Quarantine Kitchen

I’m usually a planner. Since my 20s, I’ve planned weekly menus and with an active after work schedule, I maximize when I can be home to have dinner with the Mister. With COVID-19 disrupting everything, my quarantine kitchen doesn’t look that much different than before the stay at home.

I think most people know that I don’t get FOMO so when people are frantically searching for yeast, I’m more of what do I have in my pantry that I can cook? How many times have you read that I’m not a baker (all that chemistry!) so the best that I can do is make a cake and try to put a frosting on it that makes it look edible.

A friend of mine made brownies using Abuelita hot cocoa mix and that led me to bake a spicy hot chocolate cake with espresso frosting. I used a recipe from Ina Garten that uses cocoa powder so I subbed that for the hot chocolate mix. I also decreased the amount of sugar because that was already in the mix. My preference for frosting is to be a touch sweet so I decreased the amount of confectionery sugar.

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Fortunately, I have neighbors/friends where we can do physical distancing drop-offs of food. Even pre-COVID, I used to have to share 1/2 the cake with my colleagues so I was able to do the same when good friends came to visit (obvi with at least 6 feet apart). They shared a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, which was delightful.

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If you’re looking for more cooking inspiration, check out the Maison Awesome Menus on the blog (it has its own category). There’s even a video on how to spatchcock a chicken (don’t worry, a cooking professional demonstrates!).

What have been your favorite things to cook/bake in your quarantine kitchen?

MXM