COVID-19 and Cooking

It’s been a while since I’ve cooked for clients; March 19, 2020, to be precise. The Coronavirus pandemic has put a screeching halt on cooking for others in their homes. The “Stay Home” advice and social distancing guidelines coupled with bare grocery store shelves and unpredictable grocery delivery have made it impossible to conduct business as usual, at least from where I sit; mine is a job without a “Work From Home” option.

What have we been eating at my house? We’ve decided two meals a day is the way to go, to ensure we make the most of our supplies. That means either a big, late breakfast and dinner; or an early lunch and dinner.

We’ve gotten creative with frozen chicken (marinated and grilled, stir fried, cooked in the IP and shredded with the last of the Buffalo sauce, and baked for chicken salad, chicken soup and a chicken casserole), frozen ground turkey (shepherd’s pie, tacos, a stir-fry, baked ziti), frozen shrimp (check out the recipe for “Sydney’s Favorite Saucy Shrimp Scampi” below) and a frozen turkey breast. We have been making good use of our pantry supplies of rice, pasta, tuna, canned clams, sweet potatoes, dried fruit, canned chick peas, grains and baking supplies. I whipped up a half-batch of oatmeal cookies, a pan of brownies, a pizza crust, Giada’s Italian cookies and polenta to add some variety to our menus.

Sydney’s Favorite Saucy Shrimp Scampi
Serves 4

2 T. olive oil
2 T. butter
minced garlic to taste
crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 lbs. large wild-caught shrimp, peeled and deveined
fresh or dried parsley
black pepper
1 T. lemon juice (optional)

1. Heat oil and butter in a large saute pan. Saute garlic and crushed red pepper for a minute.

2. Add the wine and the shrimp to the pan.

3. Bring the wine to a boil and cook the shrimp in an even layer for 2 minutes. Flip and cook another minute. (Don’t crowd the shrimp. If pan isn’t large enough to hold all the shrimp, add half, cook, remove, and add the remaining shrimp.)

4. Remove the pan from the heat and stir. Sprinkle the dish with parsley, pepper and lemon juice.

Recipe adapted from “Clean Food Crush.”