i once read something about Michael Jordan that said that he was somewhat insecure growing up as many of us are, so he took home economic courses because he thought that he would be alone as an adult and need to cook for himself in the future. from the man who would own a chain of steak houses.
im not for now going to go into my state of solitude (by now it's a vast empire of solitude, haha), that's for another blast. but having it for so many years, it's interesting in what i've needed to learn as far as care and skills, like cooking. people like my father was married pretty young, had a wife that cooked, and never learned, and even in his older age, i think the only dish he knows how to cook is eggs and soup.
so i may be throwing some "recipes" out here and there, just ones that i kind of learned to cook by myself, out of necessity, having little money, but wanting some taste (literally) and nutrition. yes, it is a bit of an extension of the stereotypical Irish catch all recipe of "tro it in the pot en boil it", but again it serves a need. so here's one:
i love cooked carrots. depending on how soggy you want them (i like not hard, semi soggy), the earlier they're in the water, the soggier. so i boil 'em, but mix them with a pasta, hopefully a whole grain. cook it with salt, depending on taste. you don't need a ton. boil for right time, but at the end, you don't drain the water down the sink (by the way, if you didn't add salt/carrots, drain the water down the sink with salt and baking soda to de- clog your drain). you catch the water in a dish, cup etc, and you have a nice broth. this goes with other vegetables too like broccoli (pasta primevera and broth).
a bit of taste, and you still consume the vitamins lost during cooking (for the record, carrots have lots of vitamin a, which is necessary to keep away night blindness. otherwise they're not particularly healthy for vision). so again you have a vegetable, grain, healthy broth. carrots are cheap and nutritious, pasta somewhat, etc.
