We tend to eat at home and do much of our own cooking, so we have a reasonably well-stocked pantry and usually have some prepared meals/dishes in the freezer.
The closure of dine-in restaurants won’t hit us too badly, since we usually order takeout - however, my doctors are advising against takeout/delivery at present.
We are worried about the survival of restaurants and their staff. We have bought gift certificates in the hope that helps.
I’m opting for a two-prong approach to the isolation/quarantine:
Ensuring we are prepared, with a decent variety of shelf-stable foods/ingredients, that we will be okay for a 14-day or longer isolation.
Ensuring we are prepared, with frozen dishes that simply require reheating and shelf-stable foods that require little effort to cook, in the event that one (or, more likely both) of us becomes ill.
The first is mostly covered, but for fresh veggies and fruit. We do have frozen and canned veg/fruit and will make do as best we can.
I am thinking we should also buy some juices to have on hand. I also have everything needed to make bread(s). I’ll probably make a double-batch of cookie dough and freeze scoops to bake as-needed (I think those emotional boosts will be required).
For the second, I’m trying to prep foods that we’d want while sick. That means soups, mostly … I keep thinking there’s more I should make, beyond soup, but am drawing a blank. We do have instant oatmeal packets (as well as other oats) and Cream of Wheat. Oh, and Jello.
Otherwise, I’ve made sure we have a lot of chocolate (that’s a constant rule, to be honest), coffee, and tea (oh yes, the tea!) at hand.
I do, though, need to order/buy some shelf-stable milk, come to think of it.
Don’t throw out your stale week old rock hard Italian, French and ‘artisanal’ breads. Rehydrates well with a quick dip in water and steamed in a microwave or throw it in soup.
If you have pets, this is from the Humane Society of the US:
How can I be preparing to take care of my pet(s)?
As with disaster preparedness, we urge everyone to have a plan in place for how to endure this crisis from the safety of their homes. Get the word out! Remind community members that having a plan for pets is critical; individuals who become sick or require hospitalization will need to have someone to take their animals.
Some steps to take include:
Identify a family member or friend who can care for pets if someone in the household becomes too ill to care for pets.
Have crates, food and extra supplies on hand for movement and relocation of pets if necessary.
Keep all animal vaccines up to date and have copies of those records available in the event that boarding becomes necessary.
Ensure that all medications are documented with dosages and administering directions. It’s a good idea to include the prescription from your veterinarian with the medications and your pet’s to-go bag.
Pets should have proper identification: a collar with ID tag and a microchip with current, up-to date contact information.
We understand not everyone has a personal support system or the financial means to meet the above recommendations. When experiencing difficulty in creating a preparedness response, please reach out to local shelters and animal service agencies to find out what support is available. During this crisis, there may be options of temporary housing for pets, donated supplies, subsidized veterinary services and more available to help people care for and stay together with their pets.
I have 3 slabs or ribs and almost done with the first one, it got a nice Ras al Hanout treatment. Second one will get salted Marinated on Thursday for Saturday. Easy peasy in the oven
I tried Instacart for the first time. Kind of buggy, I’d search for, say, organic milk, and it didn’t find the brand I wanted, but then I went to the dairy department and filter by organic, and it was there. First delivery slot was Sunday afternoon.
Just a tip to check your local ethnic markets for beans. It’s all about Instapot cooking with beans – so easy for all of you who “don’t know how to cook.” I love adding fish sauce for some umami. I bought 3 large bags of lentils at Royal Fresh in North Hollywood this morning. I bought some beans online from Rancho Gordo on their website if you’re looking to cook heirloom beans or something you might find at a higher-end restaurant like the French Laundry. I’ve found beans and dried noodle soup like healthy pho (aka no flavor… just add fish sauce!) at smaller liquor stores and markets… at my local Bangluck in NoHo, the soup section was cleaned out. Try also 99 Ranch and Filipino markets like Seafood City for Korean dried noodle soup. There was rice at Royal Fresh and Jons… no Calrose though… just basmati and long grain. 99 Cents Store is also a great resource for rubbing alcohol and hand sanitizer. Get there at opening at 7am/8am. The one in NoHo is large on Sherman Way and hardly any people there so you can keep your distance. Their produce is inexpensive and I’m often surprised of their selection in the morning. I got celery there for 99 cents and a large bag of oranges for 1.99… bananas are inexpensive as well. They also have organic spinach and organic apples. I was able to score Clorox wipes at Big Lots this morning. I’d avoid standing in line at a grocery store like Ralph’s. There was a long line outside at around 4 pm at my local Ralph’s. Jons had laundry detergent… no sign of bleach… anywhere. in. my. neighborhood. For canned goods, check out drugstores at CVS and Walgreens. I love me some fried Spam and rice (no shame)! Looks like most grocery stores are open now from 8 am to 8 pm. Aldi is open from 9 am to 5 pm in the Valley. So many sick people in front of me and behind me at El Super at opening time outside that I had to leave the line and head somewhere where I can keep my distance… So much for home grocery delivery with Instacart and Smart and Final… they’re all booked over here in my neighborhood!
