Cooking our way through the Pandemic

Regis and I both enjoy cooking so with very little else to do, we have been doing a lot of cooking during our “Stay the blazes home” isolation. 

 We have been making fresh pasta for many years, but we experimented with making lovely pink beet pasta, tortellini and ravioli. Then with our new pasta extruder we discovered fresh fusilli and bucatini. Of course you then have to find an interesting sauce to accompany the pasta. 

Another batch of fresh pasta

 We worked at mastering the Instant Pot, discovering it makes perfectly juicy chicken wings ready to be sauced under the broiler, and fall off the bone back ribs. We found it also makes cooking rice easy and quick, and can be adapted for many different recipes. Even wild rice comes out perfectly. As well, the 10 pounds of beets Regis brought home to help with my low potassium, were quickly and perfectly processed in this handy addition to our kitchen. We are constantly finding ways to use this appliance. 

 Regis discovered that rather than buying frozen puff pastry she could add another pastry to her “Pastry expert” resume, when she made beef wellington for my birthday and moved on to sausage rolls and then she discovered choux pastry for cream puffs and curried turkey appetizers. We made a huge batch of pirogies, one kind with aged cheddar and the other

Pierogi filling

with cheddar and added jalapeños. 

We also found a variety of ways to cook the delicious Nova Scotia pork filling our freezer from “Pig 3” (that’s another story . . .) The latest recipe we tried was a Belgium Pork Roast served with a gravy made from beer and cream. What is not to like. I discovered that Costco started carrying my favourite fish, sea bream from Greece and I have found different ways to cook this delicious seafood. 

 Video conferencing also became a part of our kitchen experience. Unable to get together to bake Christmas goodies, Regis spent an afternoon on Google Groups making cookies with our daughter living and working in Northern Ontario, and this worked so well that our son took advantage of the new kitchen skill to make crab dip with her via video conference. This has also proved handy in conferring with friends to master recipes and techniques. 

 My family cookbook which I have been building over the years has grown to 133 pages and most of the recipes only get included once they are used at least twice. 

 So being asked to stay home, we have enjoyed cooking and finding new and better ways to make delicious meals, and as a result, we are eating very well. Bon appetite!

Always keep the wine rack stocked . . .