The Mystical Asexual

Simple chicken dumpling and rice soup:

A very gentle recipe - one of my favorites when food is hard. The only prep is mixing the spices and chopping the garlic and carrots, but you can buy pre-chopped to reduce the time/energy. You can also substitute the chicken broth with vegetable broth to make it vegetarian.

Makes one very large bowl or two small bowls:

Approximately half a cup of chopped or shredded carrots

Quarter cup of brown rice

A few minced garlic cloves (or a large spoonful of pre-minced garlic)

2 cups of chicken broth

Frozen dumplings (amount depends on size and preference)

Seasoning (all amounts to taste - this is just a suggestion):

A generous teaspoon of miso

A generous tablespoon of soy sauce

(Pinch of thyme)

(Pinch of sage)

Mix the seasoning together in advance to form a slurry. This will stop the miso from clumping up in the pot.

Dump seasoning, carrots, rice, garlic, and chicken broth together in a large saucepan and cover with a lid.

Bring to a boil (turn the stove to high or medium high) then reduce to simmer (lower the temperature of the stove so that bubbles continue to regularly appear at the top of the liquid, but the bubbles are small and the liquid isn't moving a lot below the bubbles). (If the pot threatens to overflow due to boiling, remove the lid and remove the pot from the burner until it cools a bit.)

Cook until the rice is done - generally approximately half an hour. (The longer you cook it, the softer the rice will be; eventually it will become mushy.) (If you aren't sure if it's done, taste it.)

Add frozen dumplings and cook until done (instructions should be on the package, but generally 2-5 minutes. If they will take longer to cook, add before the rice is finished cooking. You may need to turn the temperature up to bring the pot back to a simmer).

Cool and then consume. If you don't mind the rice turning a bit mushy, you can leave what you don't eat on the stove to reheat later.

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Sauteed vegetable with noodles

I usually eat this at least twice a week. I'm going to give the seasoning mix I use, but you can add literally anything you want.

Makes a large meal for one person

1-3 tablespoons of olive oil (depends on preference and size of the pan)

Several minced garlic cloves (I usually do 4-8 depending on the size, but I really like garlic)

Approximately 1/3 of an onion, chopped fine

Vegetable of your choice, chopped. I usually use either asparagus (approximately half a pound) or zucchini (one medium zucchini)(skin on)(also remember to rinse your veggies first). You can chop them to whatever size you prefer; the only thing to remember is that the bigger they are, the more time they will take to cook, and the more pronounced texture difference there will be between the outside of the veggie (more cooked) and inside (less cooked).

Pasta of your choice (I usually make what amounts to 1.5 to 2 cups cooked - so usually (depending on the kind of pasta) .5-1 cup dry.) You can also you pre-made stuffed pasta, like ravioli or tortellini, instead.

Grated or shredded cheese of your choice (I usually use parmesan)

Seasoning (again, this is just what I use most commonly, you can do whatever you want. You can also use a pre-made spice mix):

Salt

Pepper

Thyme

Oregano

Basil

Marjoram

Citrus of some sort (usually lemon peel or lime powder)

Amounts of the spice are to-taste. If you don't have a lot of experience cooking, smell each herb before you add it. It's also easier to add more later than to remove too much seasoning, so it's safer to add a little than a lot. (If you don't have experience cooking and need a reference for a "little" and a "lot": for a recipe this size, dried spices and herbs are usually measured in full or fractions of teaspoons; fresh herbs in tablespoon(s).)

Coat the bottom of saucepan in olive oil. (Again, if you don't have much experience - oil adds flavor, which is great, but will also make the dish oily if you have to much. When you hear, "coat the bottom of a pan," think more, "thick coat of paint" than "standing puddle of liquid.") (You also can use a different kind of oil if you prefer the flavor, or butter - however, if you use butter, because it has a much lower melting point than oil, you will need to be more careful not to burn your veggies.)

Fill the pasta pot with water (and a pinch of salt) and start heating the water.

Add the chopped onion and minced garlic and cook on low-heat (stirring or shaking the pan occasionally to ensure an even cook) until the onions start to turn translucent.

Add the chopped vegetable and seasoning of your choice. Stir. Cook on medium heat until done, stirring or shaking the pan occasionally to ensure an even cook. (Time will depend on the size you chopped the veg and your preferred texture, but generally between 5-10 minutes. The longer you cook them, the softer they will be.) (If you want more of a steamed texture, you can also cover the pan with a lid for a portion of the cooktime - around 6 minutes. I usually do this for more watery veg like zucchini. Remove the lid and continue to cook them for a few minutes afterword, to boil off the excess water.)

Whenever your pasta water boils, add pasta and cook until done (time depending on which pasta you choose and how tender you like the pasta).