We cook mostly from home nowadays and being in Media, I was able to be one step ahead of the maddness. On Thursday morning I went to sprouts and ‘stocked up’. It wasn’t a ton, but enough for a full week’s worth of dinner, breakfast and lunch. That’s the thing… usually we do one breakfast and random lunches (Mostly left overs) but I got a lot more than usual anticipating the maddness.
That evening I went to my usual Thursday knit group at the Farmers Market. I went to Monsieur Marcels and the guy in front of me was buying two “Jars” of Jasmine rice. He looked at my sheepishly and said…“I’ve never bought Rice from a Jar…” And then recounted to me the maddess at both the Whole Foods and The Trader Joes across the street.
On Friday afternoon I did go out to Playa Vista Whole Foods for a special they had long planned to have that day… And it was maddness… The entire chip aisle, decimated. No Pasta. No Paper Goods or cleaning supplies…
I have avoided all stores until today. I needed some Hamburger Buns… I didn’t go too crazy looking for them and luckily I found Target still had some Pretzel ones. But again, Completely empty Freezers, Bare Bread Aisle. NO FLOUR. I was lucky to get the last Container of Baking Powder in the place…
The only saving grace for me is that P’s an “essential” and so he’s fine taking leftovers. Also I took part of a Vegan Shack Exchange and on Monday a box of eight bags of “Snacklins” arrived from my gifter… But what has really helped calm my nerves is having more of a plan for the rest of the week and beyond as to what I have planned. That was always my biggest problem. I would always end up to the store picking up a Shallot or a thing of celery or like today… Hamburger Buns…
In L.A. we don’t yet have a Stay in Place order, but we probably will. Plus Amazon is re-shifting certain order types… so I think we have at least one more week of 'panic; as people realize that A) Eating at home isn’t so bad B) that it’s going to be a while for you get your favorite stuff, even with stores stocking everyday…
Like many who’ve posted here I cook a lot at home, especially since I retired 2 years ago.
Last week before things got crazy, and we weren’t necessarily taking the virus as seriously as we should have, a post showed up on my Facebook page asking “what’s in your freezer”. I took up the challenge which turned out to be rather fortuitous. Other than an unexpected boat load of frozen peas (and…umm…Gin) I discovered I had enough chicken, fish and beef for about 3 weeks of meals.
My pantry was in even better shape than my freezer. Flour, sugar (multiple kinds!), baking soda and powder, I can make bread, desserts or pasta. Lots of (Rancho Gordo) dried beans, rice, barley, amaranth, mixed nuts, walnuts, lots of dried chiles, jarred tuna, dried pasta and an assortment of tomato products can probably keep me going for another 3 weeks.
I went to the store on Saturday and all I had to do was replenish some proudce and pick up some eggs and dairy.
I am generally only cooking for 1 and while I don’t mind cooking multiple servings, I sometimes get tired of the leftovers after the 2nd or 3rd day. I’m lucky to have a great community of neighbors and plan to share my excess pantry inventory and leftovers with them as we progress through this pandemic event together.
I put on my windbreaker, get on the scooter with gloves on. I ride to the old farmers market, keep my gloves on, try not to touch anything. It’s outdoors and that makes me feel better. I get what i need and today it was sausages, nancy’s burger patties with white american cheese (awesome burgers had today wrapped in lettuce). Sliced mortadella (tell them thin). Avocado, banana, kale, broccoli, cucumbers, onion, garlic, celery, carrot, big ass chicken for soup/stock
i ride back on scootie and whatever virus i picked up flies off with the wind
I got a bunch of different sausages from Huntington on Sunday. Out of the bunch, I’m looking forward to trying the mergez and the pork with plums and some other fruit that I can’t remember. I also picked up some of their meatloaf mix and added some sliced mushrooms to it—very decent although a bit salty for me.
this is the permanent FM at the grove… i think they’ll keep open… but i also caught our wednesday regular at miracle mile by the job w hich i expect to stop soon
