Socially Distant Cuisine

Today, I am really appreciating my colleagues.  They are a group of solid human beings that recognize that everything we're going through is not easy, and not normal.  It is definitely hard to wrap our brains around how our lives changed so completely, so quickly.  And how that, very likely, is still just beginning.  I am trying to meet waves of distress (or worse) with kindness and compassion.  I hope you are, too.  This is not easy.  And though we are physically apart, we do not need to figure it out all alone. I'll admit it-- when I started this blog, I hadn't fully realized the journey we were going to be on. I thought it would be fun to catalog our experiments, and to share some of the tricks I learned over years of cooking resolutions and lean grad school years.  It was intended to be fun, and maybe even helpful.  Now, as we're approaching Week 3 at home, it is also helping us maintain a food rhythm and routine-- to take care of ourselves.  Settling in to new pa

Another Monday in the books.  And it was... a Monday.  Some things do not change, even in a pandemic.  I hope that your Mondays were not of the "A Case of the" variety. (Frozen) CPK and Buffalo Squash I was looking for something to do with the leftover roasted squash cubes from last Thursday's flatbread.  And we had a lot of celery.  I decided to play Google roulette, searching for "squash celery recipe." This Buffalo Butternut Squash Salad from Food and Wine was one of the first hits.  Our bottle of Frank's only had a couple of tablespoons left, and we definitely didn't have any shallot or marscapone.  But I successfully riffed something delicious.  And because I'm from the Pacific Northwest, wings are definitely supposed to come with ranch dressing, anyway.  Never blue cheese!  I was able to get close on the buffalo sauce with things we had on hand-- onions, garlic, sun dried tomato, Frank's Red Hot, butter, and balsamic (though in sli

Here we are, wrapping up the weekend, and getting ready for another Monday.  Combining both days into one blog, because Saturday was largely spent grazing.  Tortilla chips with melted cheese.  Soft taco with leftover beans and steak.  A can of Pringles. All of these have a place, they just didn't make it to a well-staged plate. Moo Shu Chicken with Mandarin Pancakes For Sunday dinner, I made Moo Shu Chicken , again from the wonderful Woks of Life.  Chicken breast has not been available the last several times we've gone to the store, but I did have one kicking around the freezer, which worked well here.  And, like most stir fry, you can substitute with what you have.  It's usually made with napa cabbage, but we still have a big purple one, which quite literally changed the hue of the whole dish.  I had some remnants of a mushroom mixed pack, and actually had the dried woodears in the cupboard.  But no lily flowers or bamboo shoots.  Here, I subbed in grated carrots and mo

We took today off from work, because we were scheduled to be on a much-needed vacation.  It seems like a lifetime ago that we made those plans (it really was only last month), and since we cancelled them (about 2.5 weeks ago).  The world changed very quickly.  But we still wanted to acknowledge the need for a break and some recuperation. I hope you find some this weekend, too! Mexican Beach Vacation Right after we cancelled the flights and the hotel, I made sure that we had food on hand to have some delicious treats. And we did, starting with the afternoon snack of chips, guacamole, escabeche, and a cocktail.  We dressed up in some (for us) resortwear and it actually kind of worked.  I felt more relaxed, almost immediately! Dinner was a Trader Joe's carne asada.  The pre-marinaded meats at TJ really are great, and this is no exception.  Our friends, Shiva and Ryan, gave us an Anova immersion circulator , and it really excels at making a perfect medium rare steak or deli

The clouds finally passed on by today, and once again it felt like Spring.  I hope everyone is sliding towards the end of the week with enthusiasm.  Or at least, with something good to eat.  And if neither is true at the moment, I hope it's just around the corner for you. Today involved some experiments, and some repeat players.  And I'll share a couple of bonus things we've done to use up little things floating around. Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion, and Goat Cheese Flatbread In Cambridge, Club Passim was my favorite place to see live music and get a crunchy/hippie meal.  So many great memories there over the years, including the Dinner for Henry pizza at the dearly departed Veggie Planet.   The menu said that Henry was the chef's cat, and this was his favorite pizza.  Charming!  Speaking of Passim, if you are in need of a folk music fix, check out their online Keep Your Distance Fest .  Any donations you make will support grants to performing artists who ha

