Brunch for one, Scandinavian style

Smoked salmon and cream cheese on toast with a perfectly poached egg and a side salad.

Season with salt and pepper with a dash of fresh lemon juice then garnish with coriander and chilli flakes.

I never used to enjoy cooking for one.  I couldn't see the point of making an effort for something that can't be shared or enjoyed with others.  Having spent 8 years living with my Chinese grandparents who instilled in me the importance of sharing and enjoying food with the family, it felt unnatural to experience such joy on my own.  Despite my interest in home cooking since childhood, I never refined my skills until I started living with my then boyfriend, now husband in my late 20s.  We started playing couples by hosting dinner parties, where finally I felt I could show off my culinary skills whilst receiving an immediate feedback from the people I was feeding.

However, cooking became less and less important as my life became more and more occupied with mummy duties and work commitments.  No longer did I spend much attention on what food to cook at home apart from ensuring whatever I put on my daughter's plate was healthy.  In the end, I realised I was no longer using any of my recipe books, shopping for ingredients to experiment my own recipes, nor did I care about how I presented the food on my plate.

In January 2018, as one of my new year's resolutions, I decided to rediscover my love for cooking.  Not only did I want to start cooking for friends and family, I also wanted to learn the joy of cooking for myself, to know that enjoying something on my own is perfectly okay.