On Mon, 20 Dec 2010 12:13:39 -0800, "Julie Bove"
> wrote:

>
>"sf" > wrote in message
.. .
>> On Sun, 19 Dec 2010 15:38:51 -0800, "Julie Bove"
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> Probably the easiest to cook for is 4 or 6. Things tend to come in those
>>> amounts. Not all things of course. But a lot of things. I think 8
>>> would
>>> be the next easiest because you can buy things in bulk.
>>
>> I buy most things in bulk. Perishables, like boneless chicken pieces,
>> are packaged in 2 person portions and frozen for later. I just don't
>> buy into the "cooking for two is harder" theory. Either you calculate
>> an average of what you estimate each person will eat and buy what you
>> need or you throw a whole bunch of food in your cart and cook it. One
>> method produces a lot of leftovers, the other doesn't - and your
>> attitude toward leftovers will influence your shopping personality.
>>
>> --
>
>Then what about things like salad? Unless you are lucky enough to have a
>store that sells things like greens in bulk (and you can just buy the amount
>you need), you will have a lot of leftovers if you want a salad that
>contains a lot of things. I have yet to see a store that sells one green
>onion. Or six cherry tomatoes. This is why we often buy salad from the
>salad bar. Costs a lot more but much less waste.
>
>I even buy from the salad bar when I am making a pasta salad or meatloaf.
>Otherwise I have either a ton of food or a ton of leftover vegetables.

Any garden salads I prepare at home are of the "chef salad" genre, the
salad is pretty much the entire meal, may also accompany a bowl of
soup and crackers/bread. I may place a bit of lettuce and a couple
slices of tomato on a ham sandwich but I'm not going through prepping
ten kinds of veggies, a little of this/a little of that, just to make
a saucerful of salad that I can scoff down with four forkfuls... yoose
want a salad as a widdle side dish dine out, at home my salad is my
meal. Just about every week I prepare a 24 cup bowl chock full of
garden salad, at serving I often add pasta, cheese, canned beans,
tuna, cold cuts, chicken, sardines, etc... something different each
day until it's all gone. The produce will stay just-made fresh at
least four days when tossed with the juice of a fresh lemon or lime,
or even a splash of vinegar. I don't remember ever having to toss any
due to spoilage. Yummy: http://i56.tinypic.com/rldfn9.jpg