Quarantine Cooking

QUARANTINE COOKING NEHA BASU SPRING 2020

2

Welcome!

My name is Neha Basu, and this is what I've been cooking in self-isolation.

This is my senior project for Rocky Hill Country Day. Currently, my life (along with everyone else's) has been turned completely upside down by COVID-19. It's had a lot of effects, ranging from tragic deaths to drastic exposure of societal injustices. And it's left most of us stuck at home, cooking for ourselves. This is where I come in.

The goal of this cookbook is to provide you with recipes accessible to all cooking levels, using ingredients you already have in your pantry. I urge you all to experiment and get creative with them! Most of my process was adapting to whatever ingredients I had access to, so the recipes can handle a lot of substitutions for both preference and necessity. I would love to see your re-creations!

You can either send photos to me at nbasu@rockyhill.org or post them on Instagram and tag me @nehambasu!

BREAKFAST

4

PEANUT BUTTER BANANA PANCAKES I've always found pancakes to be too plain. They always require syrup, or honey, or some sort of topping to make them flavorful enough. In this recipe, I decided to take two of my favorite pancake toppings and instead put them Into the pancake... they are a magical experience.

Ingredients:

In a large bowl, mash banana. Once mashed,

1 large banana

mix In peanut butter and egg until well

1/3 cup peanut butter

combined. Stir In milk, brown sugar, and

1 egg

vanilla extract. Once combined, add flour and

1/2 cup milk

baking soda. Cook pancakes on medium low

2 tbsp loose brown sugar

heat until golden brown on both sides.

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 tsp. baking soda Oil/butter for cooking

Pancakes and waffles are a great meal to freeze! Let them cool completely after cooking, and then wrap them up in sets of 2/3 and you have a quick and easy breakfast for when you're on the go! Just reheat them in the microwave

PRO TIP!

or toaster oven.

MY SMOOTHIE TEMPLATE Smoothies have been my go to breakfasts when I have class In the morning: just roll out of bed, throw a few things In the blender, and you're good to go! It's a great chance to use up any produce you have that's been sitting a little too long. An added benefit: you can have breakfast In class without anyone watching you chew :)

Blend together: One banana, broken into pieces Frozen fruit of your choice: in this I used a mango /pineapple/ peach/strawberry mix and a berry mix Yogurt/milk: in this I used vanilla greek yogurt Honey/agave/syrup Protein source (making it a filling breakfast): in this I added a handful of oats NUTRITION FACT! In some cases, the nutrition content of frozen fruit can be even higher than fresh. Freezing can cause some nutrition loss, but it’s usually minimal. In most cases, fruit is frozen soon after harvesting, so a high percentage of the nutritional value is preserved. So no need to worry about fresh produce being better for you than frozen: if anything it’s good to have both for some variety in your diet!

5

6

HASH BROWNS I didn’t start making hash browns until self-isolation, and now I don’t think I’ll ever stop!

Although it can be a bit time consuming (this was actually what drew me to making them: I had all the time in the world), they are so worth it! I encourage you to mix up the seasonings however you would like: this is a good spice level for me.

Wash and shred potatoes (I like to leave the skin on

Ingredients: 1-2 medium potatoes cayenne

water for at least 10 minutes, and then rinse until water runs clean. This helps to get the starch off,

paprika

making the hash browns less gummy. Dump the

salt

potatoes into a cheesecloth and wring it out until

pepper Butter for cooking *cheesecloth or something similar required*

for texture, you could also peel them). Soak them in

there is barely any moisture left in the potatoes. Stir in seasonings. Cook heaping tablespoons of potatoes on medium-low heat, flattening and squishing potatoes together with spatula to form one patty.

When golden brown on the bottom, flip over. When golden brown on both sides, serve immediately.

NUTRITION FACT!

Potatoes have anti-oxidants! They are also gluten free, and rich in healthy starches. Granted, preparing them as hash browns can decrease their nutritional value, but making them at home is a great alternative to eating fast-food hashbrowns frequently.

