One silver lining with this whole coronavirus pandemic and quarantine is that it has renewed my love of cooking. Which in turn has been a wonderful way to destress. What started as stress cooking, has transitioned to comfort cooking to feed the soul.
I haven't been able to focus much or concentrate on painting so cooking has been a welcome distraction from the anxiety of life right now. I've found that chopping vegetables, stir the pot, revisiting old familiar recipes and trying new ones has become a soothing and calming experience. Not to mention enjoying a delicious and nutritious home cooked meal.
Many of the meals I've made are pretty basic, and standard, but they still pack a punch in terms of taste and comfort. But as I now live alone, I've had the opportunity to experiment a little bit and explore more vegetarian/vegan recipes (that is after using up all the animal protein in the freezer).
Here are some of the recipes that have been a comfort during this time of corona! I hope you enjoy them.
I haven't been able to focus much or concentrate on painting so cooking has been a welcome distraction from the anxiety of life right now. I've found that chopping vegetables, stir the pot, revisiting old familiar recipes and trying new ones has become a soothing and calming experience. Not to mention enjoying a delicious and nutritious home cooked meal.
Many of the meals I've made are pretty basic, and standard, but they still pack a punch in terms of taste and comfort. But as I now live alone, I've had the opportunity to experiment a little bit and explore more vegetarian/vegan recipes (that is after using up all the animal protein in the freezer).
Here are some of the recipes that have been a comfort during this time of corona! I hope you enjoy them.
 | Pasta Pesto with Roasted Vegetables See Pesto recipe nd roasted vegetables recipe |
 | Cauliflower, and spinach masala Recipe to follow |
 | English Sausage Rolls a packed of sheet puff pastry and breakfast sausages or organic ground turkey. Recipe to follow |
 | Vegetarian Kale Soup This is a simple hearty soup recipe good for lunch of a light dinner. It is delicious served with some crusty bread. with a glass of wine on the side. Perfect to curl up on the sofa and binge watch netflix! leftover portions can be frozen. https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a25647805/vegetarian-kale-soup/ |
 | Moroccan Berber eggs Tonight’s recipe is served with parsley garnish and spelt toast - thanks Claire Copersino next time with homemade bread! Sauté sliced onions & red bell peppers slowly in copious amount of XVOO to get nice and limp, carmelised and sweet, stir in some diced tomatoes (I didn’t coz I don’t have any) and then toss in some whisked eggs. Season with sea salt, paprika, harissa- to your taste. Carefully stir a little bit to distribute ingredients but don’t stir really. Let simmer until cooked. Use a generous amount of olive oil ... mop it up with a great sourdough or if you’re in the Atlas Mountains freshly made Moroccan bread. Food directly from heaven. |
  | Basil, kale, cilantro or parsley Pesto Sauce Love to make pesto with Basil or Kale and pine nuts or walnuts. 2 cup fresh basil leaves or kale or cilantro, or parsley 6 cloves garlic, peeled 6 tablespoons pine nuts or chopped walnits 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1/2 cup olive oil or more as needed Basil or kale is mixed with the nuts in a food processor, then I mix in the garlic and parmesan cheese, and slowly add the olive oil then salt and pepper to taste. This makes a lot so I can freeze some. I usualy like to keep 1/2 of the recipe fresh in the fridge and then freeze generous tablespoon portions on a sheet of parchment paper, covered and placed in a ziplock bag. I can use this to add to recipes. Ice cube trays are also could storage containers for small amounts. |
 | Avocado Toast This is great healthy lunch. It's more like guacomole but I love it. I put one ripe avocado in a bowl with 1/2 squeezed lemon, 1 crushed clove of garlic, 2-4 diced grape tomatoes, salt and pepper a pinch of cayenne pepper then roughly mash and mix. With a dollop on top of toasted sourdough bread it is delicious. There would be enough for two, if I din't enjoy it so much! |
  | Lemon garlic grilled shrimp and an array of roasted vegetables No particular recipe tonight. I defrosted a 1lb of frozen wild jumbo shrimp and marinated them for 1/2hr in olive oil crushed garlic, lemon and salt and pepper. Then sauted in a hot cast iron with EVO and a sprinkling of cayenne pepper and or paprika, and cook on a medium to high heat for about 6 or so mins turning once. While the shrimp are marinating, I'll chop a selection of roasted vegetable including some garlic and lemon, toss generously with EVO salt and pepper then line a roasting pan and cook at 400, for approx 40 mins. I serve the shrimp on the bed of roasted veggies with a god sprinkle of chopped parsley. As I'm only cooking for one, this yields lots of leftovers that could be made into a shrimp and vegetable curry or with someother sides. Hope you have a healthy and delicious meal for yourselves Suggested vegetables for roasting: Potatoes broccoli,carrots cauliflower onions butternut squash sweet potatoes beets garlic and lemon for added flavor |
