The Sadness of Kitchens in March 2020

Over two weeks have gone by since we determined that social isolation was our best option. So far, we have been lucky in the kitchen, having started with a well-stocked pantry, and having had a young relative go to the supermarket for fresh foods after the first week. More vendors here are now offering contactless pickup or delivery of fresh and in some cases local produce, so we hope it’s getting easier to stock the larder. Our generous next-door neighbors helped us out with the probably-temporary shortage of flour by giving us several pounds of flour they had on hand. (Actually they left it on the porch and texted us to go out and get it — no contact!)

Baking bread with our neighbors’ gift of flour.

Two sourdough loaves...

One loaf for the neighbors. Handed over without
being closer than 6 feet away.

What’s really important?

My food thoughts are not just with my own needs, but with the vast numbers of people who are fearing or already experiencing hunger. I'm thinking of those whose jobs have suddenly ceased, and who don’t know how they will afford food. I worry about children who were dependent on school lunch programs but whose schools have closed, and about college students without meals or shelter after dorm closures. I'm mindful that homeless people and refugees everywhere are subject to increased uncertainty. People already living in poverty in the US and throughout the world will be suffering even more now than in the past.

Even more pressing than the challenge of getting food to those in need, our society has enormous problems with protecting health care workers and providing care for the sick. Compared to the vast numbers of people with limited resources, to those who are already suffering from coronavirus, and to those mourning the victims, I'm extremely fortunate and grateful, and I do not want to sound like I'm complaining.

In My Kitchen

That said, here's my report on the state of my kitchen in the new circumstances of March, 2020, locked down due to the new coronavirus pandemic. I’m wondering if shortages of pantry goods are only temporary. Will catsup come back before we finish our bottle? What about Nutella? (Which I don’t use, but heard was sold out). We can live without diet Coke, which may also soon be scarce, if not already. Happily, broccoli, and in fact most fresh vegetables, seem to be plentiful, and we’ll have more local ones as spring progresses. 

These are all details: in the long run, we will have plenty of choices. On reflection we know that normal American food options for most consumers are extraordinarily generous in terms of what’s been available throughout history. We need to worry about families with limited resources and how to help them, not about a reduction of our many choices of foods.

Earlier in March, I ordered new and replacement spices from Penzey’s.
The entire Penzey company is now closed to protect their employees.
Having lots of spice is one of my good fortunes at the moment.

I’ve been using the new spices quite a bit. Here: chicken and cashews with the
new curry powder, cooked soon after the spices arrived.

Cauliflower Masala with several of my spices, new and old,
and a jar of Trader Joe’s Chutney. I wish the Trader had delivery service!

Both the chicken dishes and the cauliflower were spiced with the new curry powders and other spices from Penzey's and elsewhere. Chicken has been hard to find, but one of the local markets that offers curbside pickup had a limited supply, so I was able to cook chicken for dinner one night. I don't know if this is (was?) a local shortage or nation-wide like the flour shortage — hopefully temporary.

Hash flavored with Parisian Herbs from Penzey’s —
leftover roast beef, potatoes, red bell peppers.

Shakshouka: an egg dish I made earlier this month. Cooking eggs is easy!

Eggs have been a favorite on our table this month, but I understand that shortages are on the way. Increased demand for eggs, as well as rising egg prices, may result from the abrupt nationwide switch from eating out to home cooking. Home cooks use more eggs than restaurants, evidently. Farmers can't speed up egg supplies immediately, because to make an egg it takes a chicken that's a couple of months old. Wholesalers had extra eggs on hand for Easter, but those have all been sold already.

Finally, there’s one other issue in all kitchens now: food safety and danger from food-borne illnesses is always a concern in everyone's kitchen, but especially during the epidemic. The official word from the FDA is that food safety is not a problem, and no action other than the usual precautions about food preparation is warranted (link to FDA website). I haven’t been doing anything extra, just being as careful as I can, though I think we will soon be wiping down and sanitizing whatever we bring into the house in case it was handled by an infected individual.

Each month a number of bloggers share what’s going on in their kitchens, and link their posts at Sherry’s blog (http://sherryspickings.blogspot.com/). I hope the usual participants will describe how they’ve managed with food supplies and safety so far during the emergency that’s continuing into April. Contributors to Sherry’s blog event come from almost every part of the world, and I’m thinking their experiences will add up to a very interesting view of this global crisis.

This post copyright © 2020 by mae sander for mae food dot blogspot dot com.

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