Wednesday 17 February 2021

EATING OUR WAY OUT OF LOCKDOWN – ENQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW

Unlike many people, I have embraced lockdown wholeheartedly.

I am fortunate in that I am not encumbered by family or serious financial worries, love my own company and do not much care for the big outdoors. It has also given me time for reflection and the opportunity to consider what the future might hold.

For those of us born in the 50s and beyond, I think of the last twelve months as being our WW2, a time when the freedoms we have for so long taken for granted have been severely restricted, causing us to lead our lives in a way we could not have foreseen. The inability to move around and mix with each other freely has caused significant distress and a feeling of isolation for many of us, but I believe we will all come out of this better people; less selfish perhaps, and more conscious of the impact our behaviour has on others.

Putting our current inability to travel aside, we all still need to eat.

After procreation, for without that the human race would not survive, food must surely be the most important thing in our lives. In our relatively affluent Western world, we have an abundance of food on our doorsteps, despite our insistence on choosing to consume produce grown thousands of miles away, with little thought to our impact on the environment.

How, when, where and what we eat, and who we choose to share meals with, has never been more important.

I try to eat seasonally, and local, largely because it means that that I can support independent businesses that are struggling, and also because things just taste better the closer they are from farm to fork. Whilst I am no stranger to junk food (Fray Bentos Steak & Kidney pie is a weakness, as is vesta Chow Mein) I do care passionately about what goes into my mouth, even if it means a conscious decision at times to eat badly. 

My dietary habits have never been the best, and having been housebound for almost a year now, with little opportunity for eating out, my body clock has gone completely haywire; hence chicken noodle soup and hot cross buns at 2am, and calves’ liver for breakfast.

I have a thing about fish on the bone (it HAS to be) and spanking fresh eggs, with shiny pert golden yolks, but I have never enjoyed ‘veg’, except for slender spears of asparagus smothered in hollandaise, and whatever happened to those fabulous kidney-shaped, yellow, waxy, Jersey Royals?

I resist ordering online, not trusting anyone else to ‘pick’ my produce, and have felt forced to shop in supermarkets; a dismal experience all round. I just do not want to buy a whole pack of (out of season) tomatoes, a cucumber, a head of broccoli or a bag of lettuce. Six salad leaves is just about my limit.

The thing I have missed most of all since lockdown is eating out. I love cooking but would never dream of cooking an entire meal just for myself. When I eat out, which I usually do around five times a week, I very rarely order a main course, much preferring several small portions. In my current state of nutritional melancholy, I long for a menu of delicious, tempting, low calorie morsels, waiting to seduce my tastebuds, whilst keeping my waistline in check. Linda, get over yourself; remember there are millions who are dying for want of anything at all to put in their distended bellies.

Of course, reading about food (now on my 164th book) has not helped my plight at all.

Ploughing my way through my latest volume, a series of essays (some not very well written) about food and life, I came across a chapter in which the author considers the foods eaten by some of our most recognisable writers while they labour under the tension of finding the perfect word for their latest award-winning manuscript.  

This got me thinking. The vast majority of the people I choose to socialise with are ‘into’ food and wine. Under normal circumstances we would get together regularly but in the absence of being able to do so, apart from the odd virtual wine tasting, I decided to carry out a little experiment, posing the question, on Mon. 15th Feb., ‘What did you have for your dinner this evening?’ What was astonishing was the extraordinary level of immediate responses. Those I received, from this diverse selection of people from across the world, came in thick and fast, and were socially very enlightening. Some decided to wax lyrical, obviously wanting to ‘let it all out’, complete with apologies and a certain amount of embarrassment as to their lack of imagination when it came to the choices they had made when no-one was looking.

Others were brief and to the point, with very little detail being given, bringing to the surface a range of unanswered questions. Some were in relationships or living with family members. Did they eat together? If not, why not? Where did they eat? At a table, in the kitchen, watching TV? Did they use the ‘just throw it all in’ approach to ad hoc cooking, well-tried recipes, ready meals, cheat’s tricks or all prepared fresh from scratch?

I was also struck by the high level of abstinence, and the extent to which people appear to be eating healthily.

We ARE what we eat in more ways than one. It is the decisions we make when faced with hunger, necessity, or merely boredom perhaps, that determine who we are, and what is important in our lives.

