In light of the shelter-in-place order, many of us have resorted to cooking at home, revisiting old recipes and getting creative with our pantries. Instead of our usual Flavors Worth Finding column with recommendations from restaurants, KQED staffers are sharing the meals they’ve been making at home to find some comfort and grounding during uncertain times.
Lately, my weeknights have been filled with trying to reclaim my time instead of spending 30 minutes to an hour making dinner. I've picked up reading again and finally finished a book I started almost a year ago.
Because of this, I've had little desire to actually cook anything. Yes, kitchen apathy has become a full-on mood here. To combat this, I've been working on prepping these layered jar meals on Sundays, inspired by vegan blogger and dietician Sadia Badiei.
The trick is to make sure that your liquids are at the bottom, followed by your grains and crunchy stuff up top. This prevents ingredients from getting soggy and gross. This trick can be used for lunch salads too, which will keep the dressing from interacting with your greens until you're ready.
I've been remixing different versions of this, swapping out noodles for quinoa or brown rice, interchanging vegetables and making different sauces to spoon into the bottom. The best part is that I only really have to boil some water and possibly air fry some tofu. Unlike previous pandemic cooking ideas, it's the ease and simplicity for me. It's also visually appealing to see all the layers, which has been an inspiration to actually eat lunch instead of skip it.