Even More Recipes I Have Made and Loved (Quarantine Edition!)
When this post goes up I will have hit five weeks in quarantine. I’ve gone out once to get curbside grocery pickup, and once again to go to Target (with a mask on and disinfectant at the ready) because I ran out of toilet paper and the only way to get it was in-store. But other than that, I’ve been at home, or in the case of walking the dog, within a mile or two of home. The part I was not at all prepared for was how much cooking I’d be doing. I’m at home a lot anyway, and I eat a lot at home, but I have been needing to run my dishwasher every day. I’m only one person! I had to order a spatula and a whisk because I realized one of each just wasn’t enough! If you asked me what I predicted would happen while in quarantine, the amount of time I have spent in my kitchen wouldn’t come up after fifteen guesses.
I already did a post, somewhat recently, of some recipes I have been making lately. But now here are MORE.
If you want a project that will take multiple days, why not give Samin Nosrat’s Focaccia a try? I made it, and it was not only fun, but delicious. I will say that it helped to rewatch the BA video of her making focaccia with Brad, and if I made it again I would forgo the step where you bake it on top of another pan that’s been heated up with the oven. My bread ended up not baking on the bottom so I had to sort of re-bake it and then parts of it were burnt… it still turned out okay. Plus, it makes SO MUCH bread that even after I discarded some burnt edges I still had focaccia for days and days.
Be aware, that focaccia recipe uses a LOT of flour. Just in case you only have so much flour and also want to make, say, pancakes. I’ve gotten very into pancakes lately and this recipe is the best of the best. I has a ton of baking powder in it, so you get a great rise on your ‘cakes. They’re fluffy and so satisfying. I add a splash of vanilla extract, because vanilla extract will improve any baking recipe. Plus, did you know that pancakes freeze super well? Make a ton when you’re in the mood to stand next to your stove flipping pancakes and then have a stash for later. You just toss them in the microwave and they taste like you just made them. And remember to make a tiny pancake for the dog!
Me, every time I saw this loaf: “LOOK at the SIZE of that LOAF!”
I always seem to have a can of pumpkin puree in my pantry. Does everyone? Is this odd? Anyway, I saw a Smitten Kitchen post that was like, “You know how you always have a stray can of pumpkin lying around?” and I screamed, “YES DEB I DO!” And it led me to her fantastic pumpkin bread recipe from a few years ago. THIS BREAD OMG. It makes truly an enormous loaf of the most perfectly moist delicious pumpkin bread I have ever had. The cinnamon sugar spread across the top is a perfect touch. I now wish I had MORE rogue cans of pumpkin because I ate my whole loaf and now I need more. The next time I have to mask up and venture out, I’m getting more pumpkin puree.
Did not take this photo with the expectation that I would publish it. I feel like that’s obvious. But the chicks look good, right?
I had a big bag of Costco frozen chicken breasts, with just four left, chilling out in my freezer taking up valuable space. I had no plans for them, so I did some Pinteresting, and found this recipe for how to bake chicken breasts and have them come out actually tasting good. It worked beautifully and now I have chicken waiting to become a quick sandwich, as a little protein to add to rice, or to eat with my favorite dip.
