Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant

Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone 

edited by Jenni Ferrari-Adler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have been on a bit of an essay binge lately and this title (which was added to my TBR as part of NonFicNov) fit right in. There wasn't a dud in this collection of essays by various writers on the theme of dining/cooking alone. 

My favorites were:

•  'Wild Chili' by Dan Chaon which begins in his childhood home in Nebraska where his Mom makes a chili much like the one my Mom made in my childhood home in Nebraska. I have also made my Mom's chili my own over the years, but in a very different direction than Chaon went.
• The short story 'The Year of Spaghetti' by Haruki Murakami. He is one of my favorite writers and this short piece was very typical of his work.
• 'The Legend of the Salsa Rosa' by Ben Karlin which was a multi-part story, complete with footnotes, and was very funny. Also, the recipe sounds delicious. 
• 'Potatoes and Love: Some Reflections' by Nora Ephron. It was full of lines I want to remember--possibly all of them. I will share just one quote:

"Nothing like mashed potatoes when you're feeling blue. ... The problem with mashed potatoes, though, is that they require almost as much hard work as crisp potatoes, and when you're feeling blue the last thing you feel like is hard work. Of course, you can always get someone to make the mashed potatoes for you, but let's face it: the reason you're blue is that there isn't anyone to make them for you. As a result, most people do not have nearly enough mashed potatoes in their lives, and when they do, it's almost always at the wrong time." -- N. Ephron, 'Potatoes and Love'