Joe Yonan's Eat Your Vegetables

Cooking for one isn't always enjoyable–or easy.

But food writer Joe Yonan's new cookbook, Eat Your Vegetables ($25), celebrates the art of the solo dinner, with produce taking center stage in his recipes. Yonan wants single cooks to find inspiration in the fruit-and-vegetable aisle.

Because shopping for one can be a challenge, he includes a section on using up extra produce, be it fresh herbs, half an avocado, or the dreaded last part of a can of beans, in his easy-to-master 80 recipes. There are tips for scaling each recipe as well, depending on how hungry you are.

His root-to-leaf radish spaghetti (see the recipe) is one dish that could be whipped up for a weeknight summer dinner. Tendrils of whole-wheat spaghetti are coated with a light, lemony, garlicky sauce, as well as toothsome radishes and their slightly bitter leaves. A chopped anchovy is optional, but adds a salty and meaty touch to the finished dish.

Thank goodness you don't have to share it with anyone.