The Quarantine Kitchen……So Far:

Cooking, Eating, and Maintaining a Routine While Social Distancing

The COVID-19 Pandemic is still in full swing. Shifting to new routines require us to stay firmly rooted in one place. We are all still learning how to balance our safety, the work/home/school and of course our diets. Some of us are handling like a pro and some of us just wanna throw up both our hands. And Some of us are somewhere in the middle of those two categories. The good news, its okay……..no matter where you fall on the spectrum. And while I have been spending my days working from home, I am still adjusting to the “new normal”.

Along the way, most of us have discovered some new and interesting ways to approach cooking, eating, and how we spend our days inside, all with an effort to spark joy and keep things interesting. Times still remain uncertain, but our love of food and comfort, is unwavering. And while I have been spending my days working from home, I am still adjusting to the “new normal”.

Summer Sunday Brunches

This summer, we still held our family Sunday Brunches. Having Sunday Brunch after worship serves was something we enjoyed with our friends and family at the local restaurants. Sunday Brunches built a sense of community for our family and friends. Although social distancing at some restaurants in some cities is taking place, we still don’t feel safe outside the comfort of out own homes to eat in public, even with masks and hand sanitizers.

Because we have the extra time now, our brunches have become just as fun and elaborate just as if we were going out to eat. And any left overs becomes Monday’s lunch. Our brunches have been simply frozen waffles with fried chicken tenders to flavorful South Carolina low country cuisine with Shrimp and Grits to hot buttered grits with sausage gravy and buttermilk biscuit.

Breakfast

Having breakfast helped our family maintain a schedule and sets the tone for the day and the work week.

Typically, we would have some variation of scrambled eggs. Because eggs are high in protein, and doesn’t take long to make them, they can leave you feeling energized and ready to tackle my the day.

But over time, eggs really did become boring and if exhausting to eat, whether they are scrambled, fried, boiled, in egg salad……you get the picture.

To add some variety, I began to read some of the old cooking magazines from the 1970s that belonged to my mother. What I discovered was Caramelized Oranges, which was classic dessert that made a great breakfast staple in our household when paired with Greek yogurt.

What I have learned in the age of the quarantine kitchen is that the key to having a decent breakfast every morning it make the process more efficient, by laying out your utensils, pots and out pans, and table settings the nigh before. This helps to ensure I don't skip the most important meal of the day, especially if you are running late on your "commute" from the bedroom to your makeshift in-home office.

Global Cuisine

The pandemic pretty much cancelled out family vacation time, other than going camping in the woods. But on Wednesday nights, we would explore a cuisine from another country, and for the most part, it was very successful, expanding the family’s palette beyond Taco Tuesday Night. From the stove to the dinner table, we traveled all over Southeast Asia, India and Middle East. It was also fun to try out regional cuisines in the United States, Like variations on Philly Cheese steaks, Red Beans and Rice, New Haven Style White Clam Pizza, and even Cincinnati Chili, a dish that the kids could not get enough of.

Back to School, Virtually

As school returns to session, virtually for the kids, it is important to keep a consistent routine, regardless if the child is in kindergarten or in high school. Be sure to pack a daily lunch, just if you were going to school normally.

We are still trying to find the best way to work remotely and for the kids to going to school work in a zoom like reality that looks a lot like Peter Marshall and the Hollywood Squares Game Show from the 1970s. When the pandemic first hit, in h middle of spring break, we discovered that lunch time derailed our family. Through trail and error, it finally occurred to I should make lunch the night before, just like in normal life. I pack them after dinner for the next day and set the alarm on my cellphone at noon so we take out our lunches, water bottles, and apples and open our containers of something central made from leftovers. and eat outside on our patio if the weather was nice outside.

What I also learned is that it is important to pack your lunched neatly. Also it is nice to pack a little dessert into your lunches, something like squares of chocolate, or three marshmallows, or a lunch cookie. A little note like “ You’re Great!” or “You are a ROCK STAR!”, also makes kids feel special and that you still care enough to put in the effort o make them lunch. What I have found is that making packed lunches are both humble and sweet. They afford you and the kids a few extra minutes to relax we get back to the virtual world of work ad school.

Use Every Bit of Food.

As food prices seem to rise in the supermarket despite there is still plenty of crops in the fields. A the beginning of the pandemic, I had to go through my refrigerator, the dry goods pantry and the freezer, just to see what things I had on hand that have sat neglected or totally forgot about pre-pandemic. It was interesting how people were actually panic buying like it was snowstorm coming. I had a few can goods that were close expiring, so the real challenge became to figure out what to cook with the items of hand, while being extra mindful of food waste and trying to stretch a single ingredient through multiple meals.

So between the canned goods, the boxed dry goods, beans, pasta and strange things that had been pickled the summer before, what I have discovered is that a lot can be done if we just get a little creative!