With the shelter in place order mandated for many of us, some have chosen to live the take-out lifestyle for the remainder of our quarantine (#SupportSmallBusiness). For others who dare to brave facing the kitchen three times a day (and all the dish-washing it entails), it’s hard to avoid monotony in your cooking. Need some ideas to keep your recipes interesting? Here are 5 easy ways to spice up your cooking during the quarantine.
1. Give Mezzes a Go
“Mezzes” are small plates served prior to the meal, or sometimes as a meal. They’re a collection of dishes that can be served hot, cold, vegetarian…..the variations are limitless! If you’re in a bind for time and need to get back to your Netflix show, try putting together a collection of these to dip into. Here are some of my favorites pictured.
2. Bulk Up Your Accompaniments
Sometimes the star of your show requires little to no work, so it’s up to your accompaniments to give the meal that extra kick. In this recipe, my lamb chops required few ingredients, so it was up to the sides to shine. Rather than keeping your sides simple too, try some variations to bulk them up. Instead of plain old rice, I made brown rice jazzed up with leeks, onions, and vegetable stock. And instead of mashed potatoes, I rolled up my sleeves and whipped up some cauliflower cream.
3. Add a Little Flair
Remember that spices are our friends – a dash of smoked paprika, or some cumin can add a little flair to spice up your cooking. Anything from salads to pre-made sauces can benefit from the aromatic little packets you find at the grocery store. Be generous and try combining several different spices – the mixes that you make can often be used for several different recipes (the spice mix I used for the drumsticks I also use to make lentil soup).
4. Be Adventurous
This recipe was born from a combination of necessity and risk-taking: with the fridge empty, and a hungry husband to feed what was I to do? I had some leftover chicken stock and did a daring thing: I added some Greek yogurt to thicken it up and some chard and garbanzo beans to up the nutrition factor. When your cooking feels like it’s in a rut, go back to your basics and try out new things, whether it’s adding vegetables to an egg scramble, or tweaking your favorite pasta recipe with different proteins.
5. Keep It Simple
I call this “shakshuka” because I wanted to make shakshuka, but didn’t have all the ingredients needed to make it, so this is a variation on the traditional recipe. My final tip to spice up your cooking is to keep it simple, and this doesn’t mean forego your spices, just use the ingredients you already have or those that you like.
