Food in the time of a pandemic

[weinoo]

I received a fairly humongous delivery the other day:

 

Let's just say this was part of it; the counter on the opposite side was covered with stuff as well. Shopping during these times is much different than I was used to, where I'd go out 4 or 5 times a week to different places, bring home a little from here, a little from there, etc. Now I deal with practically a week's worth of groceries at one time - and it's a pain in the ass, as I've basically been prepping and cooking for 2 days; I feel like a caterer, and I thought I gave that career up! Any way, where was I? Oh right - it's also so damn hot here, and the hottest room in our small apartment is, of course, the kitchen. So I wanted to move into some Middle Eastern/Med salads, cold soups, etc. - stuff that I can pull out of the fridge and put it on a plate with very little other work, once it's all been prepared. To help, I pulled a few books off the shelf:

 

 

Simply for inspiration. And I started cleaning, prepping and cooking. Always lots of trimmings, so vegetable stock was made right off the bat.

 

 

I'm not a huge fan of lentils, but Rancho Gordo's were calling to me from the pantry, hence the lentil salad above was made - and it's not bad. Not much unusual going on in the salad; dressed while warm with vinaigrette. (I did make a garlic oil, by heating up some EVOO with a lot of minced garlic in it; it almost burned, because I walked away, but then smelled garlic cooking and ran back to the kitchen and caught it just in time.)  Anyway, lentils are more to my liking when they're served cold (or tepid), as opposed to hot or as soup.  And Significant Eater loves lentils lots, so there! Next:

 

 

Sort of a faux tabouli - no tomatoes, and probably more bulgur than in a classic tabouli. As Claudia calls it, a bulgur salad. Good. Next:

 

 

Was gonna go with a classic macaroni salad, the picnic staple of my youth, had my youth included picnics - it didn't. Anyway, this non-classic macaroni salad is a little more developed than one with tons of mayo; there's a little mayo (Duke's!), that garlic oil, some lovely white wine vinegar, mustard, herbs, pimentos, etc. etc. To Significant Eater, macaroni salad memories mean much more. 

 

Not shown - a pint of pesto, made sans cheese. I think I learned this from Marcella - to make the pesto in the food processor, and add the cheese after, for better texture. Also, I froze the pre-cheese pesto in large cube trays, and I think it freezes better without the cheese, and it's not hard to add the cheese when throwing the pasta together (with potatoes, for that authentic feel). To Significant Eater, pasta, potatoes, pesto - perfect.

 

Not shown - a big batch or borscht, as 2 lbs. of beets came along with the delivery. Steam-girl roasted in foil till well cooked (these were big beets, and they took a good hour). I grated one (for textural appeal), and the rest went into the blender with some full-fat yogurt, some less fat kefir, dill, a few house pickled red onions, etc. etc. To Significant Eater, (cold) beet borscht be best.

[BeeZee]

@weinoo, great strategy. I see some lentils and grains happening this weekend. Fortunately, our open kitchen design with central A/C keeps it comfortable...since its gonna be beastly this weekend.

[weinoo]

Just now, BeeZee said:

@weinoo, great strategy. I see some lentils and grains happening this weekend. Fortunately, our open kitchen design with central A/C keeps it comfortable...since its gonna be beastly this weekend.

You had to remind me!!

[weinoo]

Almost forgot - also made a batch of hummus. Significant Eater helping herself to heaps of hummus hardly hurts.

[heidih]

@weinoo  Inspiring efforts. Off to make hummus and a beet salad now even though it is cold and cloudy. . Cracked rib is making everything take longer. Oh well - could be worse.

[FauxPas]

1 hour ago, heidih said:

Cracked rib is making everything take longer.

 

Do you have a cracked rib? My husband cracked a few a couple of years ago and he was in so much pain, I felt so sorry for him. I hope yours mends quickly! 

[heidih]

43 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

Do you have a cracked rib? My husband cracked a few a couple of years ago and he was in so much pain, I felt so sorry for him. I hope yours mends quickly! 

 

Yes. Not my first time (used to ride horses). Hard to bend over and sleeping on my back is not pleasant. Oh well. Not the virus .

[blue_dolphin]

Received 2 mail orders this morning and used them to make breakfast.  Three kinds of grits and Charleston Gold rice from Geechie Boy Mill:

 

Red Weapons from Vivian Howard's Handy & Hot:

That jar of spicy tomatoes was a seriously ridiculous splurge which I only justified after doing my taxes and ensuring my finances are in order.  The recipe will be in Vivian's new book coming out in October and I wanted to treat myself to a preview of coming attractions. 

