COVID-19: Your excuse to learn how to cook!
In this time of COVID-19 pandemic, we decided to isolate ourselves at home since we just came back from traveling and we were told to avoid social events and contact for the safety of all of the involved. What will two chefs do at home for at least a week? Besides caring for our animals and making the house as clean as it will ever be, we decided to cook. A lot. So, no more procrastinating to write content for this blog, it`s time to help our future readers to cook at home and stay safe and sane during this difficult time.
We decided to stock up on food to avoid going into the supermarket multiple times a week. As much as all restaurants we go to have provided training to their staff and are doing their best to keep their establishments clean and safe, the same can`t be said to all the patrons that go into the restaurants; and since none of us are working during this time that we are inside our homes, we are also hesitant to spend that much money to eat out. That being said, a lot of businesses and restaurants are struggling to keep themselves afloat as the cost of keeping a business open when there are no sales is too much. So, if you`re not one of the people struggling financially through this time, consider making a donation to or ordering take out from your trusted establishments.
Back to our shopping list, due to our availability in Canada and prices in our grocery store, we bought:
Pork Roast (to be frozen)
Beef Roast (to be frozen)
Salmon (which we portioned and froze in vac-sealed bags)
Frozen Fish Fillets, Shrimps and Seafood Mix
Pork Chops (portioned and frozen in vac-sealed bags)
Sausages
Bacon
Carrots
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Butternut Squashes
Sweet Potatoes
Yucas/Cassava Roots
Spanish Onions
Garlic Bulbs
Tomatoes (Unripe)
Zucchinis
Lime and Lemon
Milk
Yogurt
Sour Cream
Heavy Cream
Eggs
Olive Oil
Butter
Red Wine Vinegar
Mayo
Pickles
Mustard
Honey
Canned Beans (kidney, black and navy), Chickpeas, Whole Tomatoes
Dried Lentils and Beans
Dried Pastas (Spaghettini, Fettucine, Linguini, Fusilli and Rigatoni)
Rice
Ramen (for the lazy meals)
Frozen vegetables
Naan Bread
Sliced Rye Bread
Sliced Garlic Toast
Parmesan Block
Salami
Pepperoni
Mozzarella Block (Pre-sliced cheeses and cold cuts don`t last as long)
We also already had at home multiple hot sauces, dried spices, vinegars and pickled vegetables, flour, cocoa powder, fish oil, tamarind paste, soy sauce, sesame oil, ketchup and many other condiments that we will use to flavour our meals. For the next two weeks, we plan on operating on a “cook with what`s in your pantry” approach. But this will give us enough of a head start to get creative and enjoy a great variety of foods without having to stock up again. If you need more suggestions on what to stock up on, let us know in the comments and we will try to help as best as we can.
Thanks for Reading!