DAD'S FRENCH TOAST

7

Up until I was probably 11 or 12 years old, I had no idea what actual French Toast was. Rather, I thought it all tasted like this: savory, crispy, and delicious.

That was the preparation my dad used to make for us, and I knew no other! So here, I give to you an alternative to French Toast, that stacks up quite well with the original.

Ingredients:

Whisk together eggs, salt, pepper, and hot sauce.

2 eggs

Using a grater, shred cheddar cheese and whisk into

2 slices of bread

the eggs. I find that grating the cheese fresh is

Approx. 1 tbsp hand-

important because pre-shredded cheese comes in

shredded cheddar

pieces that are too large: they melt on the pan rather

Salt (to taste)

in the egg and create a mess to clean up! Once the

More pepper than you

mixture is combined, dip bread until it is completely

think you need

soaked in egg. Fry over medium heat until golden

A few drops of hot

brown on both sides.

sauce Butter for cooking

NURITION

Eggs have some of nearly every nutrient we need to survive! While they do

FACT!

cholesterol to their diet with eggs doesn’t actually affect their blood

have cholesterol (connoted as a negative thing), for most people, adding

cholesterol levels very much. Eggs are also a great source of protein: each one has about 6 grams!

BAKING

9

SOFT PRETZELSÂ

Here are my suggestions: you can make the pretzels exactly as described, but I

For this recipe, I'll send

find that dunking them in the boiling

you over to Food Network:

water with baking soda isn't really

https://www.foodnetwork.c om/recipes/altonbrown/homemade-softpretzels-recipe-1948242

necessary: instead, I mix together a small bowl of room temperature water and baking soda and coat both sides of the pretzels with it before doing the egg wash. Also, you can experiment with pretzel shapes! I like using some of the dough for nuggets as well (pictured above).

10

FRENCH BREADÂ

In 2020, all any of us have been doing is baking bread: so much so that all of the stores are out of yeast! This is a great

For this recipe, I'll

recipe to use if you've never made bread

send you over to

before: it's very simple, and the bread is

Mel's Kitchen Cafe: https://www.melskit

quite versatile! I don't have the razor tool to make the slits on top of the dough, but I just used a sharp knife and it worked

chencafe.com/fren

fine. Also, I didn't throw ice cubes in my

ch-bread/

oven (the parents weren't thrilled by that concept), but there was still a pretty substantial crust- don't worry if you can't either!

OATMEAL SNICKERDOODLESÂ

11

These cookies are a healthier, heartier version of snickerdoodles. They have the same cinnamon flavor, but the addition of brown sugar and applesauce makes them almost taste like mini apple pies!

Ingredients:

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt,

3/4 cup white sugar 1/3 cup brown sugar

and cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.

1/2 cup room temperature

Cream together butter and sugars. Once

butter

well combined, add in applesauce,

1/3 cup applesauce

vanilla, and egg. Slowly add dry

1 tsp vanilla

ingredient mixture and oats. Preheat

1 egg

oven to 350 degrees. Let dough chill in

2 2/3 cup flour

the fridge for approx. 20 mins. Scoop 1

1 cup oats 1 tsp baking soda

inch balls of dough onto a baking sheet

3/4 tsp salt

lined with parchment paper. Bake for 11-

1/2 tsp cinnamon

13 minutes.

There are many different types of oats. Groats are

kernels with only the shell removed. Chop them up a few

DID YOU KNOW?

times to get steel-cut, and steam + roll + dry them to get old-fashioned.

THE BASICS

13

PIZZA TOAST This is my go-to comfort food. It’s a great option because it’s completely customizable with whatever you have lying around, and who doesn’t love pizza?

Ingredients:

Spread tomato sauce on each slice

Sliced bread

of bread. Add mozzarella on top of

Tomato sauce Shredded mozzarella Whatever toppings you

sauce. Be liberal! Add toppings.

Toast in toaster oven until cheese

like!!

starts to bubble and get brown at

(In this recipe I used

the edges.

pepperoni and sliced olives because that's what we had lying around)

PRO TIP!

