Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Tuesday, April 7. 2020

What's cookin'?


I get the impression that people are making home-cooked meals during this so-called quarantine.  This weekend, I made this: Marcella's beef braised in red wine.  Not bad at all, an Italian pot roast I guess. 


My photo is before the 3 hrs of cooking. 


Are y'all cooking at home more now? 

Posted by Bird Dog in Food and Drink at 18:15 | Comments (17) | Trackbacks (0)

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Cook at home probably 12 out of every 14 days and the other two days are at family who are cooking at home. Unless traveling we rarely go out for dinner and since it is so rare we visit places we love. Or, rather, we did. No telling which places will survive. Good thing we like our own cooking.

Tonight is a late dinner so just a kicked up tuna salad over rye and some lettuce and tomato.

I suspect half the reason so many people are hoarding TP is that they now have to eat their own cooking for the first time.
#1 Knucklehead (Link) on 2020-04-07 19:09 (Reply)
Cook maybe 25 days a month. Just finished a kitchen remodel and the decorator wanted us to pitch some utensils but then said “oh. Y’all cook, don’t you?” Fixing a pot roast tonight.
#2 John M. Baird on 2020-04-07 19:34 (Reply)
I work from home (have for 19 years), so the amount of cooking at home hasn't really changed. The big difference is that my sweet wife and I usually go out to lunch together once or twice a week, and of course we can't do that now. But we have been getting takeout from some of our favorite local restaurants, so even there, there hasn't been a big shift.

Note: when the last of our nine kids left home about 15 years ago, my wife largely (and deservedly) retired from cooking, so I've been doing pretty much all the cooking and grocery shopping since then. We seldom have sit-down meals; usually, I make a large batch of something, and we live off leftovers for a period of time.

Right now in the fridge, I've got homemade carnitas (made those on Sunday), my Grandpa Jack's Mexican beans (a 100-year-old family recipe which I always have made up in the fridge & freezer), and the last 1/3rd of a tray of store-bought chicken enchiladas (the Sam's Club kind, made from leftover rotisserie chicken). I always have lots of eggs and cheese on hand. The pantry and freezer are well-stocked, and given that neither of us eats all that much, we could probably go for at least a few months on what we've got.
#3 bfwebster (Link) on 2020-04-07 19:46 (Reply)
Do you ever share your Grandpa Jack's Mexican beans recipe? If so, would you do so here, please? If not, it is my loss.
#3.1 Bon on 2020-04-08 02:46 (Reply)
I didn't have nine kids but sure wish I did. I found that cooking large meals for a family is so much more satisfying than cooking for two.
#3.2 OneGuy on 2020-04-08 16:54 (Reply)
We mostly cook at home, but tonight my wife (a very good cook) hit it out of the park with a roasted pork tenderloin.These can get pretty dry if you are not paying attention, but this one was perfect. Marinated in soy sauce/sesame oil then rolled in honey and sesame seeds before roasting. Damn. Can't wait to make sandwiches tomorrow.

Stay safe, everyone. God Bless.
#4 archer2010 on 2020-04-07 20:04 (Reply)
I am the primary cook for our house (husband and two teenagers). We have eaten out once in the past month. We ate a lot of family meals together before, so it not a big deal. When my daughter was in 8th grade, the teacher asked by show of hands, who ate as a family at home? She was one of two students to raise her hand. It isn’t so much both parents working as kids having sport practices during dinner time. Then they grab drive thru food at 8 at night. The biggest change in my house is everyone eating lunch at home.
#5 Sheryl on 2020-04-07 20:22 (Reply)
I'm often away during the work week at dinner time. Home every day now we are cooking full meals most days - leftovers on the others. Tonight I made a chicken marsala. Very simple and quick. Had a mashed cauliflower as a side (and base for the chicken & sauce), also broccoli.

A very nice change to the routine.
#6 steve walsh on 2020-04-07 20:41 (Reply)
Soooo oh great cook! Do we have no data or is the death rate 0.2% or 0.5%??? Can't keep with your ever changing bullsh*t opinions...
#7 WTF is wrong with you on 2020-04-07 22:06 (Reply)
I see the self quarantine is getting to you. No soup for you!
#7.1 Soup Nazi on 2020-04-08 16:57 (Reply)
Home smoked pork on sub bun with peri-peri mayo, sauteed onions and peppers for the husband, raw onions for me. Salad. Beer.
#8 Ugalygirl (Link) on 2020-04-08 01:08 (Reply)
We don't normally eat out much anyway. With four boys that gets expensive. When we do it's for the best foods in the world, Vietnamese or Mexican.

Some highlights at home recently have been jambalaya, grilled fish tacos, shrimp scampi. My wife has been eating on some thawed pulled pork that I smoked a few months ago. I gave up meat for Lent so I get to smell it. I saw an ad for Schlotzsky's yesterday and my mouth started watering.
#9 Jack Walter on 2020-04-08 07:55 (Reply)
Smoked 12 pounds of pork shoulder all day yesterday. Took forever as usual and then you have to pull it. Had some last night and the rest except for repeats tonight will go into the freezer and we will enjoy it for the next few months. We have done curbside pick up at local restaurants as we live near a small town and want them to hopefully stay in business. The local Walmart pick up times are booked for three days out so will either have to cover up and go in for more food or make do with what is here. I make all of our bred so as long as my supplies hold out we're good.
#10 JC on 2020-04-08 08:16 (Reply)
Can you find Bread Yeast anywhere? They don't seem to have it here in NC. Thankfully, I have several packets of beer yeast I can use in a pinch.
#10.1 snopercod on 2020-04-08 08:41 (Reply)
Fortunately since I bake all the time I had ordered a couple of pounds of two different yeasts. Yeast keeps a long time in the frig or freezer. I bought one in the store and ordered the other on Amazon as I had been waiting a couple of years before they got one brand back in that I really liked. Amazon still has some yeast if you don't mind having a pound in the frig. Instafirm is the one I had been waiting for and it is made in Canada, the other Saf is made in Mexico. Instafirm should be back in stock in about a week.
#10.1.1 JC on 2020-04-08 09:26 (Reply)
Also luckily, you can always make a starter with wild yeast straight out of the air. Lots of instructions on the net.

We never have been in the habit of eating out much. I was skeptical at first that restaurants could stay in business in this lockdown by continuing to offer take-out, but apparently people are still eating out enough to keep them going. Although we're pretty comfortable financially, I'd consider that a surprising luxury. I don't know how people on limited incomes manage it at all. Have they really not considered how expensive it is?
#10.1.1.1 Texan99 on 2020-04-08 11:41 (Reply)
That is a handsome looking pot/dutch oven. Nice looking stock, too.

Braising, low and slow, is a southern tradition I was raised with.
#11 NotKennedy on 2020-04-08 18:25 (Reply)

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