Today was grey and drizzly all day, a day to be grateful for having a comfortable indoor space.  Our food was a mix of things pulled from here and there, finished by a big, comforting plate of pasta. We used up egg whites and higher fat dairy left over from the cake, and also finished off some veggies that were nearing expiration. Baked Mac N Cheese We don't make mac n cheese all that often, but when we do, I like to freestyle it.  This one was whole wheat fusilli with a creamy cheddar sauce (zipped up with ground mustard, plenty of black pepper and dashes of nutmeg and cayenne). Topped with crumbled French's Onions left in the pantry from Thanksgiving and a bit of Parmesan.  Accompanied by the end of a bag of green beans. To underscore how you can be flexible with Mac n Cheese, I made about 1/3 batch of what I found online.  6 oz dried pasta.  3 Tbsp each butter and flour.  Add about 2 cups of diary (I used a mixture of whole milk, 2%, and probably 1/2 cup of half and hal

The grocery store this morning had most everything we needed-- the random things that they didn't (whole carrots, green onions, parsley), are not a big problem.  And now, I think we have enough staples that next week we can visit Eastern Market , the indoor farmer's market a few blocks from our house, instead.  Our Councilman says that there is no current plan to shut the indoor market, and neighbors report that they are metering shoppers just fine there, so I will hope to support small vendors next week. Sheet Pan Chicken Shawarma, Eggplant Salad, Roasted Cauliflower This NYT Oven Shawarma recipe is one we turn to again and again, a part of our regular rotation.  It's great right out of the oven, and also the next day on a salad, which I can guess will probably be lunch.  I never use nearly as much olive oil as it calls for-- just enough to distribute the marinade.  Because it's lemon-based, it's best to not marinade for more than a day.  When we're doing m

We found ways to celebrate, despite being homebound.  The last time I was in a store with birthday cards was PetSmart for dog food.  Protip: if you're looking for silly animal cards, they have a bonanza. The birthday dessert was a Boston Cream Pie .  The pastry cream turned out a little loose, so the final effect was not a looker.  But it was delicious!  And if you've not seen Nailed It , watch it for a laugh. Lentils with Mirepoix and Kielbasa It may be a bit of a secret on the street, but Jeff is an amazing prep chef.  The man knows how to do a consistent dice or mince.  Mirepoix is his meditation.  We riff on this David Liebovitz French Lentil Salad probably twice a month, and it was the request of the birthday man.  The current favorite adds in sauteed kielbasa.  While the lentils simmer away (bay leaf, dried thyme), saute the kielbasa.  Remove from skillet. Sautee the mirepoix in the kielbasa grease, adding a little salt and pepper.  It's basically like you&

It was very odd having a weekend where the usual rhythms were so disrupted.  But today, I had Zoom yoga, followed by (Zoom) coffee, with my dear friend Kathleen, just like we might (in person) on a normal Sunday.  I did more yard work in the afternoon, and made very good progress. A pre-dinner FaceTime check in with my buddy Julie K.  And tonight, we cooked. Cabbage Curry and Chana Masala In graduate school, I learned to cook Indian food, for a few reasons.  First, it's delicious.  Second, many delicious dishes are vegetarian (as was my roommate, Simone). Third, once you have the spice rack set, it can be cost-effective and made from pantry ingredients. Manjula's Kitchen is a source of many excellent recipes (including videos!), and she is who taught me to cook Indian food.  If you don't have asofoetida, you can replace it with a little garlic or onion.  It might take a little bit of investment in the spice collection, but once you have the technique down, it

