Serve up breakfast for dinner with a waffle fresh from the iron. Top with lox, dill, chives and pepper for a Northwest flair.

The only time I miss being in a relationship is when it’s time for supper. Cooking for one is complicated. It’s hard to buy small amounts of ingredients for one person, one bottle of wine is too much for me, and there’s still a huge mess of dishes in the sink.

Growing up, our family rule was if you helped make dinner, you didn’t have to clean up after dinner. After I eat, I sometimes sit and wait for the cleaning crew to show up. They have yet to materialize.

I don’t have an unrealistic ideal of candlelight supper coupledom either. Cooking together is not romantic. When I’m in the kitchen, all I want is for the other person to get out of my way. But another diner usually means fewer leftovers. I’m not a fan of chicken casserole on the fourth night in a row.

Breakfast as dinner for one is perfect at my house. I just bought a new waffle maker and it’s an opportunity to try a savory waffle for dinner. A waffle is also the perfect base for fried chicken and hot honey syrup.

In the meantime, I’m not on a relationship hunt because a relationship looks like a garage sale. From a distance, it’s interesting, but up close, it’s just a bunch of stuff I don’t need. But if someone out there wants to clean up the dishes, I may change my mind.

Cornmeal waffles

Serves one to two

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup fine cornmeal

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/3 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 1/8 cups

buttermilk

• One whole egg

• 1/3 cup melted butter, plus more for the waffle iron

Preparation

Make the batter: In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk in buttermilk, eggs and butter. Beat briefly to produce a thick batter. Set aside at room temperature.

Heat the waffle iron. When hot, brush with melted butter or spray with nonstick spray. Ladle in the batter (the amount will depend on the size of your waffle iron). Close the iron and bake each waffle for 4 to 5 minutes, until well browned and crisp.

The batter will keep in the fridge for two to three days. Serve with maple syrup, or gussy it up with smoked salmon, creme fraiche, dill, chives and black pepper.