Rodney makes some great suggestions in his last post. Definitely build a pantry you can use in a pinch (when your fresh food runs out). Some suggestions to build on the ones he's already made: a jar of capers, a jar or two of artichoke hearts, and tons of tinned tomatoes. Lemons last a long time, buy a couple and keep them on hand. Get yourself a Microplane (
www.microplane.com)--it's a huge help in any kind of cooking. It does everything from zesting lemons to grating cheese depending on the kind you get. Oh, and garlic! You must have garlic and onions on hand. Get yourself some good cheeses, and what you aren't going to use right away--freeze.
Our favorite pantry pasta recipe:
Any kind of pasta (I like shaped pastas, my boyfriend likes noodles), cooked al dente
1 can stewed tomatoes (crush the tomatoes a bit in a bowl before putting over the pasta)
a sprinkle of feta cheese
Pantry Pasta 2:
pasta
garlic, minced
butter
and a healthy dose of good-quality parmigiano reggiano
I like to brown the butter--gives it a nice nutty flavor and really gets the garlic going. If you do make it with brown butter, you could add spinach and nuts (walnuts or hazelnuts) to make high pasta (this requires a LOT of garlic!).
A little bit of lemon juice, butter, and capers also makes a great sauce for pasta.
Another suggestion: baked potatoes. Easy to make for one, and you can dress them up however you like. Quesadillas are easily done solo, especially if you have a George Foreman. And even if you aren't vegetarian, a good veggie burger can make a good fallback meal.
With a good pantry built up, there is a lot you can do, and you'll never go hungry.