 

LdH

Homemade (not by me) toasted small round loaf of rustic sourdough bread - made with whole wheat, rye, and white flour (2 slices). Canned lentil soup (1 cup).

One slice of toasted bread, then the soup, then a second slice of toasted bread

Water drunk throughout the meal and after

It was easy; I bought the bread on Saturday at a roadside bakery stand in Grand Isle so I needed to eat it sooner rather than later as there were no preservatives. The soup was heated on the stove.

Clearly using up the bread, but what about her husband? Did they eat together, eat the same thing? Was the toast buttered, or not? Water seems rather puritan, to me at least.   

 

DB

I had Parmesan chicken. Cooked chicken chunks ‘til brown, then added Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, mushrooms, rice, stock and cooked for 15 minutes until cooked. Then added cream and Parmesan cheese - a very yummy dish. With two glasses of Chilean Merlot. 

This person obviously felt the need to give details as to how the meal was prepared. Why chicken ‘chunks’? Did she de-bone thighs or chop up a breast? What kind of mushrooms were used, how were they used, whole or sliced? What kind of rice? What stock was used? What type of cream? Was the Parmesan freshly grated or from a packet? What size glasses of wine? So many questions….

 

KW-C

We had pasta with mushrooms - mushrooms fried with garlic and then crème fraîche and Parmesan and pasta water added and some parsley. All stirred together. (Jamie Oliver cook 5 but with added parsley). We had a lot of mushrooms in the fridge.

Ate early as N has a PC meeting. I have supped 2 G&Ts since.

When he has finished, we will have some left over smoked salmon and left over white Bordeaux - which I will go easy on!

This is not a normal evening.... PC ones are always different.

This person was feeling obliged to explain the thinking behind the meal and the fact that it was based around mushroom that needed to be used up. What type of mushrooms and what type of pasta was used? Is a G&T the usual tipple? What type of G&T is preferred?

FB

Prawn risotto with tomato sauce, with garlic. Small brandy.

Homemade? If so, where was it purchased? What else was in the risotto? How was it cooked? Why the brandy?

 

CP

Beef brisket roasted with homemade Yorkshires and carrots and leeks in blue cheese sauce. Red merlot and beer and gin.

Short and succinct. What happened to any brisket left over? What blue cheese was used on the leeks? Was the wine a conscious choice or an opened bottle to use up? What type of beer and gin, with the meal or before/after?

 

VH

A rather basic pasta meal. Cooked a few chopped slices of bacon with diced onion then added some cooked pasta shells and peas and bound everything together with a homemade cheese sauce (cheddar). Simple but tasty. With it I drank diet lemonade.

Almost apologetic. What kind of bacon was used, smoked/unsmoked, back or streaky? Were the peas fresh or frozen? What was the reason for the diet lemonade?

 

LT

Okay, so it’s perhaps a shame I am answering this today as we had a simple tea! We had M&S southern fried breaded chicken pieces with salad and wraps, however I am not so keen, so I had a haddock fish cake with some M&S layered peas, sweet corn, broccoli and carrots (in a pot which you microwave) and some Dauphinoise potatoes. I drank a glass of Dr Pepper Zero. It’s a fairly regular Monday night meal, first day back at work for the week and I want something easy to cook. 

A family with different tastes and eating habits, well served by ready meals for an easy life. Quick and easy to prepare. Dauphinoise potatoes, served with a fish cake, made with potato? Note the use of ‘tea’ rather than dinner. I wonder what time they ate?

 

VM

lobster bisque with cream, reheated in microwave

baguette with butter and carrot spread

skate, reheated in oven

potatoes, reheated in oven

steak, reheated in oven

french fries, reheated in oven

salad

chocolates with whipped cream

lemon bar

I strongly suspect this was a ‘gourmet’ meal delivered by a very posh, and very expensive restaurant nearby which pre-cooks everything for diners to heat up and serve. Designer ready meal. I wonder how well the food re-heated, and what cut of steak was used, served with what sauce? Carrot spread on a baguette? Skinny fries or chunky ones?

 

RG

Oxtail and red wine stew with mashed potato and steamed broccoli. 

Short and to the point from one of my oldest ‘foodie’ friends. But, was the oxtail re-heated (always better the day after). What potatoes were used for the mash (I suspect home grown) and was butter and/or cream added to the mash? Nothing to drink? Surely not!

