Friday, April 24, 2020

Covid Cafe: Poison Control Edition

Good morning, chefs of Covid Cafe. Just to review: don't inject yourself with or drink cleaning products and please don't laugh about it in emails to me (woo--your host, who has a science brain, is deeply discouraged today). 

Instead, use those products to clean your kitchen workspace. Rob reminded us of the importance of this when he sent a link to America's Test Kitchen's 6 Tips for Keeping a Clean and Food-Safe Kitchen. We're sure you're doing everything right, but give it a glance.

Making raw slaw with fruit and veg tailings

Now let's see what our chefs are preparing today...

Nancy returns with a flavorful springtime lentil soup that starts with a ham bone or ham hock (hey, I have one in my freezer). She says: the recipe is by feel and taste
--Using 8 to 10 cups water, boil ham bone or ham hocks about an hour and a half to make broth.
--Remove ham bone/hocks and pull off any meat still on bone, returning it to the broth.
--Add chopped carrots (about 15 small ones), celery, onion, and cabbage to taste. 
--Pour in a one-pound bag of rinsed lentils and simmer for about an hour until lentils are soft. Salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy! You can add additional spices if you wish. I should have added two bay leaves.

(That looks like just the thing for this chilly day, Nancy.)


Synchronously: Marc is back with a side of avocado toast that sits perfectly alongside Nancy's soup. 
Marc writes: this started out as a plan to make some simple avocado toast with the results of my first homemade sourdough loaf, but the avocado element evolved into near-guacamole. The sourdough was super dense (something to troubleshoot for the next loaf), but made for a proper hardy piece of toast. 

Avocado mashed up with small amount of diced onion and three chopped cherry tomatoes, two cloves of garlic, a dash of salt, and a sprinkling of cayenne powder for a hint of heat in lieu of jalapenos.

Added grated radish on top of the guac before finishing with a generous amount of olive oil and fresh cracked peppercorns for the final product.

(That guac looks happy sitting atop your sourdough, Marc.)

Poetry
First lines of emails I’ve received while quarantining



Music 
"Quarantine Orchestra Concert" 3-31-20
Toss the Bach by Touch of Class from Neenah (WI) High School 
(Blub, these talented kids are missing their summer tour of Scotland)


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