Lettuce Taco ‘Bout Food

While many people are still working from home, or maybe even going back to work, there are still some of us who have a lot of extra time on our hands.  Even if you are working, it can be difficult to think of activities to do with your family while we are practicing social distancing and avoiding public spaces.  We decided to compile some of our favorite quarantine recipes that have been keeping us occupied and sane.  Not only is cooking/baking a fun activity, but it’s also an educational activity!

We have differing experiences when it comes to cooking and baking.  Amanda cooks more than she bakes, and Marissa bakes more than she cooks.  We both have been expanding our skills in these areas over the last few months.  Since baking is an exact science I, Amanda, always feel like I have to be overly careful.  I’ve been afraid of baking in the past.  But the last month or so has helped me work through that.

Here are some of Amanda’s recent baking/cooking finds:

• Super Moist Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.  The fun part of this recipe is that you can easily make them into muffins!  Instead of putting the batter into a loaf pan, you fill cupcake liners in a cupcake pan and cook for 20-25 minutes (I found that the standard recipe makes 18 muffins).  The closer to 25 minutes you bake them, the less dense they are on the inside and you even get a nice crust on the outside.  I modified the recipe to include semisweet chocolate chips instead of dark chocolate, so feel free to use whatever kind your heart desires!  
• Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies.  This recipe replaces flour with chickpeas!  There are many chances for customization with this one.  I used peanut butter instead of the cashew butter (which added a whole lot of flavor) and honey instead of maple syrup.  While these will never beat my dad’s homemade chocolate chip cookies, they are a nice twist (and they’re nice and soft).
• French Toast.  Do you find yourself with leftover challah after Shabbat?  I know that’s a pretty wild concept – who doesn’t eat the whole thing?  I found this amazingly simple french toast recipe that works well with different types of challah.  Depending on how absorbent your bread is, you may have to adjust some of the ingredients.  It’s a delicious treat for a Sunday morning!
• Shakshuka.  My first time having shakshuka was at Dr. Shakshuka in Israel on my Birthright trip – and I’ve been dreaming of it ever since!  My dad and I worked together to make this delicious recipe.  Not only was it delicious, but it was fun to make and super filling.

It is no secret that I, Marissa, am not a skilled cook.  I love baking and can make a mean cheesecake, but when it comes to cooking, I’m lost.  So I started to cook a bit more and honestly, it’s not as scary and overwhelming as I thought.  Don’t get me wrong, I go into a frenzied state of stress when I try to cook and frantically scramble to make sure everything is not only being done right but will finish cooking at the same time.  But, that also happens when I bake sometimes.  I guess it’s just who I am.  

An accurate representation of me in the kitchen:

I can hear you asking, “Marissa, have you cooked any lavish meals?” to which I will answer absolutely not.  Are you meshugenah?  As I just said, I go into a state of stress and panic when I cook so I don’t think there are any lavish meals in my near future.  BUT I have learned there is one thing I’m kind of good at making, pizza!  I mean, I cheat a little and my dad buys premade pizza dough, but I do spruce the dough up a bit.  It’s been a lot of fun experimenting with what I find in the fridge and figuring out what will go well together. Here are some of the different pizzas I have made:

• Pepperoni pizza with a stuffed cheese crust.  A classic.
• Potato, onion, and pepper.
• Caramelized onion, spinach, and bacon pizza.  One of my favorites.
• Pepper, bacon (I used turkey bacon but you can use whatever kind you prefer) , pepperoni, and spinach pizza with a BBQ base sauce.  My most recent creation.

I haven’t just been making pizzas though, here are some other things I’ve made:

• Breakfast sandwiches.  Egg, avocado, cheese, and sriracha on toasted bread. *chef’s kiss*
• Doctored up ramen.  I just throw in some spices and the occasional fried egg and call it cooking.
• Alfredo gnocchi with spinach.  I’ve been really into spinach lately – I blame all the Popeye I watched as a child.

They haven’t all been wins though.  I tried to make a smoothie the other day (I hurt my mouth last week and it hurts to talk, eat, drink, smile, laugh, you get the point) and decided to just wing it instead of looking up a recipe.  Well, that combined with the old blender my dad had me use (which honestly seems like it would be better for milkshakes) ended up with one of the most disgusting things I have ever made.  So…I’ll spare you that recipe.

I haven’t made all of the things I want to make yet, so here is my to be cooked/baked list:

• Challah.  I’ve only made challah from scratch once and I want to try again.  I found some cool recipes I want to try including rainbow challah, everything bagel challah, latkes stuffed challah, and cinnamon apple stuffed challah.
• Cheesecake.  I’ve only made one kind of cheesecake and want to expand my cheesecake horizons and try flavors like peanut butter, oreo, and s’mores.
• Black and White Cookies.  My mom and I love them and they are very sentimental to us
• “The Grey Stuff”.  It’s delicious!
• Shakshuka.  We made it once at camp during a cooking elective and it was really good and I’ve been wanting to try it again ever since.

Do you have any fun recipes you want to share?  Link them in the comments!  

Wear a mask, wash your hands, and be kind.

Love, 
Marissa & Amanda