Trying New Recipes to Get Through the Pandemic

By Jireh Owen
Staff Writer | The Pacific Times

As people worldwide are staying at home, people have focused on making and trying out food recipes to help them get through the pandemic.

“During quarantine, I tried out a fried rice recipe from the internet,” said Caleb Kuo, a freshman from Franklin High. Kuo later named the recipe as Caleb Kuo’s Fried Rice Recipe.

The recipe, he said, consists of two chicken eggs, a tablespoon of sesame oil, leftover rice, spring onions, soy sauce, and chicken. After trying the recipe out last summer, Kuo enjoyed it.

He said, “The reason why I like fried rice so much is that fried rice is nostalgic and brings memories from my Asian families in Taiwan. Furthermore, I always liked rice and eggs, so fried rice was the perfect, nostalgic Asian dish for me.” Kuo was not the only one who tried out a new recipe during quarantine.

“Well, I tried out a recipe for curd or known as Dahi in India. Curd is a yogurt-like substance widely used in Punjab, India,” said Prabhjot Singh, a 9th-grade student from Inderkum High. Singh explained that curd is a dressing that can be added to any food, mainly with cooked vegetables or soup.

According to Singh, making curd was a delicate and complicated process. He asserts, “Curd is considered one of my favorite summer dishes because, on hot summer days, curd naturally cools you from the heat.” Singh now makes and eats Dahi with his family every week in quarantine. As stated by Singh, it usually takes him up to five to six hours to complete.

Furthermore, a Spanish teacher from NP3 High named Peter Riehl said, “I tried out a spaghetti sauce recipe from my grandma and mom. Furthermore, I love the fact that I have the original recipe in my deceased grandmother’s handwriting on an index card.” Riehl claims that the spaghetti sauce consists of peeled tomatoes, basil, garlic, onions, and any kind of meat such as beef or veal.

Overall, Riehl states that he made the sauce “a decent amount of success.” Riehl said he enjoys tasting and making the recipe because the recipe brings back the memorable recollection of his grandma.

Another example is a 9th grade English teacher from NP3 High. Bennae Dillingham found a recipe from the Internet. During quarantine, she made a successful endeavor in making baked lobster mac and cheese in a casserole dish. Dillingham said that her recipe is “composed of fresh lobster, macaroni pasta, cheese, unsalted butter, flour, salt, white pepper, nutmeg, and panko.”

She said, “My kids love to order lobster mac and cheese, so I decided to try making one at home that was just as good [honestly, mine is better] than the restaurant.”

As the world undergoes and endures the hardships of quarantine, take the courage to venture into a whole new world of cooking and trying out new recipes, such as Dillingham’s lobster mac and cheese or the spaghetti sauce recipe made from Riehl’s grandma.