Loretta’s Kitchen Get the book

A cookbook for one or two

Home Ec for One

Loretta’s Kitchen Handbook for Cooking for One or Two

Two hundred suppers from my kitchen, cut down to one plate, with the exact package to buy, the shopping list, and what to do with the second bowl.

$39 $29

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Loretta, smiling at her kitchen table in a yellow kitchen
Loretta Kessler, Loretta’s Kitchen
An open page of the book: Old-Fashioned Potato Soup, with the shopping list on the left and the steps on the right
Every recipe sits on two facing pages, so you never turn a page with wet hands.
  • 200suppers, breakfasts and small sweets
  • 10lessons on cooking for one
  • 4weeks of suppers with shopping lists
  • $1.90a plate for the typical supper
Loretta

A letter from Loretta

Dear friend,

For thirty years I taught home economics in Ohio. I taught teenagers to read a recipe, measure flour, sew a straight seam and balance a checkbook. In all those years, I never once taught a lesson on cooking for one.

I wish I had. Now I hear from people all over the country, and they tell me the same thing: “It isn’t worth cooking for just me.” So supper turns into toast, or a bowl of cereal, or nothing at all.

I don’t believe that. You are worth a hot supper. Cooking for one isn’t harder than cooking for six; it only needs different habits. Smaller pans, a shopping list, and a freezer you use on purpose.

That’s what this book is. Keep it on the counter. Check the boxes when you shop, write in the margins, and don’t worry about spills.

With love from my kitchen,

Loretta

Every recipe

Everything you need, on two pages

The grocery store sells for a family. Each recipe shows you how to buy for one, cook for one, and put the rest away safely.

1

The exact package to buy

Every amount matches a real package: a 14.5‑ounce can, an 8‑ounce bag, a pound of meat.

2

What a plate costs

Figured from ordinary grocery prices for only the part of each package the recipe uses.

3

A list you check off

Tick each box in the store, and again as it goes out on the counter.

4

Seven steps at most

One job per step, with times and temperatures in bold so your eye finds them.

5

Safe temperatures

Every step follows USDA safe temperatures, and a red Careful box marks the one place you could get burned or sick.

6

The second plate

How long it keeps in the fridge, whether it freezes, and how to make it for two.

An ordinary cookbook

Melt the butter in your small pot over medium heat. Cook the onion until soft, 4 to 5 minutes.

Home Ec for One

Melt the butter in your small pot over medium heat. Cook the onion until soft, 4 to 5 minutes.

The recipe text is set in 16-point type, big on purpose, for reading glasses and a busy counter.

Look inside

Real pages from the book

Pot Roast for One, a slow cooker supper, on two facing pages

Pot Roast for One, from the slow cooker chapter. Page 292. Tap the page to see it full size.

What’s inside

Ten lessons, then two hundred suppers

Part One: Home Ec for One

The lessons I’d teach if you sat in my classroom.

  1. 1
    Cooking for One Is Still CookingA real plate, the same time each night, and the two-plate habit
  2. 2
    The Pantry for One: What to Keep, What to SkipThe cans, boxes and spices worth keeping, and what to skip
  3. 3
    The Small Kitchen: Pots and Pans for OneThe first four tools, the baking pans and a safe kitchen
  4. 4
    One Pound of Ground Beef, Four SuppersPress a 3-pound pack into squares; each square is one supper
  5. 5
    One Rotisserie Chicken, Four SuppersPick it while it’s warm: four bags, four suppers
  6. 6
    Family-Size Packages, Cooked for OneChicken, bacon, bread and the putting-away hour
  7. 7
    Cutting a Recipe for Eight Down to OneThe numbers to know, with a worked example
  8. 8
    What Freezes, What Doesn’t, and How to Label ItHow long food keeps at 0°F, wrapping, labels and thawing
  9. 9
    Food Safety After Sixty-FiveSafe temperatures, the two-hour rule and your medicines
  10. 10
    One Trip to the Store, One Week of SuppersPlan on Sunday, shop once, fresh food first

Part Two: The Suppers

Two hundred recipes in twelve chapters, most built around one pan you already own. A color picture of every one.

  • Soups and Stews20 recipes
  • One-Pot Suppers18 recipes
  • Skillet Suppers18 recipes
  • Sheet Pan Suppers14 recipes
  • Pie Plate Suppers16 recipes
  • Loaf Pan Suppers14 recipes
  • Muffin Pan Suppers14 recipes
  • Slow Cooker Suppers22 recipes
  • Air Fryer Suppers16 recipes
  • No-Stove Suppers12 recipes
  • Breakfast for One16 recipes
  • Small Sweets20 recipes

At the back of the book

Pages to print, tape up and write on.

  • Four weeks of suppers, one trip to the store a week
  • My freezer log
  • My pantry checklist
  • Safe temperatures card for the cupboard door
  • Recipe cards for your own favorites
  • Suppers for tired nights
  • Suppers under two dollars
  • An index of every recipe, by what’s in it

What supper costs

Supper for about two dollars a plate

Pot roast with potatoes and carrots on a white plate

Supper out

Delivered to the door, with fees and a tip$25+
A meal from the drive-throughabout $12

Supper from the book

Pot Roast for One, page 292$3.25
Eggs in a Basket, page 41475¢
The typical supper in the book$1.90

The whole book costs about what one delivered supper does.

Rough figures for fall 2026. Book prices use ordinary Walmart prices for only the share of each package a recipe uses. Your store’s prices will differ.

How it works

Three steps, nothing to wait for

  1. Tap the button

    Pay with a card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Payment goes through Gumroad, so I never see your card number.

  2. The book opens

    The download starts right away, and a link comes to your email so you can get it again any time.

  3. Print it or read it

    Print it at home on regular letter paper, or read it on a tablet or computer. Nothing to ship, nothing to wait for.

30days

My 30-day promise

If the book isn’t for you, write back within 30 days and you’ll get every penny back. Keep the book anyway.

Questions

Is this a printed book?

No, it’s a PDF, so there’s nothing to wait for. Print it at home on regular letter paper, take it to a copy shop to be printed and bound, or read it on a tablet or computer.

Is the print big enough to read?

Yes. The recipe text is 16-point, much bigger than an ordinary cookbook, with dark letters on a light page and amounts in bold.

How do I get the book after I pay?

The download opens right away. A link also comes to your email, so you can download it again on another day or another device.

Is it safe to pay?

Payment goes through Gumroad, a checkout made for independent sellers. I never see your card number. You can pay with a card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Do I need special pans?

No. Most chapters are built around one pan you probably have already. Lesson 3 tells you which four tools to get first. The slow cooker and air fryer chapters are there if you own one.

I cook for two. Is it still for me?

Yes. Every recipe has a “For two” line that tells you how to make it for two people.

I’m on a special diet.

This book isn’t medical advice. If you follow a diet for your heart, kidneys or blood sugar, or take a medicine that limits certain foods, ask your doctor or pharmacist which recipes fit.

What if I don’t like it?

Write back within 30 days of buying and you’ll get your money back, no questions asked. You keep the book.

Loretta

You are worth a hot supper

Home Ec for One: 200 suppers cut down to one plate, with the shopping list and what to do with the second bowl.

$39 $29

Get the book for $29
  • Instant download
  • 30-day money back