March 25, 2020

Burgers, broccoli soup and chocolate mousse

“I’m over interesting times,” I said to a friend last week in response to a photo she sent me of someone carrying a “may you live in interesting times” tote bag.

I know I’m not the only one who’s been struggling this week. It’s the uncertainty, of course, and empathy for those and their families who are ill, but also a profound sense of loss that I was having trouble defining until this Harvard Business Review article did it for me:

The loss of normalcy; the fear of economic toll; the loss of connection. This is hitting us and we’re grieving. Collectively. We are not used to this kind of collective grief in the air.

Or, as Toronto writer Jessica Wei put it in her newsletter yesterday:

Panic is normal. It happens when you realize the ground you thought was solid is actually gelatinous. We’re just flailing our arms to keep balanced.

But then, I’m also profoundly grateful for what I do have: a comfortable home to live in during this crisis, with plenty of food (my normal pantry is probably a pandemic pantry to some) and lots of things to do, and work that thus far is continuing fairly normally. And streaming yoga classes! I recommend.

Community Food Centres Canada has put out a call for donations to help support those facing food insecurity in our communities. Let’s help them out if we can?

The endorsement

This week’s recommendations come from Joyce. First, she suggests we all make two recipes from David Lebovitz: “Faux Gras” (that’s a French mushroom-lentil paté), and Shallot Jam. And second, she is a big fan of Nutiva’s buttery flavoured coconut oil. “I put it on popcorn on Sunday and I nearly wept with joy,” she says.

Quick and easy dinner

All of my cooking these days consists of searching for recipes that contain the ingredients I have.

The latest one was this Quick White Bean Stew with Swiss Chard and Tomatoes from Food & Wine.

Burger inspiration

Speaking of white beans, I spotted this the other day and have added to my to-make list.

Peanut chutney

I also managed to collect the ingredients for this dip from Bon Appétit, which I picked out because I’m swimming in peanuts.

I used only one chili and extra peanuts, lime and cilantro, and served with some sliced baguette that I found in the bottom of my freezer. (I am all about using up what I find in the bottom of the freezer these days.)

Pantry pancakes

A few years ago we spent eight months with our things in storage, travelling and living in Airbnbs. (Long story!) During that time I got hooked on socca, chickpea flour crepes that are pretty easy to make and don’t require any fresh ingredients.

The version I was making was fried, in a ton of olive oil because they are prone to sticking. But I just tried this oven-baked one, also a little prone to sticking but less time-intensive to make. If you’d like to try them in a pan, I would add slightly more water, maybe another 1/4 cup, so that they’re thinner. And warning, raw chickpea flour tastes vile. Don’t lick the bowl!

Broccoli soup

In more white bean news, I made this really good Broccoli and Feta Soup.

I used serrano chile instead of jalapeño because I had some left over, and blended it in rather than using it as a garnish.

And for dessert

I used some leftover aquafaba (see: last week’s meringues) and tried this vegan chocolate mousse recipe. Unfortunately the only chocolate I had was vegan chocolate chips that didn’t melt properly, so they didn’t blend into the whipped aquafaba as well as they could have. Still delicious, though! And you’ll be happy to hear I have since acquired real chocolate. (Next pandemic, remind me to stock up on stress-baking supplies.)

The footer

Eat More Plants is a weekly newsletter by Kat Tancock, sharing recipes and inspiration for vegetarian and vegan dishes, restaurants, products and more. Please reply with your own tips so I can include them in a future issue, and send this newsletter to your friends.

Missed an issue? View the archives online.

Looking for somewhere to eat? All my restaurant recommendations are saved in this Google Map.

Looking for something to cook? All previous recipe recommendations are saved on this Pinterest board.

Oh, and if you want, you can follow me on Instagram.