Here we are, the second weekend indoors.  I resolved to minimize my news intake today, to have an actual rest.  I read a book, did some more yard work, fit in some yoga and meditation, and also...we cooked and ate. It is amazing how, even with just two adults home, there feels like so many more chores to do now.  Dishes, laundry, the extra cleaning/sanitizing, and preparing three meals a day at home means everything adds up quickly.  I know that others are managing this multiplied by many additional members of the family, some too small to help out much.  My heart goes out to everyone, as we adjust to the new normal.   Today was a day to use up the leftovers.  On the Must Finish list: a substantial part of the giant tub of baby greens we've eaten all week; expiring today. The second half of the teriyaki pork tenderloin from Wednesday.  The polenta from last Sunday.  And the artichoke tapanade from Tuesday, which is still kicking around the fridge. Wontons, Two Ways As

We made it to the weekend, friends! Jean was supposed to be here this weekend to celebrate Jeff's birthday.  Unfortunately, the world had other plans.  I took today off from work, because I had scheduled it weeks ago.  We spent the morning working on the yard, which felt really good.  I made egg salad for lunch. Alice got a longer walk than usual.  I read a book, followed by some Zoom yoga. Egg Salad Sandwich Half mayo, half greek yogurt.  Grillo's Pickles , which reminds me of Massachusetts because it's is a Somerville company, located just a few blocks from the apartment I lived in for 8 years. Celery. And cut in a triangle, because that's how Mom and Dad did it.   Alice got some egg, too.  She's really living her best life here. Wine & Pizza Yup, Eat Pizza , again. We have this almost once a week, so you're going to see it a lot.  Served with a pretty bottle of tempranillo, AND a seltzer. Breakfast There was only a small bit of oats left,

Awhile back, we Netflix'ed a really fun Australian cooking show: The Chef's Line .  The idea is that home cooks go up against restaurant staff from famous Australian restaurants.  Highly recommended if you've not seen it!  One of the charming things I learned is the Australian colloquialism "tucking in" for starting to eat.  And, today, it really started hitting me that we could be tucking in for quite a while here in social distance.  I found myself bouncing back and forth between a kind of overwhelming mix of sadness and disbelief that this is life for now, combined with an immense gratitude for all of the wonderful people who are and have been in my typical orbit.  Lives are so mobile in our modern world that some of those who matter most are never physically near.  I'm feeling that particularly acutely today, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that. Food memories are one of the powerful ways to reconnect.  So here we are-- connecting from physical dis

Pork and Veggie Stir Fry Stir fry is a great way to turn the little odds and ends in the fridge in to something delicious... pantry cooking at its finest!  If you want to learn to stir fry without a recipe, check out the tutorial from the wonderful  Woks of Life , which is where I learned my game.  Stir fry is simple, but a little technique goes a long way towards making the result really wonderful. Our dinner effort featured some random results of a fridge dive: celery hearts from earlier in the month, green beans, and the last lonely green onion from two weeks ago.  Frankly, I bought this Hormel teriyaki tenderloin because it was the available meat that with the furthest expiration date. But it really worked great here!  Since it was pre-marinaded, I let the thinly sliced meat sit in a bit of cornstarch while it came up to room temp and we did the chopping. The other half is back in the fridge for another day. Our sauce was the garlic, ginger, about 1/4 cup chicken broth, a das

Tahini Lentils, Artichoke Tapenade on Crostini Mixing the order today so that something other than breakfast is on view Also, the real cooking we did today was dinner.  This  Ottolenghi lentils with tahini recipe  was a grad school staple--cost effective, quick, almost completely doable from the pantry. Tonight I had a fresh tomato, but I have often made it with canned. Any green herby thing will do, if you don't have cilantro.  I whipped up half a batch, which was enough for two plus a small leftover.  As with most Ottolenghi recipes, it is very rich.  I cut back on both the tahini and the olive oil, and it wasn't missed. Often, the tiny ends of the loaf bread end up by the wayside. Tonight? They became crostini.  Spray with olive oil and bake at 425 for 5 min on each side to toast them up nicely. A COVID-19 meme has been all of the "esoteric veggies"  no one wants to panic buy .  Artichoke tapenade , posted by David Liebovitz, prompted me to pull out the can