LJ

I made a Chinese stir fry with bean sprouts, shredded cabbage, peppers, noodles and king prawns. The sauce was “curry style” and I added soy sauce to taste. 

Overall, it did not taste great and was not even what I wanted to eat. It was easy to make and filling, so it was selected mostly due to practicality.

Although it will pain you to read this, the chosen beverage was water (some of us insist on torturing ourselves...)

What I really wanted tonight was fish and chips. Alas, due to general overindulgence during the Christmas and lockdown periods, I am having to resort to culinary austerity. For an unadventurous chef like myself, this is no challenge.

This sounds like someone who is not easily pleased and rather fed up with life at the moment. Were the ingredients for the stir fry from a ready mixed packet? What would have been the difference in price from having fish and chips?

 

LL

Dinner last night...

A few tiny pieces left over from a delivered Lou Malnati’s pizza that was ordered for lunch

Water

Horrible

I have never been one to order food deliveries! However, have done it twice recently...

Can’t bear to go out in Chiberia! (Chicago under snow)

So when I ordered I did two meals which really lasts for about six!

Am out of coffee beans today... must figure out how to get them in!

So many people order groceries in. Not me... yet!!

That’s the bipolar way! Extreme extravagance ...then the opposite!

I am a main meal at noon person.

Yes, I love eating in courses… result of spending time in FRANCE.

There then followed details of previous days meals and plans for Lent. This is from someone who is passionate about food, sounding rather fed up and frustrated with life at the moment. Interesting in that there are places in town still open for diners to visit in person.

 

DS

Tito’s Vodka martinis, no garnish

Salad of roasted beets on arugula, dressed with tarragon vinegar and EVOO and crumbled goat cheese.

Osso Buco (recipe from Giada De Laurentiis)

Tiny potatoes, boiled then crisped in butter. 

2105 Winesmith Cabernet Franc, Lake County, California. 

This is someone who is clearly not prepared to cut corners despite the pandemic. Cocktails made with designer vodka, to get them in the mood, simply prepared food and decent wine (around £30 a bottle). When can I come for dinner?

 

JG

Baked Sweet potato,

Grilled chicken, and 

Washed down with tea.   

Simple and healthy. Not a lot more to be said.

 

 

JCW

We had Pad Thai vegetable stir fry made up of: - broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, leeks, mushrooms, red and yellow peppers, cashew nuts, noodles and sesame seeds. All home cooked except for a sachet of sauce.

Washed down with half a bottle of sparkling rose La Folie Mirabeau and half a bottle of Nelson Bay Sauvignon Blanc - leftover from last night's Valentine Supper!

Finished with handmade (not by us) Pink Gin Marshmallows coated in Belgian Chocolate. 

It was the "veggie" night.

Stir fries and noodles or pasta seem to hit the spot for a relatively quick, easy and satisfying weekday meal. I wonder what sachet of sauce was used? Interesting that they had a ‘veggie’ night. How many of us consciously do that?

 

JG

An unusually simple and commercial meal not typical at all:

homemade cauliflower soup with Georgia country smoked ham

panko crusted shrimp (purchased but good) with my incredible VSOP sauce (perhaps the best sauce you've ever had; my invention)

one coconut cookie

Certainly not the menu I expected from the most adventurous gourmet I know. It just goes to show that at times we all want the comfort of familiar ingredients and a level of simplicity. I shall have to get my hands on the sauce recipe.

 

BL

We have our main meal lunchtimes during lockdown as its better for K with diabetes.

We only had 2 courses.

We started with a glass of wine each of Malbec and then had calves liver lightly tossed in flour, gently pan fried with a little onion and olive oil, served with broccoli, spinach and red cabbage (cabbage cooked with some red wine) I already had an onion gravy. Then bacon, 2 rashers for K, 1 rasher for me, microwaved in our new smart microwave oven. We had another top up of wine and moved on to our dessert which was a small serving of homemade plum and apple tart with crumble topping, served with gluten free ice cream.

We then followed this up with a black coffee and a quick doze. However, it has to be noted that we walked 10,000 steps before lunch and 2500 later in the day.

We have both lost weight by eating lunchtime and having a salad snack early evening.

