COOKING IN TIMES OF COVID: A LIGHTER FARE WHEN THOUGHTS ARE HEAVY

It’s been nearly two weeks of Stay at Home, first a strong suggestion and now a State order. Today I find myself with a clear schedule and a hankerin’ for some fun. Since all in our household are blessed to currently be in good health, for me right now fun looks like trying my hand at a new recipe, one of those I’ve-been-meaning-to-try-that recipes, stashed away for whenever I made time. I never did, until now. The pièce de résistance? Carrot dogs! A vegetarian substitute for the tasty but arguably unappealing (I mean, think about it) bit of classic Americana: the hot dog. I admit when I first heard such a concept existed, even I thought, “That’s crazy talk,” but the idea stuck in my mind and my curiosity grew.

Since COVID-19, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about food, inventorying what we have, what to eat now, what to save for later. We want to be able to stay in for another two weeks if necessary. I’ve got two perishable carrots in the fridge, so they’re a “now” food. Canned goods by and large are “laters”. Two carrots by themselves? Not a meal. Two carrot dogs, now there’s a meal!

Time to begin my recipe search in earnest. Holy Imitation Meats, Batman! What’s with these ingredients? Liquid smoke seems to be essential in nearly all of them. What the heck is it? Turns out it’s basically an essential oil derived from actual smoke. It gives food that smokey goodness flavor without all the setup or time commitment. Super cool! But, alas, I have none and won’t be going shopping anytime soon. Substitutes? A list of other things I don’t have. I Google search for recipes that exclude the word “smoke” and find some others. All contain some variation of equally obscure ingredients like Juniper berries, fennel seeds, whole peppercorns, coconut aminos (never heard of it), Chipotle in adobo (ditto), etc. More things of which I’m fresh out!

Another problem? Soy sauce. It’s in most of these recipes. We have it, but not a lot. With a big ol’ bag of rice in the cupboard, a future of stir fry may be in order; and if things get really dire, just plain rice. Rice is a “now” food if used with fresh vegetables and a “later” food for emergency. I can’t justify using the last of our soy sauce on this project. One, plain rice is just sad. Two, carrot dogs might turn out to be nasty even to me, the only vegetarian in the household. That would be a real waste! Worcestershire sauce is a substitute, but it contains anchovies. I’m not that desperate yet.

Light bulb moment: Steak sauce! Surprisingly, this has no meat-based ingredients. Believe me, I look every time I use it because it just seems like it should. But nope, the ingredients never change no matter how many times I check the bottle. We have a decent amount, and rarely use it. So steak sauce shall be my dual substitute for Liquid Smoke and soy sauce. Now we’re cookin’ with oil! (But not really because we’re kind of low on that and are rationing it for only the really important purposes, like the box of chocolate cake mix we’ve set aside for when we need a real pick-me-up.)

After scouring dozens of recipes for one that best fits my pantry supply, I hit the jackpot here: https://makingmyown.com/recipe/carrot-hot-dogs/ . Using the steak sauce substitute, the only one of nine ingredients I didn’t have was a garlic clove. No matter. I had minced garlic in a jar. Bam!

At this point, it was noon. I’d been up since 6:15 and had not eaten. I began this project hungry, but by now my stomach had given up on the idea. I don’t normally feel okay about going this late in the day without eating. I also don’t get up voluntarily at 6:15 on days when I wouldn’t have had to. I’m a sleeper-inner. But this morning, my legs were cramped with restlessness, my thoughts were urgent with matters of COVID and prayer, and the allure of a fresh cup of coffee was even greater than that of more sleep. Indeed, these are not normal times.

So onward I go! After gathering all the ingredients, I peel and slice the carrots to perfect hot dog length (step one), put them in boiling water (step two), and begin creating the marinade while they boil (step three). I look ever-so-slightly ahead to see, “These need at least four hours to marinate but can be made the day before and left to marinate.” Uh-oh! Four hours?! I did not see that coming. Looks like my lunch plans are shot and the quest for carrot dogs shall carry forth unto a new day! Or at the very least until dinnertime.

On a good note, the marinade smells AMAZING! I also gave the carrots the old “flexibility test” and they’re slightly less bendy than a regular hot dog, but bendy nonetheless. I am hopeful even if they turn out tasting nothing like a hot dog, they will still be delicious!

It’s now 1:30 p.m. and I’m off to scavenge for a new lunch. I keep a good attitude and look forward to trying the fruits of my labor later today or tomorrow. I’ve come this far; I shall persevere.

God help us, so shall we all.

How has COVID-19 social distancing changed your eating habits or attitudes about food? Have you tried any new recipes while Staying at Home? Feel free to share!

UPDATE: Since I had to wait to enjoy the carrot dogs anyway, I thought I’d give them the extra time of a whole day to marinate and soak up the goodness. Then I fried them for 10 minutes before placing on whole grain white bread with my chosen toppings. (A week and one day post our last grocery run, we are now a bunless household.) On a scale of “Nasty” to “Freakin’ Awesome”, I give these a “Pretty Darn Good.” The only other person in my household willing to try them was my husband, who gave them an “All Right.” I actually prefer them to the veggie dogs from the store and are probably a lot healthier. They were really tangy due to the steak sauce. I would definitely try them again, even with this modified recipe, but when things get back to “normal” I will also try the Liquid Smoke and soy sauce version. Two thumbs up!

Matthew 6:9-13