Turn everything into pizza: this recipe uses sliced bread, but I also use tortillas, English muffins, and even sometimes hamburger buns!

14

GROWN-UP MAC AND CHEESEÂ No cookbook for quarantine would be complete without a mac and cheese recipe! While you can never go wrong with a Kraft box, I think this could be a good alternative... It walks a fine line between mac and cheese and Alfredo sauce, so if you're not a fan of Alfredo (why?) I'd suggest adding much more milk and cheddar.

Use any pasta you like! In this photo, I used whole wheat penne.

Ingredients: Pasta for 6 people 3 tbsp unsalted butter 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

Use directions as described on the website. Add red pepper flakes and garlic powder with the cheese.

1/2 tsp salt

Adapted from:

A bunch of pepper

https://www.pumpkinnspice.com/creamy-

1/3 cup milk

stovetop-macaroni-cheese/

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream 1/2 shredded cheese blend (preferably includes cheddar) 1/2 cup shredded mozzerella 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 1/8 tsp garlic powder Whole wheat pasta has many health benefits! It has lots of fiber, antioxidants, and protein. Dietary guidelines say that half or more of your daily grains should be whole grains, and whole wheat pasta

NUTRITION FACT!

is a great way to get them!

SPICY TUNA SANDWICH

15

I miss sushi :( so, I turned it into a sandwich! Obviously, there is much more to sushi than just spicy tuna rolls, but I chose this because we seem to have quite a bit of canned tuna in the house!

Adjust the spice ratio to however you like: what I listed is (I think) a good starting point that you can add on to!

Ingredients:

Toast the bread. Mix together tuna, 1 tbsp

2 slices of bread

mayo, sriracha, sesame seeds, and

1 can chilled tuna

sesame oil. Mix together wasabi sauce

1 1/4 tbsp mayo

and extra mayo (or leave out mayo for

(divided)

more spice). Slice cucumber. Spread

1 tsp sriracha

wasabi on bread, and then top with tuna

1/2 tsp sesame seeds

mixture and cucumbers.

Few drops of sesame oil Cucumber Wasabi sauce/paste

NUTRITION FACT!

Tuna has omega-3 fatty acids, which help to lower your blood pressure (which then helps decrease risk of stroke and heart attack). And one 3 oz. can can have 20+ grams of protein!

16

INSTANT RAMEN 2.0 Ramen: the ultimate home cooking staple. While there certainly is value in the classic cup noodle, this is a nice twist that takes instant noodles to the next level.

You can serve this plain, or add cold chicken/tofu/pork etc. on top!

Ingredients: Instant Ramen 1 stalk spring onions,

agitating it yourself) just until all of the

2 tsp water 1 tbsp soy sauce 1/2 tsp mirin 1/4 tsp sugar 1/4 tsp lemon juice 3-4 drops of sesame

DID YOU KNOW?

where most of the sodium in ramen comes from). Cook the ramen (without

chopped

oil

Throw out the seasoning packet (this is

noodles are separated. Strain them out of the boiling water and rinse in cold water until fully cooled. Set aside. Mix together water, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, lemon juice, and sesame oil until well combined. Pour over noodles. Add spring onion and mix.

Dry instant ramen is eaten as a snack! You can make it yourself by breaking up the noodle block and sprinkling a bit of the seasoning on, or it is sold pre-made in some Japanese grocery stores!

17

Expiration Dates

"This expired 4 months ago... But can I still use it?"

For most foods (except infant formula), an expiration date isn't actually required. It's more of a suggestion from the company as to when the food will taste best.

So for most things, as long as it looks/smells fine, you're probably good to go. But there are a few dates that you absolutely should follow...

Soft cheeses Condiments Potato/Egg/Tuna Salad Uncooked meat Fresh berries Shellfish Milk Make sure you know which date you're looking at! There are sell by, use by, best by, best if used by dates and more. And remember, you can always throw something in the freezer rather than let it slowly go bad at the back of your fridge...