Cooking in the Time of COVID-19

Generally, on this blog, I like to try and talk about the positive in the current situation. But let’s be real: it can sometimes be hard to stay positive. Especially in light of recent reopenings, and people insisting that life go back to normal when we are NOT ready to do so. COVID-19 has not gone anywhere; it’s just biding its time. I will not be at all surprised if there is another frightening spike in the next month or so, because we let our guards down too soon. Add to that the horrific murders of multiple innocent African-Americans, and the justified civil unrest that has resulted, and it can be hard to see the good in the world. A perennial favorite for finals season, but also most of us nowadays. But I started feeling a little down a couple weeks ago, over something completely unrelated. One of my students, unfortunately, had to withdraw from school for pandemic-related reasons. The same week, two more of my students had family emergencies that had them (and me) under s...

When I first moved to Santa Barbara, I was very excited to see multiple Asian markets. I wanted to teach myself to make Asian recipes at home, and I was glad to see places that would sell more specialized ingredients for them. The one I go to most often is the Indo China Market , near our Target, a short bus ride (or half hour walk) from my house. It’s a tiny store, but the shelves and freezers are packed with as many ingredients as you could want. They have offerings for cuisines of all kinds: Indian, Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese...There are more kinds of soy sauce than I even knew existed, and seemingly hundreds of kinds of noodle, rice, and dumpling wrap. There’s a small produce section in the back with common ingredients, like green onions and different kinds of mushrooms. And the owners are very sweet, and always willing to have a little chat. I’ll never forget the time I came in looking for advice on making pho , and everyone in the store helped me select good ingredients. ...

The phrase “Let’s keep in touch” never really seemed to mean much, in my view. I’ve seen people say this to each other many times, and in many contexts. Friends, family members, dates, students and professors...the list goes on. Yet somehow, nine times out of ten, that doesn’t happen. It’s almost as if the phrase has become a “Get Out of Jail Free” card for politely telling someone you never want to talk to them again. But what happens to “let’s keep in touch” when you can’t physically see people? How are people supposed to maintain their relationships without being in the same rooms and situations? Turns out, the answer is actually keeping in touch. Distance and virtual forms of contact - letters, phone calls, texts, video chats, etc. - have turned into something not optional anymore. Video chat platforms in particular seem to be having a Renaissance these days. In the past months, I’ve experienced regular calls, virtual game nights, virtual open mics, virtual exercise classes, and...