Pandemic cooking: the dishes

A quick look at some of the better dishes I've cooked during the pandemic.

Lentil curry (dal/daal)

I've always loved lentils. Since I was a child, my mom would make a simple lentil soup, with some peppers, tomatoes, onions, and some kind of protein (often some hot dogs). It was delicious then, and it's still good now. I've occasionally cooked some lentil soup in my pressure cooker, and it's so comforting.

So when I heard about lentil curry, I was quite excited. It's quite easy to make, doesn't involve too much prep, and can be done relatively quickly (using a pressure cooker, I can go from prep to cooked meal in 30 minutes). And, most importantly, it's delicious! Also, if you're vegetarian/vegan, this is a great meal idea (some recipes call for butter/ghee, but I've never felt the need to add it. Coconut oil's served me well).

Seafood curry

I don't eat seafood too often, but when I do, it's either fried or in a soup. It's no surprise that this was an appealing idea! I ended up using shrimp for this recipe, and it was great. I do have to say, it was quite intense. I wouldn't say it was incredibly spicy, but it did have a lot of spices around the heat. I really liked it, but if you prefer a milder dish, add less chili powder and less (or no) green chiles.

Roasted Brussels sprouts

The first time I had Brussels sprouts was in my mid-20s. They were boiled and salted. Not great, but not the horrendous dish that I had expected. Later on (especially during the pandemic), I started roasting them in the oven with a bit of salt, pepper, and olive oil. They're pretty great.

The air fryer is awesome for this. 10 minutes and I have some nice roasted sprouts.

Breakfast burritos

When I lived in Van Nuys, I would often do to an Alberto's restaurant not too far from home. I enjoyed most of their food, but I would usually get a breakfast burrito. Their burritos were ridiculous. You could get a simple egg, bacon, and cheese burrito, but they had other options. They had a version with refried beans and chorizo with your egg. You could add carne asada or any other meat with your burrito as well. If you REALLY wanted to go crazy, you could even get a breakfast California burrito. It's a great way to get all of your daily calories in! Sadly, the Van Nuys location has closed since I've left (although I believe others exist in the Los Angeles area).

In general, I've made pretty standard breakfast burritos, but I have experimented with different fillings. I've used leftover Italian sausage, leftover orange chicken, leftover pulled pork, and even leftover lentil curry (this one is awesome, trust me). And of course, since I live in the south, I had to try some pimento cheese in my burrito (it was pretty nice).

Maybe I'll attempt that California breakfast burrito soon. Wish me (and my arteries) luck.

Birria

Birria is a total comfort food. It's a very tasty dish, with many spicy, roasted, and meaty flavors. I decided to slow cook some eye round I had in the freezer, and cooked it in my sous vide container for 24 hours. I gave it a try, and it was great! I think eye round was too lean of a cut, because the consomme wasn't as rich as I usually expect (I'll probably try some short rib next time, but according to my mom, bone marrow, via the addition of beef shank or oxtail, can also add a lot of richness).

Of course, I made some tacos. They were awesome!

Cheesecake

Cheesecake is sensational.

I've always loved it, and I wanted to give making it a try. Not wanting to risk too much, I made mini cheesecakes in mason jars, cooked sous vide. I basically combined parts of these two recipes to make them. I gave most of them away (having 20 individual cheesecakes around during a pandemic ain't the greatest idea, you know?), and, to my surprise, everyone loved them! I guess I can give making desserts a fair chance.