What a Year It's Been!

 Hi friends, hope this blog post finds you well (sorry, I just had to do it)(insert meme of the dog sitting in a flame-engulfed room saying "this is fine").  More like, finds us all in survival mode, especially where cooking is concerned.  I must admit that, for me at least, a pandemic year was not the time to find a new enthusiasm for cooking.  There was definitely some stress associated with shopping and meal planning.  However I must say that my family did not experience nearly as much pain and suffering as many in our country, who faced loss of home, income or family members.  I hope the same is true for you.

So what was different about this last 12 or so months, food-wise?  Like many of you I tried grocery delivery and pick-up services for the first time.  Instacart, your app is so great but oh my, those prices!!  I ended up doing a lot of (less expensive) online ordering and pickup from my local Kroger.  And of course there was always the frustrating "we were out of the item(s) you ordered" and weird substitution headaches.  Kroger, you have a whole wall of bread in that store, don't tell me you are out of bread!!

I also joined a Locally Grown service that works like an online farmers market.  And let me tell you, that stuff was a hot commodity last spring.  If you weren't logged in and throwing stuff in your online basket the minute the market opened, you were out of luck.  Fortunately things calmed down in late summer and fall and I now have lots of new favorite food items that are all locally grown and/or produced.  I also ordered meat direct from a large farm in Southwest Georgia.  Shout out to White Oak Pastures, home to the best pork chops I've had in my whole life.

Weird fact: I write out my menus and grocery lists by hand, and I have saved many of those lists from these pandemic months.  I found myself unable to remember many of the things we needed from the store (even the most common things like coffee or sugar) or what we ate each week.  At some point I hope to feel secure enough to throw them away but for now I still grab a stack to refer to before making a new week's shopping list.

And while I didn't find myself baking tons of banana bread or any of the other pandemic fads, I do have a few new recipes that made it into regular menu rotation.  In no particular order:

Orzo with Collard Greens, Sausage Meatballs and Sundried Tomatoes--I found myself with some extra collard greens around Christmas, and some spicy sausage from the aforementioned online farmers market.  This recipe puts both to great use.  It's easy, spicy and flavorful!  Plus who doesn't like eating orzo.  Such a fun little shape!

How to Cook Frozen Salmon in the Oven--OMG what a life saver.  Frozen wild salmon is always in my freezer at home but so many times I forget to thaw it in time for dinner.  This recipe, googled in desperation, has become a family favorite.  The tasty mustard sauce is a real winner.

Vietnamese-Style Meatballs with Chili Sauce--like many of you, I tried a LOT of meatball recipes during the pandemic.  My son went crazy for this one the first time we made it.  He loves all the herbs and the chopped peanuts that top these tasty nuggets.  Don't be afraid of the fish sauce!  It's so salty and funky, I just love it.

Perfect Meatballs and Spaghetti--I got a lot of ground meat from White Oak Pastures over the last year (mostly grassfed beef and pork) and I use both to make these meatballs.  I cannot change a thing about this recipe, it really is perfect.  Make sure you use crushed tomatoes for the sauce, not diced.  I feel like the texture of crushed is the perfect complement for meatballs.

Mexican Lasagna--wow, talk about a comfort meal.  I could lay down on this lasagna like it was a sofa.  Something about baked flour tortillas and lots of cheese just gets me.  It's fun to sprinkle colorful green onions, tomatoes, black olives, etc. all over each serving.  YUM.

Friends, here's to a better year, and to finally getting to eat inside a restaurant again on a regular basis!