Like most of you, we are trying to go as long as possible without going food shopping, and part of that is getting a regular delivery from Baldor every 10 days or so. Once we get to Days 9 and 10, which is where we are right now, it becomes all about stretching out what we have and cooking down the pantry. I had started our trusty No-Knead bread (using all white whole wheat flour) on Tuesday night, so going into Wednesday’s dinner, I knew that would be on the table. But what else…?
Pantry: Victoria’s Harissa-Honey Beans
…Well, there’s a lot to be said about the scourge of social media, but sometimes the stars align, and you come across something like these beans that offer at least a little redemption. They were on Victoria Granof’s instagram feed (I’m sure you’re tired of hearing me call her a genius after writing about her for 10 years), and this was her caption: “Oh beans, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways: 2) @rancho_gordo Corona beans, half a jar of @mina harissa (says spicy on the label but it’s not), a swig of olive oil, a dribble of honey, and some dill…” I happened to have everything she called for — even a bag of Rancho Gordo beans (though they were lima) which I promptly added to the instant pot. If you don’t have dried beans (or enough time to soak and simmer dried beans), canned white will work just fine. This is how I interpreted her shorthand.
Victoria’s Honey-Harissa Beans
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, minced
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons harissa (or tomato paste plus a pinch of cayenne if you don’t have harissa)
squeeze honey (about 2 teaspoons)
1/2 cup (ish?) chicken or vegetable broth
3 cups (2 14-ounce cans) cooked white beans (such as lima, cannellini, navy)
fresh dill
Add oil to a large skillet set over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and carrot and cook until vegetables have softened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, harissa, and cook until harissa deepens in color and gets toasty, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in honey. Stir in beans and enough broth to make it saucy (not soupy). Heat until warmed through. Serve with a good crusty bread and garnish with dill.
Project: Quick Pickling
Not all quarantine projects are the kinds of things best served warm with ice cream. Part of clearing out the refrigerator for the next round of groceries is not wasting the odds and ends of what’s left over. Enter: Quick pickling. I mean, you could do real pickling, of course, but that’s a legit project that requires actual technique and gear. You can decide you want to quick pickle something at 11:30 am and have cabbages (or wax beans or carrots or onions or radishes or peppers) steeping in their pickling liquid by 11:45, which accurately tells the story of my Thursday morning. (Note: For legit pickles, book owners can see page 137 of How to Celebrate Everything.)
Here’s how to do it: Slice and chop your vegetables then stuff into a jar. In a small pot, simmer 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup red or white wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 tablespoon of kosher salt until the sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes. Let cool slightly, then pour the pickling liquid over your vegetables. Let cool, then refrigerate for 24 hours for best results. You can also add herbs (dill, thyme) and peppercorns to the liquid and switch up the vinegars. Note: I tripled the recipe for the batch you see above since it was an extra large jar.
Purpose: Tell Me Something Good
I need some good news. What has brought you joy lately? What has brought you comfort? What has inspired you? Comment below and I’ll send out a free book (any of mine) to the comment that gets the most likes by the end of the week. Yes! You can like comments, did you know that? (Just please, honor code, don’t like your own more than once 🙂 Inspire us!
Stay safe, stay home.
The goal of the Project, Pantry, Purpose series to keep us sane, distracted, and connected. Please continue to comment below with suggestions for recipes, projects (for kids and adults), good deeds, donation ideas, stories, movies, games, puzzles. Or just tell me how you’re doing, what your daily routine is, and especially how DALS can help you or people in your community. You can also email me directly at jenny@dinneralovestory.com.
My young son lost his two front teeth for Christmas this year. They have taken forever to grow in. He has had to eat food (crunchy apples, pizza, cookies). Over the past few weeks, the teeth are coming in. It is funny to see these large teeth dropping in and also crazy to see how these two teeth are making his face change into something more like a boy instead of a child. I am so grateful to have this slow time to really see the changes in my youngest. And we can laugh a bit every day since only one now is in with a peek of the second. At least he can bite into things now! It’s going to be a great memory—-quarantine chompers!
My young son lost his two front teeth for Christmas this year. They have taken forever to grow in. He has had to eat food (crunchy apples, pizza, cookies) from the side of his mouth. Over the past few weeks, the teeth are coming in. It is funny to see these large teeth dropping in and also crazy to see how these two teeth are making his face change into something more like a boy instead of a child. I am so grateful to have this slow time to really see the changes in my youngest. And we can laugh a bit every day since only one now is in with a peek of the second. At least he can bite into things now! It’s going to be a great memory—-quarantine chompers!
What brought me joy this week was making sushi at home. I had bought the supplies months back, but in my normal life I could never find the time or energy to put them to use. I pulled up your post about making sushi, used veggies and leftover salmon and made a batch and it was such a treat! I’ve made it twice now and somehow the fact that I can now do this fills me with joy. not to mention how thrilled my kids were.
What a coincidence! We made sushi last night for the first time, too! It was so nice to have the time to do that, at last! Take care!
