The Quarantine Cookbook

Your guide to eating like an adult in a crisis

Photo by ja ma

We are only as rich as our communities are resilient. During the COVID-19 pandemic, prepare for yourself and your neighbors who might not be able to get what they need. This plan feeds two people for 2–3 weeks*.

Assumes power and gas is on, with a working fridge/freezer. Snacks not included in plan (though a few may have creeped in because I like snacks).

Repeat the recipes you like. The grocery list gets extra of most things.

For lunches, get creative with leftover ingredients, or reheat leftovers.

NOTES

• Most recipes will generate 4 servings.
• The shopping list assumes you’ll make my favorite things more than once.
• Replace meat with tofu, seitan, or whatever, if you prefer. Unfortunately, mushrooms don’t keep or freeze well, which was a very sad realization for this menu-writer.
• Recipes were selected for leftovers that will freeze excellently in tupperware.
• Portion your meat in containers before freezing.
• I don’t like cooked fish, so I didn’t have recipes in that category top of mind.

RECIPES

WEEK 1

MAKE AND FREEZE:

• Grilled Skirt Steak Fajitas Recipe
• baked pasta with broccoli rabe and sausage
• VEG (if you omit the bonito flakes) Health Soup Recipe

MAKE AS YOU GO:

• VEG broccoli rubble farro salad
• VEG crisped chickpeas with herbs and garlic yogurt
• Hummus-Crusted Chicken
• Crispy Roasted Chicken over Potatoes
• VEG Recipe: Veggie Supreme Egg Bake

WEEK 2

MAKE AND FREEZE:

• Vegetarian West African Peanut Soup (i add sweet potatoes, smoked paprika, and turmeric to the mix)
• VEG Curried Tomato Tortellini Soup Recipe

MAKE AS YOU GO:

• VEG jacked-up banana bread
• VEG Peanut Butter Overnight Oats (5 Ingredients!)
• VEG chickpea and kale shakshuka
• VEG miso sweet potato and broccoli bowl ← make extra ginger miso sauce, aka “crack sauce”; put on everything.
• VEG kale and quinoa salad

WEEK 3

MAKE AND FREEZE:

• VEG Red Curry Lentils With Sweet Potatoes and Spinach Recipe
• Re-make a favorite from the past two weeks.

MAKE AS YOU GO:

• VEG Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Pizza Crust: How to Bake It + My Favorite Toppings
• homemade merguez with herby yogurt
• VEG Crisp Gnocchi With Brussels Sprouts and Brown Butter Recipe
• Re-make a favorite from the past two weeks.

NO RECIPE RECIPES

• You can roast any vegetable for 20 minutes at 400 degrees with oil, salt and pepper and it will be delicious.
• Scramble, fry, or poach eggs for breakfast.
• Thaw meat overnight; grill in a pan or bake in the oven over vegetables. Google “sheet pan dinner” with the ingredients you want to use, and you’ll probably find something great.
• Have a pizza lunch in 15 minutes with a frozen cauli crust + toppings.
• Smear nut butter on an apple or banana.
• Make your own parfait: greek yogurt + berries and granola.
• Saute kale or spinach with a clove of garlic, oil, salt, pepper. Squeeze lemon on top.
• Bacon. Obviously.

OTHER TIPS

• Get a sous vide to throw frozen steaks right into the bath, and never mess up a steak again. https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/06/food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-steak.html
• You can dump frozen broccoli or sweet potatoes directly on a sheet pan.
• For curries, casseroles, and pastas, just throw in any vegetable you feel like you need to use. It will taste great.
• Toast nuts (almonds, pistachios, pine nuts, whatever) and keep handy to throw on top of literally everything.

SHOPPING LIST

REFRIGERATE (they’ll last a long time in there)

• 8 lemons
• 8 apples
• 3 heads garlic
• 3 red bell peppers
• 3 green bell peppers
• 36 eggs
• 2 lb broccoli rabe (we’ll be using it in a recipe and freezing the result)
• 2 lb broccolini (we’ll be eating it in week 1)
• Large container of greek yogurt
• 8 large onions (half can stay out on counter)
• Large hunk of parmesan
• Large hunk of pecorino
• 2 containers minced ginger
• 2 containers minced garlic
• 1 gallon milk (check sell by date; get something fresh so it doesn’t spoil on you; we’ll be using 2 cups of it in a recipe)
• 2 lbs mozzarella pearls
• 4 medium zucchinis
• 1 bundle scallions
• 2 bunches parsley
• Pizza sauce
• 1 block silken tofu
• 2 rashers of bacon
• 1 lb shredded cheese

FREEZE

• 8 chicken thighs
• 8 chicken breasts
• 4lbs steak
• 2 skirt steaks (for fajitas)
• 2 lbs ground lamb
• 2 lbs italian sausage
• 2lb blueberries
• 6 medium sweet potatoes, **cut into cubes**
• 2 bags cubed gold potatoes
• 3 lbs broccoli florets
• 1 lb cauliflower florets
• 2 lbs brussels sprouts
• 2lbs kale
• 2lbs spinach
• 2lbs ravioli
• 2lbs tortellini
• 4 pre-made cauliflower pizza crusts (I like 365 brand)
• 2lbs unsalted butter
• 1 large container of hummus
• Rosemary sprigs
• Hashbrowns
• Corn tortillas
• Loaf of bread

SHELF STABLE

• 1 lb granola
• 2lbs almond butter
• 2lbs peanut butter
• 3 lbs shelf-stable gnocchi
• 5 lbs chunky dry pasta of your choice
• Pistachios
• Cashews
• Almonds
• Pine nuts
• 4 28-oz cans of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
• 5 quarts of chicken or vegetable broth
• 5 cans garbanzo beans
• 4 cans of coconut milk (use in place of milk and cream)
• Bananas (I know, not shelf stable, but you’ll eat some raw while they’re good, use some in recipes and freeze it, and make banana bread when they’re overripe)
• 1lb brown rice
• 1lb quinoa
• 1 lb dry red lentils
• 1 lb farro
• 1 lb rolled oats
• 1 lb chia seeds

CONDIMENTS / SPICES

• Small container of white miso
• Soy sauce/tamari
• Honey
• Salt/pepper
• Curry powder
• Cumin
• Coriander
• Chipotle chili powder
• Turmeric
• Smoked paprika
• Crushed red pepper
• Olive oil (large)
• Canola oil (small)
• Salsa
• Sriracha
• Tomato paste
• Harissa paste
• Red curry paste
• 1 small container light brown sugar
• 1 large bag kombu seaweed
• 1 bag bonito flakes
• White wine vinegar
• Smooth dijon
• Coarse dijon

*Reference: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/preparing-for-coronavirus-to-strike-the-u-s/