I love to repurpose food. With increasingly limited access to grocery stores, my daily kitchen creativity is PEAKING. Being nifty in the kitchen and eliminating waste is the most satisfying part of my day. Yet, I do find myself eating the same things for multiple days on end. I think I ate 120 dumplings already, but who’s counting? I bet a lot of you are thinking: What the hell do I eat now that I didn’t eat yesterday, the day before yesterday, and for the last 3 WEEKS???
While quarantined and bored to death, I grew curious as to what people are munching on at home. So, I started to bug all the people I love in my life about the thing I love most: food. We need to foster a mindset of cooking sustainably, always! That means using what we already got. There can be a diamond in this really rough situation through valuing cooking and eating together.
Here is a list of quirky food concoctions my friends are relying on to survive self-isolation. From simple to funky to straight-up baller, these snacks/meals provide a quick laugh and/or inspiration for a scrumptious change in our quarantine routines. If you want a recipe, please reach out to me and I will either send it your way OR put you in contact with the kick-ass person who made it! MAKE NEW FRIENDS!
Remember: if you decide to try a new dish, adapt it to what you already have in your kitchen. This way you minimize waste and keep yourself safely inside!
—
…I learned one thing: my friends eat a lot of hummus…
—
The New Yorkers:
“Enokitake, cornichon, pineapple, capocollo”
“Depending on the time of day it is either: 1) almond seed crackers, chèvre, and crushed Calabrian chili oil or, 2) extra dark chocolate square. ”
“Idk I’ve been eating veggie burgers.”
“Maybe spaghetti limone since its easy. But today we ate hot dogs and fries?”
“The family meals at Eataly lol”
“Blue Apron hasn’t stopped delivering, fortunately, so I haven’t had to improvise too much.”
“Well so far I’m eating all the carbs out of this house LOL…I’ve been having salmon lox bagels…Boujee but necessary”
“Frisee and soft boiled eggs with sea salt, and lemon water on the side.”
A ‘Balanced’ Diet:
“Ramen, cocaine, tequila, truly”
“Sauteed greens and Entenmann’s cookies”
“1/2 valium and 2 ounces of whiskey with a few stalks of celery…Otherwise just a green apple and sharp cheese”
“Well [if I’m high] the whole kitchen which includes cheese it’s reg and white cheddar, little bites chocolate chip, Ruffle chips and French dip(white one)…[not high:] Greek yogurt, Carrots w ranch, Cheese sticks, and salami, frozen food like Ellios pizza and ice cream sandwiches.”
The Health Driven [Hummus Loving] Folks:
“It has been: string cheese, sriracha flavored almonds and carrots with hummus”
“Homemade hummus variety with raw veggies, gluten-free banana bread.”
“I have been baking keto brownies and they’re super tasty!! And I’ve also just been eating lots of soups, and meatballs of course.”
“Overnight oats with coconut yogurt!”
“A protein shake, some hard-boiled eggs, some fruit, and nuts…a cookie”
Keepin’ it Simple:
“Cheese and crackers…you know me and cheese”
“On the tuna train we had Salad Nicoise. And as for snacks, this bomb smoked mackerel spread from Saison Market.”
“Oh man tacos for sure…I’m making a batch right now”
“Ermmm I’ve been making lentils a LOT. Also baking tortillas to make tortilla chips.”
“Tonight’s menu is white rice, fried plantains, and salmon: my ultimate comfort food.”
“A whatever is in my fridge frittata in a cast iron with always a mountain of parm on top.”
The International Sensations:
“Soondubu (Korean tofu soup) and mandu (Korean dumplings for all you noobs).. snack wise: hummus, veggies, and tiramisu?”
“Lentil köfte. Turkish meatballs but made with lentils!”
“I made me a Panamanian sancocho or chicken soup of course…and I made a cambro of mushroom risotto because both things taste good days after you make them and even if you reheat them which is my biggest gripe about leftovers!”
The Ambitious:
“My go-to would be quesadilla I’d say. Right now I’m working on a kimchi catfish biscuit sandwich”
“A 10 lb smoked pork shoulder.”
“Peppers were ground beef, veggies, some leftover rice, a packet of quinoa and lentils and bolognese sauce from the nights before. Topped w parm and baked in regular red peps! It’s all been repurposing. Made gnocchi, had some leftover potatoes, made eggs and potato omelet the next morning – Utilize everything!”
“Yuca con chicharron, ravioli, steak fajitas, chicken cutlets, pan-fried chicken with Spanish rice. Snacks…baked chips, Oreos, ice cream, a lot of fruit, trail mix…a lot of wine, negronis, and bourbon on the rocks…”
“I made beef barbacoa in the instant pot last night and put it with sweet potatoes and broccoli. I make a lot of ‘bowls’ so like veg, starch, and protein (animal or not) and kinda throw it all together…I love sautéing black beans, poblano peppers and green onions with paprika and cumin and putting it on rice.”
“Beef stew, pizzas from fresh direct, Mac and cheese with hot dogs. Tonight I’m making roasted chicken with stuffing. Comfort is key for me.”
The Cookie Monsters:
“Levain style chocolate chip cookies yo.”
“Leaning towards having warm chocolate chip cookies as a [midnight] sandwich.”
“Pan di Stelle and a bottle of Montepulciano.”
“Wine and whatever baked goods are available like cookies or cake.”
“Peanut butter thumbprint cookies; half chocolate kisses, half boysenberry jelly!”
As for me? Besides Ample Hills Captain America ice cream (that costs 10 bucks a pint so I clearly am going to be needing my stimulus check,) also…
As we can see, despite this overall crisis, we still have a plethora of ingredients available to us. How can we utilize them efficiently to satisfy our tastebuds and make our planet happy? To start, make sure you clean out your fridge and use your super-smart Homosapien Sapien brain to make something DELICIOUS! When restocking, try to BUY LOCAL. And, if you do have food scraps, COMPOST.
If you would like to add your quarantine bites in, please shoot me a message or slide into my DMs on Instagram (food is the way to my heart.)
That is all for now folks. Happy eating Quarantiners! Stay home and make your belly happy!!!
#CookingInQuarantine
Epic list!