Comfort, food, and the apocalypse

Looking back at the hope I wrote of a month ago and, like many things in this current pandemic, it seems like that was years ago. There is still hope in the world. My garden is still growing. So many other things have changed though.

We were on vacation in Florida with family when everything started to go sideways. I'm grateful for the time we did have there. And before anyone jumps down my throat, this was all before all of the stay-at-home orders were in place and just as the majority of the social distancing guidelines were being rolled out. We were staying at a private condo, with a full kitchen, private beach, and plans and supplies to cook the majority of our meals while we were there. It was sort of surreal as the news and situation changed every 12 hours or so when we were there, often coming back from the ocean and sand to a new alert or state issuing guidance. We had a good time overall, mostly due to the joy that Angus had in the pool and ocean every day (pretty sure he's part fish...).

Coming home it was like stepping into a whole different world. I got the call the day before we left that, due to the developing pandemic, I was going to be furloughed indefinitely. It made more sense given that we didn't know how long this was going to impact the business and I have a pretty firm "expiration" date of being able to work with my due date just 2 months away on June 3rd. Angus no longer had school when we got back and less than 48 hours later we got the announcement from the state that Michigan was officially under a stay-at-home order. After the first few days of scrambling to get a routine figured out and the basics of WTF was going on it started to feel manageable.

As has been the case throughout most of my life, in times of stress or upheaval, I found myself turning to the kitchen. I felt bad/guilty every time I scrolled through my social media feeds and encountered someone who was panicking about the state of grocery stores in the area. My pantry was not bare, in some sense, this is exactly the scenario that my anxiety has been preparing for. With only a few exceptions, there weren't any staples that I was lacking. Now, this wasn't because of any specific hoarding, but rather because this is how I stock my house and have for many years. I buy a lot of things in bulk when I can - flour, sugar, dried beans are basically always on my shelf and my standard unit of purchase is a 50lb bag. It means that I get a better price overall, and I only have to purchase these 3-4 times per year. We got in the habit a couple of years ago of getting 1/2 a pig at a time from small farmers and stocking the freezer. We also had a good chunk of the 1/4 beef that we got a year and a half ago in there. Except for fresh vegetables, we were in good shape.

Still, I am cooking intentionally and using the things in my pantry. I'm taking advantage of the fact that I don't have a great need for many things to spend my grocery money intentionally, supporting as many of my local farms and farmers as I can as they begin an uncertain and difficult season. I'm excited that our CSA has started with fresh greens coming in to bring some brightness and crisp flavors to our meals. And last but not least I'm trying to maintain relationships with my local restaurants, having one meal a week that supports my home industry that is struggling just to stay afloat right now, hoping to make my small contribution to their survival.

Today I made one of my personal comfort foods for dinner and figured with the state of the world at the moment, it would be a good one to share. I'll be back more often I suspect, now that I have a little more time on my hands.

Haluska - Cabbage & Egg Noodles

This is a dish that you find varations of throughout the region of the world known as "Eastern Europe". This version is based loosely on the Hungarian tradtion of the dish and is a recipe that I have personalized depending on what is in my cupboard at any given time. My "origianal" comes from one of the early "Intro to Hungarian Foods" that I took from Ari at Zingerman's when Zingerman's Bakehouse was starting to focus on some of the baking traditions of that country. It remains one of my favorite low-key recipes that is both frugal and easy to make.

Serves: 8 (or 4 with leftovers)

Time: 1 hour including ingredient prep

Ingredients:

• 1 medium cabbage (about 2 lbs), shredded (pre-shredded is fine here and saves time!)
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb bacon, chopped (a bacon that is smokey and not too sweet works best)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt  
• 16 oz wide egg noodles
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon caraway seed, crushed or ground
• 2 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paparika
• salt & pepper to taste
• sour cream for the table

Instructions:

1. Start a pot of salted water heating to a boil. When it reaches a boil cook the egg noodles according the package directions until al dente.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until it begins to render, 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the sliced onion to the pan and cook until the onion is soft, another 5 minutes or so.
4. Add the cabbage to the bacon and onion in the pan. Depending on how big your pan is, you may need to add this in 2 batches in order to fit it all in. Add 1/4 tsp of salt over the cabbage and mix. Cook until the cabbage starts to soften and get glossy, for me this generally takes another 8-10 minutes. In the last 1-2 minutes, just before the cabbage is right, add the minced garlic, taking care that it doesn't burn.
5. Turn the heat down to low and add the butter, paprika, and caraway to the cabbage mixture. Toss until the spices and butter coat the cabbage to create the sauce. 
6. Add cooked and drained egg noodles to the pan (you can do this in a seperate bowl if your pan is too small for the volumn), and mix throughourly. 
7. Serve with sour cream, salt & pepper to taste.