10 simple tips to make solo lockdown more appetising Annabel Smith Photo: Katrina Meynink Having endured Melbourne's long lockdown coupled up, I now find myself flying (and cooking) solo for lockdown 5.0. As my living situation did a major pivot, so did my home cooking habits with it. Here are some thrifty tips and tricks for batch-elorette cooking and food shopping. Use your maths While there aren't a lot of recipes designed for one, many are easily divisible. Watch out for eggs, but most other ingredients can be halved using scales and measuring jugs. Keep those half-measure measuring spoons handy for spices, and save any surplus stock, even if it's a measly 100ml, to add to future risottos or top up a soup that's reducing just that little bit too quickly. Oh, and weigh your dried pasta – I find about 90 grams is a good guide.