Food is a funny thing

Food is a funny thing. It can be a source of comfort, or a source of stress. A source of joy or a source of sadness. It can be something we obsess over, or something we don't think about enough.

I am someone who usually enjoys cooking, and I especially love finding and trying new recipes. I usually meal plan for at least two weeks at a time, and I've been playing around with more vegetarian recipes. I was raised by a momma who had no problem getting creative in the kitchen, doctoring recipes however she wanted-subbing in ingredients, adding new ones, or leaving some out, it just wasn't a problem. Because this was the model I grew up with, this is also how I cook. So, although it's irritating not to find everything I might think of at the store, I can roll with it.

However, I'm aware that this is not how a lot of people interact with recipes. Many people aren't used to meal planning. Many people aren't used to limiting the amount of times you go to the store.  Many people aren't used to being intentional with how much meat they're using per meal. Many people aren't used to having to adjust recipes. Many people aren't used to cooking every night.

All of these things can make this current season that we are in a little bit more difficult because for many if not all of us, all of these things matter right now. We need to be limiting the amount of times we go to the store, we may not be able to find all of the things we are used to (especially pre-packaged things), we may not have the same food budget we are used to.  We need to be thinking about our meal planning differently.

So, I had an idea. What if I asked a lot of different people for recipes that they've been using while cooking in quarantine? What if we could share with one another ways we are enjoying food, ways we are getting creative with food, and ways we are being intentional with our food?

That's what this blog is, or what I hope it will be. A collaboration of people sharing what they are cooking during quarantine, and hopefully helping us to find a little more joy and a little less stress as we seek to do the same.

I have quite a few friends who have agreed to help, and you'll notice there's a wide variety! These are friends of different ages and who live from Iowa to Nebraska to Michigan to New York-so they're all experiencing this season little differently. The posts will look different person to person, or even post to post-but every one will have at least one recipe to try.

I don't know about you, but I'm excited to get some new ideas!