A is for dining Alone...and so am I, if a choice must be made between most people I know and myself.
-- M.F.K. Fisher, An Alphabet for Gourmets

What do you eat when you're the only one you have to feed? As much as I like cooking for others, there is a certain quiet pleasure in making a mishmash meal that is exactly what I -- and only I -- want to eat. My favorites include a steaming bowl of okayu topped with a fat wad of kimchi, a toasted peanut butter and banana sandwich with a side of spicy pickled carrots and recently, this: egg salad with fava beans on toast.

I've eaten it three times this week, working my way through a bag of fresh fava beans from the farmers' market. It was inspired by an appetizer recipe in The Zuni Cafe Cookbook that layers mashed egg and favas on crostini, topped with a piece of smoked fish. My version includes mayonnaise -- essential to an egg salad in my mind -- and would be even better with Kewpie.

The first time I made it was on the day I brought home the favas, which were so fresh and nutty I tossed them in raw. Three days later the shelled beans were sticky and more starchy tasting, so after pulling the favas from their pods I threw them into the boiling water with the egg for a minute, then fished them out and squeezed them from their little jackets while the egg finished cooking. I ended up liking this method even more. Much is made of the amount of work it takes to prep fava beans, but when all you need is a scant 1/8 cup, cracking open the pods and peeling away the tough inner skins is strangely gratifying.

Mashed up, salted, lightly peppered and piled high onto a couple slices of good toasted bread, this egg salad is like eating spring: soft, warm, a little green. The only thing better the the last bite, toast-less, scraped up with a fork and eaten straight from the bowl. It's okay to lick your fork clean -- it's just you at the table, after all.

Egg Salad with Fava Beans

Makes 1 serving

1 jumbo egg
5-7 fresh fava bean pods
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
2 slices artisan-style bread

Place egg in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Put a lid on the pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. While the water is heating, crack open the bean pods and pull out the fava beans, but don't remove the outer skin yet. When the water in the saucepan comes to a boil, throw in the fava beans and cook for one minute. Skim out the beans with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and let sit, covered, for exactly 7 minutes. Use this time to slip each fava bean from its tough skin, placing the newly nude beans into a medium bowl.

When the egg is ready, immediately dump out the hot water and fill the pan with cool water. When the egg is cool enough to handle, crack and peel it and add it to the bowl. Add the mayonnaise and mash everything together with the back of a fork. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toast the bread and top with the egg salad, making sure to leave one last bite in the bowl to be eaten with just your fork.