Who would’ve guessed that the best thing to come out of this roaring pandemic was a new devotion for cooking? It’s more than what’s on the plate, it’s provided the ultimate respite and resistance to the anxiety of the unknown.
Before the pandemic took over our lives as we know it, cooking was always a secondary act of survival for me. I cooked for sustenance and then for satisfaction. The two reasons never intertwined as much as it has now. It wasn’t until we went into the very first lockdown, I realized how important cooking dishes that meant something would be so vitally essential. Not just for satiation, it has been a reprieve for my emotional well-being and sanity during the most, cabin feverish of times.
It was when I cooked my first spinach and sweet onion quiche from scratch that the feeling of contentment, solace, and creativity emerged from hiding. The inspiration which had been asleep in me since the beginning of the shut-down, without knowing the future- who had time to create? To be hopeful? Nor did I know it would be okay to have those thoughts during such a time therefore, I didn't, and those daydreams stopped. We spent close to $600 in one day, between Whole Foods and Target, (that's not hard to do at either store). Enough food to last at least a month, the essentials only. From black beans and pasta to eggs and loads of fresh spinach, rice (black, white, and wild) and loafs of bread. What were we going to do with all this food? Nothing, but simply cook it and survive through whatever this was, was happening. At that moment, standing in a staggering checkout line, socially distanced but not yet, wearing a mask.
Spinach and Sweet Onion Quiche
The mandates hadn't come down yet, we all were just aware that something big and terrifying was starting. I checked out with at least 15 grocery bags, is this the apocalypse? I didn't know what was about happen, I just knew we needed to be prepared and nourished. Once, home and settled in for an unknown "lockdown" spell, I found myself gazing at the overflowing cupboards and was immediately overwhelmed. Instead of shuttering, quickly closed the cabinet doors and walked to my bedroom, opened my laptop, and found myself surfing the pages and many recipes of Bon Appetite [dot] com. Which would eventually lead to me subscribing to the online and print editions.
This food driven websites (I scrolled the NYT Cooking website, too) were a guiding light into a new world of food, recipes, dishes, flavors and what would become the best thing I found peace in doing throughout this very weird ass and sometimes arduous time. I reviewed and sourced countless recipes, bookmarked, and tagged for later use in tackling all the different foods to cook into delicious and inventive dishes. Since I'm an intermittent eater I've had a chance to focus on the very important meals of the day, breakfast, and dinner.
Sweet Potato Breakfast Bowl
Discovering that one of my favorite ways to have eggs is cooked hard yet sunny side up, with seasoned breakfast sweet potatoes and sautéed spinach was immensely gratifying and has become a signature morning plate, I enjoy almost on a weekly basis. Making pasta dishes I never thought I'd ever try let alone cook, like "Winter Squash and Kale Pasta with Pecans Breadcrumbs." Pecans and pasta who would've known just how delectable this pairing could be? By this time, I was cooking simplistic to fancier dishes almost every day, there wasn't much else to do. When I chose that pasta recipe it wasn't because it was a different take on pasta, I also recall myself feeling especially complacent that day between working from home and not really being able to do much outdoors. I needed a restorative action to take my mind off the monotony.
The detailed yet simplistic recipe was the perfect idea. Of course, it didn't hurt that it was a chilly evening in Los Angeles and this dish was warm, buttery, creamy and smooth. Comfort food at its best. I remember melting the butter and parmesan cheese in the Dutch oven, folding in the linguine, butternut squash, kale, and pecan breadcrumbs; I twirled the pasta around a fork for a quick taste test, and it evoked an instant endorphin boost. I was lost in my cooking, clearly acing the recipe on my first try while, simultaneously providing a sense of serenity and amity for my own thoughts, stressors, and anxiety.
Winter Squash Pasta with Kale and Pecan Breadcrumbs
Since then, it's been about making a great plate of food to relish. This act of cooking has been a saving grace during this tumultuous moment in time especially, with us heading towards the 3rd anniversary of this ever raging and never-ending pandemic, being able to make and be creative with food to balance out the boredom. While functioning and refining my footing through the art of cooking, allowing enough grace to pace myself and to have the motivation to stay optimistic and present. Hopeful for a world that will get better and my eagerness to cook the next dish.