I don’t know that this is inspiring, but it did make me laugh so hard I cried! My husband asked for chapstick the other day, as all this time inside is making us both rather dry. I told him there was some extra strong lip balm on my shelf in our bathroom. He came back down saying how much it helped! His lips looked extra shiny and pink. I just chalked it up to sensitive skin. Fast forward a few days and I happen to walk by him as he’s putting on more…and I realize he’s been applying my pink tinted, lip plumping balm. For days, he’s been wearing volumizing pink lip gloss!!! I could barely tell him through my tears of delight. We both had a big and much needed laugh!!!
Thank you for the good laugh!!!! And thanks to your husband for being a good sport about you sharing this. We all need to laugh. Take care!
My joy has come from sewing masks. I’ve made 120 this month. It’s fun to pick fabric that perfectly suits the wearer. For a woodworker I had this fabric that looked like wooden planks walls. It’s all scraps. I did have to order elastic from China because there was none available in Canada. I have to argue with people about paying me. I tell them I wouldn’t feel as good about it if I were paid.
My husband lost his job at the beginning of January. Needless to say, it’s the worst ever time to be looking for employment. We have three kids, two of whom graduated abruptly and to zero fanfare (from college and high school, respectively), and our daughter, who has autism, is struggling with online college classes. We’re all healthy, for which I’m so grateful, but these other factors have added to the stress level in our household. However, my husband of 28 years, after almost three decades of my cooking most of our meals, has taken over family dinner every night! His delight in this accomplishment and MY delight in this accomplishment and in his joy makes me smile every single day.
Joy: an unexpected bonding with my sister. We’ve never been very close, live far from eachother and have pretty different lives. But we both cook dinner every night. Each night we’ve been using the app Marco Polo to show what we’re cooking for dinner. This has brought me a lot of joy.
Joy: postcard from my 9 year old neice. She sent me a list of activities to do to keep from getting bored. The last item: “I don’t know if you like slime, but all you need is glue (glitter if you wish) and water and baking soda and a saline solution!” She is so earnest and such a kid, this last line just makes my eyes tear up everytime I think of it.
Inspiration: My husband! He is an ICU RN, working with COVID patients. He comes home sore and emotional but brimming with gratitude and love. He gets called in on his days off. He’s just so good. He graduates from his Master’s program in May and yesterday was offered a job as a nurse practitioner in their Medical ICU. He’s incredible.
PS PPP and reading through these comments bring me SO MUCH JOY. Thank you
This weekend is my husband and my 39th anniversary! One thing that brings me joy during our quarantine together in Portland, Oregon is that we have been doing a happy hour together each evening pre-dinner. No matter where we are in the house or yard or on our computers, about 5 pm my husband calls out “Ready for a drink?” and I answer “Sure!”. We make or pour our cocktails or wine, and go out to the deck, light the gas fireplace, and sit under the trees. We might chat, we might not. We usually turn on Spotify and decide what type of music sounds good to us that evening…last night it was an Amos Lee playlist, the night before Chet Baker. We try to PUT DOWN OUR PHONES and just reconnect, unwind from social media and newsfeeds, listen to the birds, notices what new blooms have sprung on the plants and trees. In a 1/2 hour or so, I get up to go in and start on dinner…but these “endings” to our work days have become a new ritual that I cherish and I’ll remember fondly when it’s all over.
i am a sucker for rancho gordo beans! we have a local health food coop that sells them so we pick up massive amounts. my big question: what do you do with the broth after you use the beans? do you make soup? freeze it? toss it? i never really know…
what brings me joy right now? zoom happy hours!! i’ve been having them with coworkers, college friends, local mom friends, family (both husband’s and mine) and they are a hoot! why did we wait for a quarantine to see our loved ones faces?? cheers!
Your daily posts are bringing me joy! Thank you so much!
This weekend I will hit my 600th msak that I’ve sewn for frontline heathcare workers, essential workers, immuno-compromised individuals and friends and family that just needed a mask for protection to go to the store. It sounds corny and like such a cliche, but there is no doubt in my mind that giving and doing for others has brought me more joy than anything while being quarantined for the last 6 weeks.
Pam, I am getting also nearing 40, getting a master’s in Social Org Psychology, and have three kids (7, 4, and almost 1)! Fortunately I only took one class this semester because of the baby and Comprehensive Exams (which, thank god, took place a week before the NYC lockdown started). Congrats on your A! That is awesome! It is so hard for me to focus on work right now, and when I manage to plow through any of it, I feel so proud of myself. Only two more weeks to go but I have to get through a 20-page group paper and a final exam. Then a month off from school, which I am desperately looking forward to!
We are adopting a dog today! This process started before the quarantine and has taken so long. It has been an emotional rollercoaster and we are so happy to welcome this dog into our house.
I feel the same way, but about my mom. I usually only make time to call her once a week but I’ve been calling her most every day and enjoying our long conversations, realizing that, given she’s in her 80s, I will one day be very grateful for this time I had with her, even though it was by phone and FaceTime.