What Do You Do When You Can't Do Anything?

What do you do when you can’t do anything?

I’m sitting here, on my laptop, listening to my tween daughter going to ‘remote school’ upstairs in her room. We’re lucky. I get to stay home with her, and she gets teachers and a school who are committed to continuing her education during this anxious time. I could sit here and complain; talk about how I run a business based on personal interactions in others’ homes. And how no one wants to throw a dinner party right now. No theatres are even producing plays, let alone wanting treats for their lobbies. But I’m lucky. I don’t need to cook for my health insurance. I don’t need to pay for childcare. I have many friends who aren’t as lucky as I am. Who also work on a gig-by-gig basis or in a service industry that’s put on hold with no pay.

We’re all anxious. We’re all wondering, not only what we’ll do next, but who we know that we may have to say goodbye to. It’s scary. It’s been a scary world for a while, let’s face it, and now…it’s grown more frightening exponentially.

So, what do you do? How do you cope? I wish I could help all my friends and get them child care, and health insurance, and make sure they can keep their homes. But what CAN I do I wondered. Well what do I do? I make people smile. I fill their bellies, and I provide them with laughter and memories. Sitting down to a meal with loved ones is a bright spot in the darkness and gloom. I can’t go to all your houses and cook for you. But I can give you recipes. Recipes that my family loves. Recipes that are easy to make. Recipes that I’m making right now, stuck here in my home just as you are in yours.  Recipes that you can read and say; “Hey! My kids hate red meat, but I bet I can make this with the chicken I have in the freezer.” Recipes that you can make from just a rotisserie chicken you pick up quick and what you have in your pantry. You have stuff in your pantry right? If you don’t, go out while you can and get some staples that will last. Here’s a small list that usually works for me. All these things can help you make a meal with some meat defrosted overnight in the fridge (that’s the safest way) or frozen veggies.

            -boxes of pasta

            -rice

            -quinoa

-spices (garlic powder, cinnamon, bay leaf, onion powder, dry mustard, chili powder, curry powder)

-tomato paste

-crushed tomatoes

-canned black beans

-rice vinegar

-apple cider vinegar

-olive oil

-olives

-chicken broth, beef broth, or veggie broth

-mayo

-flour

-sugar (white and brown)

-tortillas, pita (I always put my pita in the freezer)

Here’s the first recipe: Pork Adobo over Rice (makes 4 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

Defrosted meat: Pork tenderloin

1 cup Soy sauce

1 cup Rice Vinegar

1 tbls. Black Peppercorns (or pepper)

1 bay leaf

2 garlic cloves (smashed)

1 knob of ginger (peeled and cut into about 4 pieces)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cut the pork into about 1in. pieces and put into a dutch oven.

Add all other ingredients. Liquid should come up 2/3 of the way to cover meat. NOT completely covered. If you need more liquid, add some water.

Simmer covered, until the pork is tender and falling apart. Add water as needed to prevent scorching and to keep sauce to the thickness desired by you. Remove bay leaf and spoon over Edamame Rice.

Edamame Rice:

Cook rice according to package directions. Defrost 1 ½  Cups shelled edamame by placing 1 ½ cups frozen edamame into a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes. Strain and stir into cooked rice. 

Enjoy your meal!

GUESS WHAT! You can also use this meat (or the leftovers) to make tacos!

Just spoon the meat on street size flour or corn (I prefer corn) tortillas and top with this easy Asian slaw.

1 package coleslaw mix

1 TBL sesame seeds

Toss with Dressing:

¼ C. soy sauce

¼ C. rice vinegar

½ C. vegetable oil

1 tsp. grated ginger

I hope that you sit with your family and laugh over a meal this week. We can all use some yumminess in our lives right now.

Stay healthy and eat up!