 | Homemade vegan mushroom soup with spelt croutons and roasted Brussels sprouts, potatoes and mushrooms on the side - Such a quick dinner, 45 mins max. https://jessicainthekitchen.com/creamy-mushroom-soup-vegan…/ For the croutons I cube whatever bread I have on hand toss it with a generous drizzle of EVO with crushed garlic salt and pepper then roast in a cast iron griddle (not essential) just my preference) in the oven on 400, for about 15 minutes. |
  | Spinach and Kale Saag Paneer with brown rice and naan bread. This was the first time I made homenade paneer. Who knew it was so easy. I had to make some modifications ad I dont yet have a colander, or cheesecloth. I used the Saveur as the main but also referred to the authentic recipe, as i like onions in my saag paneer. I also used 3/4 of spinach and 1/4 kale. It didn't yield a lot of paneer, but a little goes a long way I guess. I served it up with organic naan bread. I had a couple servings for leftovers for the freezer which I later serverd with brown rice and naan bread. https://www.saveur.com/…/Recipes/Spinach-with-Fresh-Indian…/ https://www.allrecipes.com/re…/228957/authentic-saag-paneer/ |
  | shrimp potato and spinach balti curry with naan bread. Made yesterday. Eaten tonight with a batch for the freezer! recipe to follow |
 | chick pea pasta with bolognese and kale sauce. 1hr min preferably simmer for a few hours I don't use a specific recipe. But I start by dicing an onion, carrot and a couple of stalks of celery, I'll add a few cloves garlic (4-6) crushed and saute in EVO in a large pot until translucent. I then add 1lb of organic ground beef and brown. Next I'll add one 28oz can of diced tomatoes and simmer on low for 45-1 hr mins or longer. I may also add a few dried herbs. I had a little kale left over so I chopped it and popped it in the sauce to cook for a few minutes. Just before serving I stir in about 1/2 a cup of romano or parmesan cheese and a splash of EVO. I serve over organic chick pea pasta with more grated romano! It's yum and any left over sauce in the pot can go in the fridge or the freeze. |
Roasted Vegetables
40 mins at 400 temp
A great dish as a meal in itself, or as side dish. I use what ever veggies I have in the fridge. Everything tastes better roasted!
De stressing through cooking - a few veggies can be a tasty meal for a few $. I'll use any combination of broccoli, caulifIower, onion, potates, beets, carrots, squash, take your pick. I usually also include garlic, and lemon. this is all then tossed ina generous coating of olive oil, salt and pepper, and occassionally some dried or fresh herbs. often have this as a meal served up with a knob of homemade Kale pesto, and a sprinkling of grated parmesan with a sprinkling of ground flax seed.
40 mins at 400 temp
A great dish as a meal in itself, or as side dish. I use what ever veggies I have in the fridge. Everything tastes better roasted!
De stressing through cooking - a few veggies can be a tasty meal for a few $. I'll use any combination of broccoli, caulifIower, onion, potates, beets, carrots, squash, take your pick. I usually also include garlic, and lemon. this is all then tossed ina generous coating of olive oil, salt and pepper, and occassionally some dried or fresh herbs. often have this as a meal served up with a knob of homemade Kale pesto, and a sprinkling of grated parmesan with a sprinkling of ground flax seed.
 | Sourdough Bread and Homemade Starter This is three days in to making a sour dough starter ;-) here's the recipe I am using for the starter and bread. Im excited to also make use of the discarded sourdough. https://www.theclevercarrot.com/2014/01/sourdough-bread-a-beginners-guide/?fbclid=IwAR0O2C9_3k4JPS1e7pUNMpoymR6Ydy9kL3nbUBYmkRGxDmCrPwGA-4wYWck |
 | Sourdough Starter pizza Tonight’s effort made with young sourdough starter. not bad w/o a pizza stone - a little uneven cooking but tasty- sourdough pizza/flatbread with pesto, spinach, mushroom, grape tomatoes goat cheese and shaved Romano garnish |
 | Linda's Nettle Soup Lee, it's really easy - just handle the nettles with care to avoid stinging, but after cooking, they are fine. Sauté leeks, a shallot and celery, add peeled & cubed russet potatoes, add a bit of water/broth, s&p, cook til tender, add nettle leaves, cook maybe 4 minutes, then turn off heat and let sit, covered. Cool down a bit and then add to food processor in batches. A sure sign of spring! |
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