Dinner for one

I went to a great Lebanese restaurant with some good friends last night.  As I sat sipping my Turkish coffee and listening to my friends chatting and enjoying being in one anothers' company I realised that this was why dining was created.  A relaxed atmosphere filled the venue and all around were groups of friends conversing over something delicious or a hubbly bubbly.  No one seemed too stressed or too worried.  Within the walls of this space people seemed to understand life.  The ambiance seemed to spill out onto the pseudo-European street below and everything somehow made sense in the laughter-filled air.

I realised that my day-to-day dining experience is quite different from this.  In fact, it is usually the kind of dining experience that would encourage indigestion.  I live alone in a space that optimistically names itself a 'flat'.  My entire life actually fits above two parked cars.  I suppose you could make it sound grand by calling it a 'garage loft', but no amount of fancy linguistic manipulation will change the fact that my abode is small.  So small in fact that I only have a counter top and no stove.  I have a microwave and an electric frying pan, but when I place the electric frying pan onto said counter top, I have no space to chop my ingredients.  A dilemma indeed!  I also find it somewhat of an anti-climax to spend ages preparing an intricate meal only to eat it by myself.  Doing this somehow seems an insult to the very nature of dining.  It reduces the event to a mere act of consumption (the activity, not the illness).  As a frequent solo-diner, I am prompted to not only ponder but also solve this problem.  I arrive at three possible solutions:
1) Invite friends to my 'garage loft' to enjoy the fruit of my culinary labour.  I love doing this and do it as often as possible, however, a further problem with my space is that there is no space for a dining room table and there is only seating space for three people (two of whom need to be dating because the double couch is actually more of an intimate 'one and a half' couch).  In the summertime, this option extends to another favourite: garden picnics.
2) Create quick, easy yet satisfying solo meals.  This option is a winner.  I have been experimenting with couscous of late.  Chilli flakes, avo, feta, peppadews, olives, tomatoes, some pepper and olive oil all mixed in with a bowl of freshly made couscous is enough to make me smile for a while.
3) The all-time favourite (which is hindered only by budgetary constraints) ... spend lazy evenings eating in exotic restaurants and enjoying the company of good friends over a glass of red wine.  Bliss.

Of course, I could also toss all the above solutions and just continue with 'the same procedure as last year'.