Smug or what?! I knew without looking that this was from a friend who likes to cross the Ts and dot the Is. Maybe I am behind the times, but when did ice cream usually have gluten in it? Technically of course, given the question posed, I should have been sent the details of the ‘salad snack’ eaten in the early evening.

 

SW

I had loin chop and mushrooms, lightly fried in proper butter, with portion of french stick and butter

One of my best friends who no longer lives in the area, which is a pity as we used to eat out together at least once a week.

 

LE-R

lentil soup cooked in an InstantPot, with cassava root chips

Spartan fare. Does cooking in an InstantPot mean it was basically something you add hot water to and stir? Cassava is an interesting choice, presumably healthier than potato chips.

 

BS

Skipped dinner last night

Brief and to the point. Does this mean that they ate or drank absolutely nothing?!

 

HW

Our eating habits were simple yet quite tasty. We cooked the entire meal in a large casserole dish.

Roasted potatoes with cumin, hot paprika salt and pepper and olive oil, then halfway through the potatoes roasting, we added chicken breast on top of it with olive oil, salt and pepper, garlic, lemon juice and brown sugar. 

We added a salad of mixed field greens, sliced fresh mozzarella, black olives, red peppers, dried cranberries and a few peanuts tossed with a balsamic vinegar. 

We are both avid water drinkers, so there was no other beverage. And no dessert … just leftover chocolate from Valentine’s Day.

This from a NY friend who now lives in Florida, and as a man of advancing years, it is heartening to see that he still cooks a proper meal. It is beyond my imagination to know how one could become an ‘avid’ water drinker.

 

MC

I did myself 2 slices of buttered toast and made it into a sandwich with a slice of ham and some Dijon mustard.
To drink I had a glass of water and for dessert I had a plain bifidus yoghurt with a mandarin.
Very exciting. I normally have my main meal lunch time.

It is interesting to note that the ‘older’ generation have taken to eating their main meal at lunchtime. Very sensible, and something I try to do myself. I know that this person is gluten free so am assuming, rightly or wrongly, that they used gluten free bread. As they also live in France, and as I am a ham snob, I am wondering about the quality of the ham used.

 

ClH

Cottage pie with mashed potatoes and shredded cabbage, pancakes with lemon and caster sugar. No wine. We always abstain on Mondays and Tuesdays. Decided not to fast from alcohol this Lent. Bad for mental health, COVID lockdown and the blues!!!

Pancakes seem appropriate, with Shrove Tuesday on the horizon, and of course English people always have sugar and lemon with them. Cottage pie is a staple family meal for us also. Not sure that I could abstain for two days a week, and I wonder how many people have decided not to fast for Lent this year, feeling that they have suffered enough!

 

MW

Not a normal day. We have our main meal at lunchtime but we had the remains of Sunday's steak that I couldn't eat, cut up & done with onion, garlic & falafel. Served it with remains of Sunday's saute potato & garden peas. Pud was pomelo in lime jelly, also left from Sunday. I had a glass of water & Russ had a cup of tea.

However, because we went to Waitrose we ended up having a huge bowl of moules mariniere with garlic bread for dinner last night along with a glass of white wine & nothing to follow.

Interesting to see how many respondents felt that the day in questions was ‘not normal’, which begs the question, what constitutes ‘normal’? Once again, thrifty ways have meant that leftovers are being used judicially, albeit for lunch rather than the dinner requested. ‘posh’ shoppers, they indulged in moules (not mussels!) for their evening meal. I wonder what wine they had? I enjoy a Muscadet.

DC

This is an interesting experiment but easy enough to take part in. I had pasta primavera with spaghetti pasta and oil & garlic dressing. I chose this entree because it is nutritious and filling. I didn't drink anything with it (I was out of wine, lol, and I don't drink other beverages when I'm eating). I had one garlic knot (small bun) too. I would say the bun was just white flour dough infused with garlic powder and baked. I ate some of the pasta first before taking a bite into the bread. The meal was takeout from the Italian restaurant around the corner. I'm sure the veggies (chopped broccoli, sliced carrots, mushrooms, green peas and garlic) were sautéed.

Another person aiming to do the right thing, despite purchasing their meal from a take away. No alcohol, and no pud by the sounds of it. I do speculate on whether or not any of these well-intentioned people get the munchies late at night. Where are the Bridget Jones lookalikes scoffing a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in solitary splendour?  

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