COVID 19 and Cooking!
Is it just me or is everyone talking food these days? I'll be the first to admit, I am a foodie, through and through! I love to cook, I consider it my favourite hobby in fact! So since being stuck at home, (I mean safe at home) I've been cooking ALOT and I have the scale to prove it. Yesterday I asked Denis what he'd like for dinner, and his surprising reply was how about a Cobb salad? I laugh because of all the things I thought he'd say, Cobb salad wasn't my first thought. But what the heck since I'm in the keep your husband happy mood, lets' do it. I chopped all my ingredients (shredded chicken, ham, cheese, beets, avocado, shredded carrot, cukes, tomatoes, red peppers, hard boiled eggs, oh and lettuce) and ta-da Cobb salad it is! The fans went wild! Easiest dinner since this COVID self-isolation started. I topped it with my homemade honey mustard dressing, you can use any dressing really.
Later we were out for our evening stroll and saw a neighbor of ours. We had a lovely safe distant chat and he was telling us how their teen aged son was learning how to cook, so far he's mastered prime rib, chicken Parmesan, turkey dinner and my caramel corn recipe! Now there's something to do while on self-isolation, learn to cook! I was telling Denis afterwards, do you notice everyone is eating really well? I see pics on Facebook of breads, cakes and cookies that people are making, fancy meals that take precious time to prepare and cook. We have the time, so why not, right? I've heard from some having surf and turf, fancy pasta dishes, chicken cordon blue, enchiladas...the list goes on. I love the show Chopped, and often fantasied about being on it, well now I have my own Chopped show going on in the kitchen daily! I check what ingredients I have, I go searching for recipes online, even though I rarely follow the recipe, it's laughable, I will spend hours scrolling to find the perfect recipe only to totally wing it! To all the people posting recipes on Pinterest, I'm sorry, I just wing it, it's how I roll. Sorry got sidetracked there...Also I find myself reading the recipe and think 5 eggs, no way! Those things are precious, I can't be throwing 5 eggs in anything! You too? I know, our whole perspective on cooking has changed, it used to be what can I make in the fastest time possible, chopping the least amount that I can. Now, we're spending hours in the kitchen, music going, cup of tea or wine to sip on...and take our time. Yes COVID is changing how we think, how we do things. Silver lining maybe? My hope is that many teenagers, and maybe a few grown ups, are learning to cook during this time, what a legacy to pass on to them, a task that will forever be beneficial for us all. I picture my grand-kids in the kitchen with Mom or Dad and having a laugh at flour on their noses or smashing an egg to bits, its how we all learned, by watching our parents or older siblings. Be brave and today, let the kids help out, hand them the vegetable peeler and a carrot and have them help out. I know they get in your legs but someday when they'll fix you dinner all by themselves, you'll be ever so glad that you did! What's in your Chopped basket? Please wash your hands, stay home, stay safe, stay healthy! Hugs from London, Ontario, Canada!