Intro: Cooking in the Time of COVID-19

In March 2020, a new pandemic arrived in Santa Barbara, CA: COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus. The arrival was sudden. Just a couple of weeks after my students and I had talked about the lack of cases, UC Santa Barbara moved all classes online for the next three months. As a music professor-in-training, that move carried quite a few complications for my immediate and future life. At the start of spring quarter, I must now teach my students through a computer program. I will probably not physically see them again for a long time, a fact that fills me with sadness.

But the changes to my own life are pretty small, compared to the repercussions for everyone else. Many students were told to leave for break, and not return. A lot of them won't have a last quarter at UCSB before graduating. Finding the essentials - pasta, rice, and toilet paper, most notably - is proving pretty tricky. And though the Internet is coming into its own keeping people connected, nothing can replace being in the physical presence of students, friends, and family. "Dark and difficult times lie ahead," indeed.

However, certain things have stayed the same. One of them is a fundamental human need: food and cooking. I enjoy cooking and experimenting with new recipes. So, being in quarantine/virtual for the foreseeable future has a surprise silver lining. I have time to experiment even more with new foods and flavors. Plus, there is now time for reflection on food and its role in our lives. More than ever, I see food as a form of structure, a method of self-care, and a link to our human connections.

This blog is meant to send those thoughts out into a troubled world. In addition, I will be putting the recipe for the thing I/I and friends have made into the post. I hope that my blog will bring a smile to your face, and maybe even some good food to your stomach. :)