friends drop by unexpectedly to see what I'm making and have some. Consequently, I usually make enough for several people. If no one stops by, I either have lunch for the next day, or give a container to one of my coworkers.

I like Jeremy's quote above... I currently have no tv either, and cooking has become my "entertainment"!

I love cooking, and I live by myself (well, as "alone" as a college dorm can be) so I do a lot of solo cooking. Sometimes it's fun-- I can cook all sorts of crazy things that no one else would want to eat. And I'm definately an alpha chef, so it's nice not to have to worry about anyone else in the kitchen. However, sometimes it's a bit depressing. That's why I usually try to plate my food really nicely and blog about it.

I love to cook, but found that I couldn't cook for myself. When I had friends come by I would cook elaborate meals and find happiness in feeding them. When forced to eat alone my meals would often consist of chips and salsa, or more often, nothing at all. Luckily, As I've become more comfortable in myself and in living on my own, I've come to enjoy cooking for myself and although I still would rather have company than eat alone, I often make elaborate meals for myself now. I always use my favorite dishes and often have a glass of wine. It has definitely turned into a form of meditation for myself.

I am not single, but I do most of the cooking around here. I would love to win this book though for my oldest daughter. She is 19 and although she lives at home right now, she may soon have a kitchen of her own and would need a book like this.

I moved into my own apartment a little over a month ago. For the first time, I'm living without roommates (just me and a cat) and without a TV. The change in my at-home habits is amazing. Aside from wasting less time vegging on the couch, and reading more blogs, I'm cooking for myself so much more. I always bring my lunch to work, so I cook a *lot*, and I love it. Eggs in the morning, a stir-fry for dinner, experiments with a food processor (hummus and pesto so far) for lunch - I love the connection I'm building with what I eat, and the meditative time it carves our of every day.

I am usually cooking for myself and my wife. On the rare occasions when I am just cooking for me I like to make things that she would normally pass on, it either ends up being something really spicy, really labor intensive and long to make or something really bad for my heart (like a nice big rare steak with sauteed mushrooms and onions)

Julie ("Cooking for myself gives me the freedom of trial and lots and lots of error...") is our randomly selected winner. Thanks, all! Look for this week's giveaway on Thursday.

There's nothing quite as satisfying as bringing home a bagful of fresh produce from the market, washing and chopping them, and contemplating my mise en place. No matter how rough a day I've had, when I come home and begin to cook, my energy level immediately rises, my cheeks become rosier, and life is good again. I turn on some good music, poor myself a glass of wine, and cook for myself like I would for a roomful of guests. It's pure therapy.

Proud to be a solo-cooker. Now I just need some fresh ideas.