PLNT LYFE: Quarantine Quisine
Quarantine Quisine
Quarantine is a time for experimentation. At least for me.
The combination of time and limitations is an interesting one for creativity. Especially when it comes to cooking. A desire to go shopping as infrequently as possible means I have been focusing on shelf stable ingredients, and usually ones that I don’t use on a regular basis. It’s been especially interesting as I continue to focus on a plant-first diet since I am not grabbing fresh produce whenever I need it. I’ve found some ingredients, staples, and recipes I plan on keeping around more often.
A few of the items I definitely plan on having on hand regularly moving forward: cabbage, jars of flavor (roasted peppers, pickles, capers, marinated artichokes, etc.), tomato-y beans, nutritional yeast, and stuff for granola and cashew cream (which is just cashews really).
It all started around St. Patrick’s Day when I felt the need to feel Irish. I sauteed some cabbage in olive oil and sprinkled with some salt and pepper. After a bit I added a jar of tomato-y beans I had in the fridge and let everything combine and heat through. It was delicious! I was hooked.
I used half a head of savoy cabbage for that experiment. The other half was turned into sauerkraut about a week later. It was super simple (link to the recipe in the What I’m Making This Week section below) and delicious. Also fun to experience the process and taste how it changes over time. You get full control over how sauer you want your kraut.
Next up was finding a use for the mushrooms I used to make stock. Solution: add asparagus and tomato-y beans (sense a theme yet?). Verdict: delicious!
Finally, I still had some asparagus left and a bunch of tomatoes. What to do? I tossed the tomatoes in a hot pan until they started popping and sizzling. Then I added some asparagus, peas, and roasted red peppers (from a jar of flavor) to the party. Let everything warm up, mixed in some nutritional yeast and cashew cream at the end, and heaped it on top of a slice of sourdough that had been toasting in the oven. Top with a sprinkle of vegan mozzarella and place back under the broiler until melted and bubbly. Enjoy. Repeat until ingredients are used up.
I’ve really enjoyed experimenting in the kitchen again and am looking for more ways to do it. Covid-19 sucks, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try to wring something good from it. We can learn lessons, tips, and tricks that will last long past this pandemic (I hope). So try an experiment, get weird, see what happens. Just wash your hands before and after.
Also, four garden boxes have been constructed and filled with herbs and veggies. Here’s to hoping for a good harvest.
What Has Me Curious Right Now
How do we help in this time while still staying resilient? What gaps has the Cares Act not filled?
I don’t have any answers other than food, the basic supplies all of us that didn’t stock up (hoard) need, and a lot of the same assistance they needed before.
If you have ideas or know of needs please let me know.
What I’m Making This Week
- Christmas Limas with Marinated Artichoke Hearts (and maybe some homemade sauerkraut and/or wild greens)
- Tempeh Curry
- Miso soup
- More Rustic Sourdough Bread
- Granola (I actually made this last week but it’s too good not to share the recipe.)