We may not have spent time inside with family this holiday, but we did exchange food and gifts and Facetimed.
Of course it wasn’t perfect, but for being in the midst of a global pandemic, it was good enough.
It reminds me think of that Big Bang Theory episode where Leonard hauls around a virtual, mobile version of Sheldon on a screen to participate in life virtually from his room.
This year, our parents both prepared meals that tied in favorite family food traditions.
Right before Thanksgiving, our Governor’s orders halted indoor dining at restaurants (among other things) in an effort to manage the rising COVID-19 rates and protect our healthcare workers.
We are grateful for our continued employment and order take-out rather frequently. My recent favorites are P.J. Murphy’s bakery in St. Paul for croissants, doughnuts, and breads (the new owners have stepped up the bread game), Everest on Grand for delicious Nepalese food that’s really really spicy (if you want it that way), and Regina’s Candies for dark chocolate covered pretzels.
Lasagna is a food I could eat every night for dinner.
There’s Fancy Lasagna and there’s Midwest Mom Lasagna. Sometimes you want Midwest Mom Lasagna.
Fancy lasagna may involve parboiling noodles, bechamel with a touch of nutmeg, and homemade bolognese.
An online search for authentic Italian lasagna brought me to a recipe involving all of these things plus steps for making my own pasta sheets. “The ONLY lasagna recipe you will ever need!” it boasted. “Yeah, I’m not doing any of those things,” I thought.
Midwest Mom Lasagna might still involve par-boiling noodles, but definitely no bechamel. Most of us grew up eating lasagnas with cottage cheese (or possibly ricotta) layered around hamburger tomato sauce. It’s the stuff that many of us grew-up on. It reminds us of mom. . . or a nice mom who served it.
Last summer the only thing I cooked was bruschetta.
I made bruschetta a lot. Every week. This summer I’m still making a lot of bruschetta. But I’m also making gochujang-butter shrimp. The sauce is inspired by the delicious gochujang-butter chicken wings a restaurant called Rabbit Hole used to serve in Midtown Global Market years ago before closing.
This gochujang butter sauce is composed of only two ingredients – a gochujang squeezy sauce and butter. I could be your Asian Sandra Lee.
This post is not sponsored. We paid for our own CSA membership.
I haven’t signed-up for a CSA since we lived in Fargo. I remember getting a lot of corn and potatoes.
By the time I started to think about CSA’s, most seemed to have reached capacity. I didn’t know what this summer would bring and wanted to avoid cash-handling and crowds.
In late April, Untiedt’s Vegetable Farm CSA was still accepting sign-ups. They partner with Kowalski’s, a local grocery store. You can choose any store as a pick-up. If you live near one it’s a convenient option.
Untiedt’s is located in Waverly, MN about an hour from St. Paul. Their farm isn’t strictly organic – they discuss their commitment to sustainable growing practices here.
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