15 Recipes to Make When You Just Feel like Cooking

Sometimes, it just feels good to cook. It keeps your fingers moving and your brain focused. It makes your house smell good. It makes you feel productive. The eating part? It doesn’t always matter that much. (We realize this sentiment is not true for those who only cook to eat. To you, I say, make this, and see if you don’t smile.)

These are 15 recipes to cook, even when you don’t have anyone to feed. They’re a joy to make, and good for a few days so you can work through them yourself—or have until someone does show up, hungry.

Grind spices. Simmer with shallots. Lemongrass. Coconut milk. Bubble Bubble. Lime squeeze. Ahhhh...

Knead dough for 20 minutes. Chop chop chop cabbage. Roll dough, stuff, pinch, plop into hot water. Ahh...

Roll, cut, roll off a knife. Ah!

Chop chop so many vegetables. Lay them out to relax on a baking sheet. Scatter beans on top, swirl them around. Pretty pomegranate jewels. Arugula tendrils. Ah!

De-stem the kale, squeeze every dab of water out of it after it's been blanched, break it up in a pan with garlic and chile—rosemary and onion. Watch it turn from green to black. Ahhh.

Make an herb bouquet garni. Tuck a bit of sage in squash bellies. Roast. Add roasted squash to a whole bunch of simmering vegetables and alliums. Simmer, simmer, blend. Make brown butter, add it to the soup. Fry sage. Ahhh.

Hack up so many alliums and vegetables, precision isn't important. Dump them in a pot with herbs and beans, boil boil boil. Ahhh...

Grate lots of potatoes, let them sit in salt. Let the potato slivers sizzle in a hot pan. Flip with focus. Look at those golden brown potatoes. Slice and top with all sorts of toppings. Ahhh!

Make your favorite pizza dough. Press them into balls, let them fry—one by one. Dip the fried dough (repeat, fried dough) in anything you can find. Ahhh.

Peel orange after orange. Get every bit of pith off. Slice oranges into little coins, collecting their vibrant juices. Arrange artfully on a plate. Ahhh...

Broil marshmallows. Top with graham crackers. Melt chocolate. Pour over cracker-covered marshmallows. Freeze, break apart into craggy chunks. Broil more marshmallows. Whisk with cream and egg. Let cool. Churn. Mix in s'more icebergs. Ahhh!

Roll roll roll in a cinnamon sugar. Ahhh...

Tell us: What do you cook when you want to hang out in the kitchen?