Quarantine Cuisine

By now all of us are feeling the effects of being quarantined from food, family, friends and finances. You’ve probably noticed that the grocery shelves still seem to be fairly empty of your favorite foods and past times while carrying only small selection of assorted essentials.

In some areas, though, food items seem to be slowly stabilizing a bit, but with so few choices to pick from, having the same food choices day after day can get a little boring. So how can you mix it up a bit when you’re using the same basic everyday items? How can you keep things interesting without over extending yourself and spending all your time in the kitchen?

Well for what its worth, we’ll try to go through a few ideas and shortcuts for you to use to work through the days of isolation that are still to come.

While stores in certain areas haven’t yet replenished some of the more restricted/sold out items, they still seem to have quick grab and go/easy prep items like: rotisserie chicken, fresh chicken, fresh fruit, ground beef, sausage, canned beans, chips, breads, spices and several other staple items that we can use at home. Most of the quick “just add water” type and “microwave meals” seem to have disappeared, and just as well; since they’re so loaded with salt and other preservatives to make them shelf stable, having them around the house really doesn’t do us any favors in the long run. In addition there seems to be either an absence of, or an over charging for other staple items like every day rice and flour for example. Even so, with what’s available there a few intriguing ideas we could use to help you twist up a few recipes. Here are just a few to get you going.

Things to do with Fresh & Rotisserie Chicken

Boil it off the bone and make soups/stew.

Cut it off the bone to make sandwiches, or dice it up and make chicken salad.

Pull it off the bone to use as a salad topper or to make soft tacos.

Simple Soup Ingredients and Ideas

A basic Brown Roux... (equal parts flour and oil/butter), Onions, Peppers, Celery, Tomatoes, fresh or Rotisserie Chicken, Smoked Sausage, Shrimp, (okra/optional) = Gumbo

Shredded or diced Chicken, Onions, diced or stewed Tomatoes, crushed Doritos or Tortilla Chips, Chicken Broth, dried herbs, and top it off with a bit of Sour Cream = Chicken Tortilla Soup

Stewed Tomatoes, fresh and/or dried Basil, Heavy Cream or Half & Half, Chicken Broth, salt/pepper = Tomato Basil Soup

Fresh or frozen Corn, diced Potatoes, Cream Cheese, diced Onions, diced Bacon, Heavy Cream or Half & Half, Chicken Broth and your choice of spices = Corn Chowder (You can also add Shrimp to make it a Shrimp and Corn Chowder)

Ever wanted to make chicken tenders at home? It’s easy! Grab some chicken breast and cut it into strips (or you could grab the raw chicken tenders in the chicken section of the store.)

Rinse the chicken and toss it in a bowl with a raw egg to coat the tenders. In a separate bowl, toss a few of your favorite spices with some flour. Get some oil heating in a frying pan over, lets say, medium high heat. Take the chicken coated with the egg and one by one, shake them around in the flour until they are coated and drop them into the oil. Turn the heat down to about medium, which will help the chicken stay juicy; give it about 5 minutes and you’re done! You can touch up the flavor with a pinch of salt or a spice blend if you’d like but that’s it! Pretty

straight forward right?

How about a twist on baked potatoes! You’ve likely heard of the ever popular spud max made famous by the local American grab and go deli. After loading your own baked potato with your favorite ingredients try topping it with rotisserie chicken or your could even use sautéed or grilled chicken or deli sliced turkey and ham as well.

Ideas For Salad

Try adding some fresh fruit like diced Melon, Grapes, Pineapple, Berries or even Mandarin Oranges onto a salad to give a touch of sweetness. Also the use of fresh herbs cannot be understated as they introduce a bold background flavor without compromising the crisp freshness. Top it off by adding some Rotisserie Chicken, Shredded Cheese, Boiled Eggs, Bacon, Cucumber, Tomatoes, etc. Give it a toss with your favorite salad dressing to create your own signature salad.

Food Truck Style Chicken Tacos

Use four tortillas, Rotisserie Chicken, (or you could use shredded pork or sautéed flank steak) add your favorite shredded cheese, some roasted Corn, fresh Cilantro, Pico or Salsa, Sriracha aioli... (basically 1 part Mayonnaise, 1 part Sour Cream, and 1 part Sriracha) and top it off with a quick pickled Red Cabbage... (shredded cabbage with a splash of vinegar, salt, pepper and a a touch of sugar and let it sit for about 5 minutes). Spritz it with fresh lime and take a bite!

Ideas for Beans and Rices

Beans and rice have long been a staple in cultures around the world. In fact, nearly every culture on the planet has their own version of a grain and legume combination in some form. They’re a great source of protein and vitamins which can go a long way in appetite management and the best part, they’re not that expensive to purchase. From combinations like wild rice pilafs, to bean stew, they are fairly easy to cook and can take on aromatic flavors really well. They can also make a great “vehicle” for items in tapas style foods and can even act as a binding agent in dishes like falafel and stuffed peppers. Again, to keep things simple, here are just a few ideas that you can play with and adapt to make them fit your own interpretation.