The little booklet contains a bunch of suggestions for using them.

Breakfast was Jimmy Red grits with Red Weapons and a boiled egg:

[Katie Meadow]

@blue_dolphin Let me know what you think of any Geechie Boy grits that aren't plain yellow or white. I've never ordered any of their specialty grits. Your breakfast looks great. Although I would happily eat freshly made grits in the morning but definitely don't have whatever it takes to cook them before breakfast. I do however very much like fried grits cakes for breakfast, made from left over molded grits, and that happens once in a while.

[Shelby]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

The recipe will be in Vivian's new book coming out in October

A new book!!!!!!  Oh you've just made my day.  I can't wait!  And your grits look excellent too  

[blue_dolphin]

6 minutes ago, Shelby said:

A new book!!!!!!  Oh you've just made my day.  I can't wait!  And your grits look excellent too  

 

I pre-ordered it back in February and did so completely sight unseen because I loved DRR so much.  Judging from the few sample pages available on Amazon, it looks like the new book has recipes for various condiment-type stuff which then gets used in different ways. I love that kind of stuff.  From her website: 

Quote

Each chapter of This Will Make It Taste Good is built on a flavor hero—a simple but powerful recipe like her briny green sauce, spiced nuts, fruit preserves, deeply caramelized onions, and spicy pickled tomatoes. Like a belt that lends you a waist when you’re feeling baggy, these flavor heroes brighten, deepen, and define your food.

 

I hope some recipes will start to leak out soon!

 

Oh, and thanks on the grits - I was worried that those little red flecks were going to be hard pieces of hull but they cooked up nicely!

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

Received 2 mail orders this morning and used them to make breakfast.  Three kinds of grits and Charleston Gold rice from Geechie Boy Mill:

 

 

This is exactly the same as my last order from Geechie.

[suzilightning]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

Received 2 mail orders this morning and used them to make breakfast.  Three kinds of grits and Charleston Gold rice from Geechie Boy Mill:

 

Red Weapons from Vivian Howard's Handy & Hot:

That jar of spicy tomatoes was a seriously ridiculous splurge which I only justified after doing my taxes and ensuring my finances are in order.  The recipe will be in Vivian's new book coming out in October and I wanted to treat myself to a preview of coming attractions. 

The little booklet contains a bunch of suggestions for using them.

Breakfast was Jimmy Red grits with Red Weapons and a boiled egg:

You lookin' at me?

[Shelby]

47 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

I pre-ordered it back in February and did so completely sight unseen because I loved DRR so much.  Judging from the few sample pages available on Amazon, it looks like the new book has recipes for various condiment-type stuff which then gets used in different ways. I love that kind of stuff.  From her website: 

 

I hope some recipes will start to leak out soon!

 

Oh, and thanks on the grits - I was worried that those little red flecks were going to be hard pieces of hull but they cooked up nicely!

I just pre-ordered too.  Maybe they will release it earlier.  I can't wait!

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Not to derail this conversation, but I've found the best way to get rid of fruit flies is with one of those electric tennis-racket fly swatters. We always have lots of fruit on the counter in bowls and there has always been a cloud of fruit flies that takes flight when I get a banana or mango out of the bowl. By using the swatter a couple of times a day I've basically eliminated them. Oh, there's a couple of them hanging around but they are either only males or too discouraged to breed. I've tried all manner of traps--they really love red wine, for instance--but this remains the absolute best.

[heidih]

10 minutes ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

Not to derail this conversation, but I've found the best way to get rid of fruit flies is with one of those electric tennis-racket fly swatters. We always have lots of fruit on the counter in bowls and there has always been a cloud of fruit flies that takes flight when I get a banana or mango out of the bowl. By using the swatter a couple of times a day I've basically eliminated them. Oh, there's a couple of them hanging around but they are either only males or too discouraged to breed. I've tried all manner of traps--they really love red wine, for instance--but this remains the absolute best.

 

Those swatters are hilarious. I have found that creating an ecosystem - so don't kill all the other bugs - kinda all works out. They are annoying because of the way they swarm up and are so small  "Too discouraged to breed" - you get an award for that phrase

[chromedome]

1 hour ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

Not to derail this conversation, but I've found the best way to get rid of fruit flies is with one of those electric tennis-racket fly swatters. We always have lots of fruit on the counter in bowls and there has always been a cloud of fruit flies that takes flight when I get a banana or mango out of the bowl. By using the swatter a couple of times a day I've basically eliminated them. Oh, there's a couple of them hanging around but they are either only males or too discouraged to breed. I've tried all manner of traps--they really love red wine, for instance--but this remains the absolute best.

