If there’s anything positive that the pandemic has brought to families, it’s that now, families are staying home more than they may have in the past. This means more quality time that can be spent together, and more opportunities to cook for your family, and be more creative in the kitchen!
For a lot of people that don’t really cook before, the quarantine has been instrumental in helping them explore their ‘inner chef’ more. Most of it started either out of boredom or because most restaurants are closed, so if they want something fancy, they’ll have to do it themselves. This consequential emphasis on home cooking can be both a blessing and a challenge. Now you can save on dining expenses, but it also means you’ve got to put in a lot more effort to make meals that’ll be interesting enough for your family, especially if you’ve got kids.
That said, here are four ways you can try to elevate your quarantine cooking at home:
- Try New Herbs And Spices
What are the usual flavors that sit on your spice rack? Do you have barely-used paprika, or a still sealed bottle of cumin? Well, now’s the perfect time to break them out and experiment with them before they expire and go to waste.
Now that you have more time in your hands, you can even try different types of herbs and spices that you haven’t heard of before. For example, if you’re used to Western cooking, then you may want to head off to your Asian shop for some Asian spices! Try making curry dishes, or experiment with some ramen bowls. If you don’t feel confident enough to experiment, look up some recipes that use the spices and herbs that you want to try.
Once your tastebuds are familiar with the new flavors, and understand first-hand how they enhance or alter ingredients, you’ll be able to use them without needing recipes.
If you love barbecues, you’ll probably enjoy trying out new herbs and spices as they can make off-the-grill recipes even more flavorful!
- Explore Healthier Recipes
One of the challenges now with quarantine cooking is that you have to be more careful and thorough with your meal planning. If you used to go to the grocery once a week, now you have to minimize outdoor exposure, so you need to plan for at least two weeks, if possible.
Along with this also comes the need to cook healthier. If there’s anything the quarantine period has taught you, it’s that taking better care of your immune system is important. A good way to do this is to focus more on whipping up healthier meals! If you and your family are used to consuming convenient but mostly processed food, now’s a good time to explore healthier options. You can even try to create healthier versions of your family’s favorite fast-food meals.
Quarantine cooking, when aimed at creating healthier meals, can be a more rewarding experience not just for you as the cook, but also for your family who’ll get to enjoy homemade meals that are also nutritious.
- Learn Food Art
If you’ve got picky eaters in the family, now’s the perfect time for you to learn about food art to entice them not just to eat more, but to also eat healthier. Try your hand at creative bento meals and use colorful fruits and vegetables. For breakfast, you can try some pancake art. If you’ve kids, involving them in the process is probably something they’ll enjoy too. Now, wouldn’t that be a great way to bond as well?
You can also learn food garnishing, so if you and your partner still can’t go out for that long-overdue date, you can just set up a date night at home and show off your newfound skills—serving a full-course, homemade meal that looks fit for fine-dining!
Conclusion
If we look at the brighter side, the quarantine is actually an opportunity for us to learn new skills and develop them. If you’re stuck at home, one of the best ways to make your time worthwhile is to spend more time in the kitchen discovering better ways to cook and learning how to make meals healthier.
Encouraging your family to be involved in the process can also be a meaningful experience especially if you’ve got kids. Now they’ll always look forward to the next meal, and more importantly, sharing them with you without anyone rushing to leave the table. That’s family quarantine done right!