Try a twist on regular/par boiled rice to make coconut rice, simply by simmering the rice with a bit of water and coconut milk (sweet or unsweetened, whichever you prefer) and a pinch of sugar.

To make a rice pilaf try using a wild rice and sautéing it with a little butter, onions, and other aromatics, before adding some water or broth to it. Let it simmer over medium heat until the grains become tender and add toasted almonds to it give it a little crunch factor. Or you could add fresh diced tomatoes, lemon zest or even craisins to add a little earthy finish or a zesty punch. Also you could try tossing in... you guessed it, fresh herbs just as it finishes, and give it a little depth of flavor. Don’t have time to chop a lot of aromatics for your pilaf mix? Try adding a packet of Onion Soup mix, or Ranch Dressing mix, which are basically just dried onions, herbs and spices... pretty simple stuff right?

Or try using the rice as a vehicle for other interesting combinations. Think of the rice as a bed of lettuce and add a variety of toppings to it the way popular Mexican and Tex-Mex style eateries do. Over a small bed of rice you can add items like grilled or sautéed Chicken, Beans, Salsas, Shredded Cheeses, Roasted Peppers and of course, fresh herbs. If you’re topping it off with salad greens or a lettuce as well, try a drizzle of your favorite vinaigrette or a Ranch dressing and diced Bacon.

Additionally you could try this quick fix idea for beans... Take 2 cans of black beans, 1 small can of salsa, add some diced onions, and toss in a your favorite smoked sausage. Finish with some green onions and a few spices and let it simmer and that’s it!

Another approach to grains that tends to be easy to make, yet often overlooked is the making of granola. For years grains like oatmeal has gotten such a bad reputation for being cooked into a gooey, bland, tasteless, boring, slimy and terrible sludge. Fact is, despite the studies that show how healthy oatmeal can be for you, there’s no mention anywhere that it has to taste bad when you cook it. People don’t often think to use oats for making delicious foods like granola or muesli. And for that matter, granola isn’t only made with just oats. You could also use “rolled” barley or wheat, which is also flattened like oatmeal, or you could use some other grain that plays well in this application, and again, it doesn’t always have to be overly expensive. Here are a few simple ingredients to help upgrade your oats...

Liquids

Coconut Milk

Juices (clear juices work best, i.e. apple juice,

white cranberry juice, or even tea)

Sweeteners

Honey

Brown Sugar

Stevia

Agave

Jams and Preserves

Textures, Toppings and Flavoring

Nuts (peanuts, cashews, pistachios, etc.)

Dried fruit (raisins, craisins, cherries, apricots, etc)

Trail Mix

Fresh Fruit... not to state the obvious but... (apples, berries, bananas, peaches, etc)

How bout adding some “undertones” to your porridge? Think “Extracts”... try using more than just vanilla. Maybe try a dash of lemon or orange extract, or maybe butter or rum extract to create the signature finish your looking for.

Flavor combinations to think about...

Citrus and Fresh Berry (orange preserves, lemon extract, & fresh berries)

Peach and Pistachio (1 part water 2 parts peach juice, honey, & toasted pistachios)

Apple Cinnamon Cranberry (diced apples, apple sauce, cinnamon, vanilla extract, & craisins)

Quick Granola

6 cups Old Fashioned Oats

1 cup Brown Sugar 

1 cup Coconut Oil

1/2 cup of Honey

1/4 cup Coconut Sugar

2 Table Spoons of Vanilla Extract

Mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl and make sure the oats are well coated. Let it sit for about 5 minutes while you heat the oven (to around 325) and grab a pan to put the granola onto. Oil the pan a bit to keep the granola from sticking (due to the honey and sugar etc.) and pour the granola mix into the pan. Cook it for about 25 minutes and give it a stir so that all of the oats get a little exposure to surface heating. Once you’ve stirred it, give it another 20 minutes or so and turn the oven off. Crack the door open just a little (about an inch or 2) so that the heat can escape slowly. (You can use a metal or wooden spoon to keep it open while you wait.) After about 5-10 minutes, take the granola from the oven and add the ingredients below.

Once its Out of the Oven

1 cup Cashews

1 cup Dried Cherries or Raisins

1/2 cup Sliced Almonds

Check out other granola recipes and get creative, this is just a basic version to get you started.

NOTE: When you remove the granola form the oven, it should still be a little damp from the moisture. This is normal and it will dry once the granola finishes cooling. You can also drizzle just a little honey or sugar, etc to offset the bitter flavor that will sometimes happen when the ingredients are heated. This will also help the nuts and raisins etc to stick to the granola once its finished drying instead of just laying over top of it.

You could enjoy your granola as a snack, a breakfast cereal or even in your smoothies. Get inspired and see what you can come up with.

Conclusion

We don’t have to be completely limited by the shortage of imaginative ingredients in the grocery stores. With a little imagination and some creativity you can dream up plenty of ways to put a personal spin on old favorites and cross utilize basic ingredients to make your own quarantine cuisine.