Dinner for One, Please

So my beautiful Madeleina went off to college on the 12th of August, or the 13th. She didn't go far, just too far to commute at about 60 miles. So I was going to be alone. But my friend Hector came into town and stayed till Monday afternoon, maybe 17 days. During that time he completely redid my web page/pages. So it's all good. And while he was here, some other people came as well, so I was never alone at dinner and actually had to make good meals daily, plus a few breakfasts. And when Madeleina came home for a night or two on the weekend, well, I cooked normally, which means I cooked for maybe 6-8 people a night, knowing that Chepa and the babies might show up, or Italo and Sarah and Taylor Rain, or friends or whatnot. And if nobody ate the food, they might stop by the next day and have some for lunch. Last resort? It went into the dogs' bowls.
     But Hector left Monday, and so I've had three nights of being alone. The first night I cheated: I bought some sushi--just a couple of rolls--and a great seaweed salad and that was dinner. Last night I treated myself to a ribeye, sauteed screaming hot so that it would be a sort of black and red, topped with a bit of good quality crumbled bleu cheese and served with a nice romaine salad--with organic cherub tomatoes and a good balsamic vinagrette (thank you again, Christie E), and spinach with garlic. No need for starch with all that meat.
    Today I wasn't sure, but finally settled on the hidden guinea--New York Italian, all respect--part of me, even though I'm Irish. I bought 12 ounces of the hottest sausages I could find. They're in a pot of water now, stabbed with a sharp knive several times to allow the excess fat to be eliminated. Then I got one large organic red bell pepper and two organic greens. They are cleaned and cut lengthwise. I have a beautiful sweet purple onion, chopped garlic in olive oil and three nice Roma tomatoes.
    When the fat is rendered from the sausage, I'll drain them, then cut them into circles, put them in a very hot saute pan with olive oil and garlic and brown them. Then I'll add the onions, peppers, and finally the tomatoes, cut into thin wedges, lengthwise. Stir, add some pepper, and voila: You got Mike the Hat's recipe for Sausage and Peppers. Now Mike would have put all that on Italian bread, but considering I'm feeling fat, I'll put mine on a bed of sauteed spinach and eat it with a nice salad. I'll have a glas of wine: I'm drinking a Cabernet blend called Rare Red Grape 4 Blend, from California which is out of this world for $8 bucks.
   Then I'll turn on a movie. One I like because no one is arguing with me or having better suggestions. Last night I watched Fletch, with Chevy Chase as the off-beat detective Fletcher. Tonight? Who knows. Maybe an Ingmar Bergman.
   But that's living alone: You have to decide on your food, make your food, serve yourself, clean up and nobody says thanks. I mean, I say thanks to the universe that I can afford to eat. Thanks that I have choices and breath and a few teeth to chew with, but nobody is saying "Gorman, this was freaking incredible" unless me looking into a mirror counts.
   I hope you all eat well tonight. Prepare your food with focus, cook it well, enjoy it, let it make you strong.