What we've been cooking lately

If there's a silver lining to months of uncertainty about when we'll be returning to work and resuming our normal schedules, it's been time at home, spent together engaging in hobbies we simply never had the time to do before. Over the past three months, we've cooked almost all our meals at home and savored the results of our labor. Homemade food tastes better, is healthier, and is fun to make. Recently, Amar has been making whatever he can completely from scratch. I've been lucky enough to enjoy everything he's perfected! A few weeks ago, he made his own vegetable broth. For one week, we collected vegetable scraps - from carrots, onions, zucchini and more - and stored them in a bag in the freezer. Then, on a Sunday night, he boiled water and added the scraps and some spices. The mixture simmered for about an hour and our entire kitchen smelled divine the whole time. It was incredible how the mixture simmered and came together. Afterwards, he strained it and stored the homemade vegetable broth in mason jars and off they went into the fridge. Later that week, we used the broth to make lentil soup. The soup was full of vegetables including carrots, spinach, tomatoes, onion and garlic. With the addition of our homemade broth, we licked our bowls clean.

Homemade vegetable broth

A steaming bowl of lentil soup

Although Amar has always made his own yogurt, he made Greek yogurt for the first time. We used a cheesecloth to strain homemade yogurt in the fridge and voila, Greek yogurt in all its tangy, creamy goodness. Lately, I've been spooning the yogurt into a bowl, topping it with a handful of blueberries or strawberries, chocolate chips and chopped almonds. It tastes absolutely delightful, and is a perfect afternoon snack or dessert.

Greek yogurt with berries, chocolate chips and almonds. It's as good as ice cream!

Pizza night got a major upgrade around here recently. When we do order out or take a night off from cooking, we love to indulge in takeout pizza. After a long or busy day, it's such a treat to pick up a pie and dig in and relax. With my sister-in-law and brother-in-law in town last week, we decided to do everything from scratch for pizza night. My brother-in-law made the most incredible sauce. The sauce was simple enough, only a few ingredients, but the final product was spectacular. I learned a brand new trick from him - peeling the tomatoes. While he made the sauce, I made our dough, using this recipe. When our dough and sauce were ready, I watched Vinnie as he stretched the dough and topped it using techniques he picked up from when he worked at a pizza shop. It quite impressive and fun to watch! Our final product was so good. The crust was nice and crispy and held the toppings and cheese perfectly. And the sauce? The sauce was was delightful. The result was the most memorable Friday pizza night we've had in a while.

All of these meals enjoyed together are memories I will always treasure. For me, food is an experience, and that experience begins with cooking. That includes the measuring, the pouring, the sauteeing - everything. Cooking is also an act of love. And when you get to prepare something that everyone enjoys and lingers over, that's what makes all the time spent in the kitchen worthwhile. Recently, with the time on our hands, we are making more and more from scratch. It makes that final product and result all the more enjoyable. Happy eating!