Quarantine Cooking: Month 2

Sometimes the days feel endless yet time moves really fast. What day is it? Has it already been two months since I've been holed up in my apartment?

Month 2 was more productive in the kitchen but there were several days where I made boxed mac and cheese and thoroughly enjoyed that as my meals. I ran out of flour but also was able to snag a bag just before finishing the last pound in the first bag. (Now it seems like flour is back in stock though so yay for all us bakers).

Highlights from Quarantine Cooking Month 2:

Garlic Butter Ramen from Half Baked Harvest:

Half Baked Harvest is a blog and Instagram I started following recently and she has a ton of easy, pantry staple recipes on her site. This one was super quick and easy to make---I would just use way less miso next time since it was a tad too pungent for me.

Chicken and Rice with Scallion-Ginger Sauce from NY Times and Extra Petite:

I used a combo of two recipes linked above. The chicken and rice is from the NY Times and the easier sauce is from the fashion blog Extra Petite and then paired it with some quick Asian Pickles she has also shared on her instagram. So easy and delicious! 

Kimchi Grilled Cheese with Bacon and Avocado:

I love using up old kimchi and making grilled cheese with it. I thought I'd jazz it up and add bacon and avocado and I also added mayo on the outside of the bread so it would brown and crisp up really nicely. YUM! 

Red Lentil Soup with Socca (Chickpea Flour Pancake) or Spicy White Bean Stew from NY Times: 

Two easy pantry staple soups that are elevated with the addition of a quick socca for dunking. It never have pita bread on hand and thought one day, I bet socca would be great with soup---and it was! (if you 1/4 the socca recipe, it makes 1 serving). 

Lemony Turmeric Tea Cake from NY Times:

A citrusy delight and the turmeric isn't too strong of a flavor in this loaf. Just remove the lemon slices when serving since they are a little bitter but they do add a pop of beauty to the finished cake. 

Chocolate Babka from Smitten Kitchen:

With all this extra time, I thought I'd try to make babka again for the second time, with a different recipe though. I loved how this came together and it baked so beautifully. Although there is no substitute for a tried and true Russ and Daughters Babka. 

Check out another episode of the Pretend Cooking Show featuring the babka: