Between March 31 and May 20th I posted on Facebook one thing I made during the day and asked my friends a question: “What did you make today?”
Most everyone wanted to discuss food. Whether due to pride in their personal creations or simply the need to connect with another human; people I had not spoken to in years wrote to tell me about their culinary achievements (or lack thereof -ha!). It felt good to connect with everyone about one of my favorite topics and I was honored that so many wanted to share with me the amazing things they made.
My friends and I, we ate a lot. Given our unprecedented circumstances of being trapped at home with more family time (or alone time) than we could ever imagine, we hit the kitchen. Every household had the self-proclaimed taste tester, but most everyone, including the kids, spent some time in the kitchen creating.
We did not want to eat bland food. No. We had cravings. We had personal culinary mountains to climb and we also had days where eating from a can, a box, or a local restaurant was permissable because the range of emotions to process felt, at times, overwhelming. Yes, we had worry, but we also had food.
Our palates did no disciminate in terms of world cuisine. We hit a large variety of countries: West Africa, India, Italy, Korea, China, Japan, Vietnam, Mexico, France, Hungary, Germany, Great Britain, and of course American comfort and fair foods.
We ate it all: short ribs to toast; coffee to bourbon manhattans.
We savored it all because the future was, and still is, and as it turns out – always has been – UNCERTAIN.
In a time when the world seemed to throw up its hands and claim it had no answers, we responded by hunkering down inside and eating.
While everyday was not paradise, while new challenges arose, we found certainty in our abilities to feed ourselves food we enjoyed. We made dinner and dessert (with extra ganache please).
Weight loss be damned.
Of course we did other things. We made other stuff. Cleaned stuff. Cleaned out stuff. Taught our kids. Watched TV. Watched movies. Watched ourselves on Zoom. …And appreciated everything because without a sense of gratitude life gets darker.
I unscientically reviewed all the delicious things we made throughout quarantine and here is what we made in order of popularity, as you all reported to me:
- banana bread
- pizza
- sour dough bread
- chocolate chip cookies
- brownies
Comfort foods! No judgment. Dessert is much more fun to discuss.
The most popular protein consumed? (“SURVEY SAYS!”)
CHICKEN.
- Chicken on Salad
- Chicken Shawarma
- Curry chicken
- Arroz con Pollo
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- BBQ Chicken
- Chicken with Mustard Sauce
- Chicken Pot Pie
- Chicken Parmesan
- Lemon Pepper Chicken
- Grilled Chicken
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Chicken Paprika
- Tahini-balsamic chicken
- Chicken and Mushrooms
- Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken
- Chicken Pad Thai
- Chicken Vindaloo
- Sesame Chicken
- Chicken with Panko Crust
- Chicken Rice Bowls with Thai Peanut Sauce
- Popeye’s Chicken Sandwich
- Bacon Wrapped Chicken
- Pasta and Chicken with Pesto
- Chicken Tacos
- Roasted Chicken
- Chicken with Root Vegetables
- Butter Chicken
- Chicken Enchiladas
- Korean Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Peppers with Chicken Sausage
- Chicken Skillet Spaghetti
- African Peanut Soup
What did I post each day? (In case you are interested and for my own knowlege.)
- May 20 Chocolate chip cookies (new recipe)
- May 19: Naan bread (discovered that the NYT recipe is better)
- May 18 Peanut Butter Blondie
- May 17 Everything bagel and Cheddar Scones
- May 16 Lime Bars
- May 15 In Memory of Emily’s Bakery Morning Pastry Creation (the new improved cinnamon roll turned log)
- May 14 Sour Dough Boule
- May 13 Chicken Tacos
- May 12 Berry Lemon Ricotta Loaf
- May 11 Chicken and Pasta with Veggies and Lemon Sauce
- May 10 Salmon with Indian Spices and Cauliflower
- May 9 Chocolate Pecan Swirl Bread
- May 8 Chocolate Chip Cookies (Thia recipe)
- May 7 Tuna Encrusted with Sesame Seeds
- May 6 Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- May 5 Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins
- May 4 Vegan Vanilla Cake
- May 3 Yogurt Flat Bread
- May 2 Crumb Cake Muffins
- April 30 Coconut, Walnut, Chocolate Chip Blondies in a tiny muffin tin
- April 29 French Fries
- April 28 Popeye’s Chicken Sandwich
- April 27 Chicken Tacos
- April 26 S’mores + Peanut Butter
- April 25 Korean Lettuce Wraps
- April 24 Blondies with Heath Bar, White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, and Pecans
- April 23 White Chocolate Raspberry Scones
- April 22 Pasta with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon
- April 21 Banana Coffee Cake
- April 20 Black Bean Soup and Corn Bread
- April 19 Sheet Pan Chicken Tikka
- April 18 Snickerdoodles
- April 17 Whoopies Pies with Peanut Butter Filling
- April 15 Teriyaki Salmon
- April 14 Pasta with Roasted Broccoli, Walnuts and Lemon Garlic Sauce
- April 13 Chicken Soup
- April 12 Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- April 11 Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- April 10 Savory Cream Biscuits
- April 9 Take-out Pizza with Greens
- April 8 Pursuit of Pastry Donuts
- April 7 Pancakes
- April 6 Oatmeal with Blackberries and Walnuts
- April 5 Focaccia
- April 4 Blondies with Chocolate Chips, Toasted Pecans, and White chocolate
- April 3 BananaBread with Chicolate Chips
- April 2 Clean Oven
- April 1 Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake with White Chocolate Ganache
- March 31 Focaccia with Za’atar
- March 28 Blueberry Muffin
No wonder my stomach screamed, “Enough!”
It comforted me to know that my friends and family baked and cooked along side me. Especially with the gray, gloomy, and rainy weather of spring.
Thank you Friends.
Let’s keep making stuff.