It's fun to swat them, and especially so when you swing your "zapper" through a cloud of them and hear the snap-snap-snap like miniature fireworks.

 

That being said, the entertainment value is negated for me by the effort and the fact that it never really seems to make a dent in the population (even when I delegate the rackets to energetic grandkids). I use Truvia traps instead, which requires zero effort on my part and gives me about a 10-log reduction* in a few days. At least among my local population of flies, a natural cider vinegar seems the most effective bait in which to dissolve the Truvia.

 

*SWAG

[liamsaunt]

My CSA is really starting to ramp up. Here is today’s box. Fresh garlic, cherries, summer carrots, green head lettuce, hakurei turnips, summer squash, cucumbers, cilantro, summer cabbage, braising greens, kale and hot wax peppers

 

[dtremit]

On 7/15/2020 at 6:09 PM, lindag said:

Yep, the only thing I‘ve ever encountered that smelled worse was some cooked broccoli that was kept too long.  
My cleaning woman thought something had died!

 

Some vegetables have a way of smelling to high heaven even when they're *not* bad. I left some mixed cooking greens (turnip, beet, chard) in a covered bowl of water to wash them last week and I lifted the lid to a cloud of odor that spread across the apartment.
The greens were delicious once cooked, though!

 

[dtremit]

4 hours ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

Not to derail this conversation, but I've found the best way to get rid of fruit flies is with one of those electric tennis-racket fly swatters. We always have lots of fruit on the counter in bowls and there has always been a cloud of fruit flies that takes flight when I get a banana or mango out of the bowl. By using the swatter a couple of times a day I've basically eliminated them. Oh, there's a couple of them hanging around but they are either only males or too discouraged to breed. I've tried all manner of traps--they really love red wine, for instance--but this remains the absolute best.

 

Any chance you can recommend a brand of swatter? We have low-level fruit flies occasionally and it drives my partner *crazy* — me, I just put up a vinegar trap and cover the fruit bowl, but he just hates them. I think an electric fly swatter would be very cathartic for him.

[Porthos]

I did some grocery shopping over the last couple of days. In my go-to supermarket people for the most part are wearing masks and practicing social distancing. At Costco, however, while you can't get in without a mask, social distancing is not being practiced by as many members as earlier in the pandemic. I went to Target and it was worse. People behind you crowding and such. I had a person in line behind me come up right beside me to look at some product on a shelf. The best I could do was turn my back until they moved away.

[dtremit]

In the realm of "weird but the year is weirder" -- we made a sort-of Thanksgiving dinner last night. Had a turkey breast in the freezer I wanted to use up — and a loaf of bread going stale, so why not stuffing? And hey, a can of cranberry sauce. Did have it with some baby beets and Hakurei turnips for a hint of spring.

 

Main purpose was for cooked meat for "chicken" salad, which the better half has been craving; will probably also make some kind of turkey pie.

Edited July 18, 2020 by dtremit (log)

[weinoo]

14 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

My CSA is really starting to ramp up. Here is today’s box. Fresh garlic, cherries, summer carrots, green head lettuce, hakurei turnips, summer squash, cucumbers, cilantro, summer cabbage, braising greens, kale and hot wax peppers

 

 

I really like those turnips - they make awesome pickles.

But what is in the background behind the CSA haul?  Looks almost like a samovar.

 

11 hours ago, dtremit said:

 

Some vegetables have a way of smelling to high heaven even when they're *not* bad. I left some mixed cooking greens (turnip, beet, chard) in a covered bowl of water to wash them last week and I lifted the lid to a cloud of odor that spread across the apartment.
The greens were delicious once cooked, though!

 

 

How about daikon and carrots together, when making them into pickles?

[heidih]

12 minutes ago, weinoo said:

How about daikon and carrots together, when making them into pickles?

 

I like that combo.  Very classic I think for example in Vietnamese banh mi condiments

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

11 hours ago, dtremit said:

 

Any chance you can recommend a brand of swatter? We have low-level fruit flies occasionally and it drives my partner *crazy* — me, I just put up a vinegar trap and cover the fruit bowl, but he just hates them. I think an electric fly swatter would be very cathartic for him.

My husband bought this from one of those vendors who walk between the cars and try to sell things to people waiting at stoplights, so I don't know if there's a brand name on it. (I just checked--no name.)  It's rechargeable, which is nice, though many of them seem to need batteries. This is in México, by the way, where there's usually one or more vendors at each stoplight--that is if there isn't someone juggling rocks (true) or dressed as some hybrid Aztec warrior dancing for tips, or washing your windshield whether you like it or not. México is always interesting.