Quarantine Life Week 56 – Hopefully Our Last Week of Full Lockdown

That title alone is anxiety producing. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited. I am also very nervous about what life looks like when we can exit the bubble. I mean, we’re only going to be doing a partial exit for now because of our youngest daughter, but things are going to change, and it feels like it’s happening so fast. I laugh because it feels so fast right now, but it’s taken more than a year to get to this point, and we’re probably looking at several months before the little one gets the vaccine, and we can maybe totally go back to some form of normal. Okay, I’m going to focus on the food because that makes me happier.

Thursday (4/22) – Katie made a pork tenderloin recipe from a French Bistro style cookbook I’ve had forever. It was one of the first real recipes she ever made. I think she was eight or nine at the time. This time, she also made a vegetable side dish from the same book. It had golden beats, fava beans, asparagus and artichokes with a vinaigrette. I thought it lacked flavor. We would definitely add more herbs and seasonings next time. But the pork was incredibly tender, juicy and flavorful.

Friday (4/23) – Since it was our kittens’ birthday and we had not been able to celebrate Eleanor’s birthday yet, we had birthday dinner and a little virtual party. I did a Google meet call with my mom and taught her how to make my alfredo sauce, which we then sat down and ate with her and my nieces virtually. I put spinach in ours, which Mom doesn’t like, but she said hers came out very well. We then had chocolate lava cakes, which I forgot to take a picture of. But I did learn not to put a wax candle in a lava cake. Luckily, I had made one extra. They tasted delicious, but the execution was off. They completely erupted when I tried to remove them from the ramekins. I think it is because of the style of ramekin.

Saturday (4/24) – We began the day with a frittata. I used some of the leftover vegetable medley Katie had made during the week and gruyere cheese. It came out alright. I liked the fondue-like quality of the cheese, but there were way too many beats. For dinner, I made my cheese enchiladas. I made these with a blend of cheddar and pepper jack cheese. I have to be honest here. I made way more than we needed for dinner and yet no one else got any of the leftovers. They were my lunch the next three days. I also made cilantro lime rice and beans for sides. I was really shocked because the kid ate an enchilada and a half and barely touched her beans and rice, which is completely opposite her norm. Guess that is a compliment!

Sunday (4/25) – For breakfast, I made a batch of biscuits and sausage gravy. Then I poached eggs and heated asparagus picked out of the vegetable medley. I topped poached eggs and asparagus in hollandaise sauce for the kid and I, and my husband had biscuits and gravy with poached eggs on top. I was really feeling the asparagus with hollandaise vibe. For dinner, I reheated what was left of the pork loin Katie made and served it with a simple side salad.

Monday (4/26) – My husband officially hit his two weeks. He’s talking about going places. But he didn’t actually do it yet, except to go to Rockwell’s Grill and pick up take-out for dinner. I just wasn’t feeling any of the food we had in the house. Surprisingly, the kid did not order grilled cheese. She wanted the vegetable burrito instead. I was shocked! I, on the other hand, stuck with my new usual and got the chicken sandwich. It was delicious as usual.

Tuesday (4/27) – I made a big batch of dirty rice in the instant pot. I cut the chicken liver from a pound down to half a pound, and Katie chopped it up really fine. I guess I should have said “we made” as Katie and I did it together. This batch was also all beef because I ran out of ground pork. I don’t think that has happened in years. I always have at least five pounds on hand. But the last few times we’ve ordered groceries, the price of ground pork has been up a little, and so I have put off ordering it. I guess I’m going to have to suck it up and pay the extra twenty cents per pound.

Wednesday (4/28) – Last day before K and I are considered fully vaccinated, or what we are colloquially referring to as “super-human” around here these days. Don’t worry, we are still going to be wearing masks, washing hands and social distancing. We are just going to feel safer while doing it. For dinner, I tried a new recipe I found on NYT Cooking’s web app for penne a la vodka. It had great flavor but didn’t thicken up as much as the recipe I normally use. I think I can adjust it to get the thickness I want next time.

Well, my next post might be talking about how I went to a grocery store. We’ll see. I have written so much about missing the grocery store, and yet, the thought of going into one is still scary. And even with being vaccinated, I want to figure out how I do it without spending too much time inside. I know it’s supposed to be pretty safe, and I know people who have been doing it throughout the pandemic and haven’t gotten sick. But I also know a lot of people who have had Covid. And no, I’m not saying they got it in the grocery store. From what I understand there is very little to no evidence of anyone getting it that way. But I’m going to go ahead and just hold to my crazy just a bit.