Resilience

Sharon Salomon's article on “COVID Cooking” on page 14 got me thinking about how my own food shopping and cooking have changed due to COVID-19. Early on I considered myself lucky, as I’ve always had an abundant pantry and a freezer overflowing with local foodstuffs and “in high demand” items like beans from my Rancho Gordo bean club membership.

The only major staple I was missing was rice, as I’d recently run out and hadn’t had a chance to replenish. Chef Lori Hashimoto saved the day (and a trip to the not-so-safe-looking grocery store in the early days) by sending me home with a big bag of rice from Hana Japanese Eatery when I dropped by for takeout one evening.

I took the challenge of our imposed quarantine as an opportunity to clear out my over-flowing pantry and make use of interesting ingredients I’d squirreled away for future use (such as a now-favorite African cooking sauce). I even reorganized my spices.

In the past I usually shopped for my own produce at farmers markets, picking out exactly what I wanted/needed/looked best. COVID made me reconsider, and I replaced some individual market trips with purchases of a big box of vegetables and other online/drive-up shopping from the markets.

And even though I love cooking, I have to admit that during the days of COVID it’s sometimes become a bit of a chore. My solution: My husband is now responsible for one dinner a week, whether that’s takeout or a home-cooked meal.

Finally, although I’m the publisher of a food magazine, I usually cook more at home than I dine out so I’m probably one of the few people who actually increased their restaurant purchases in a bid to help our struggling local dining establishments stay afloat.

I see these same resilient responses from many of the people and businesses we profile in this issue:

■ Being prepared (the ample pantry)

■ Taking a little help from friends (that generous bag of rice)

■ Redefining challenges as opportunities (those neglected food items in the back of my freezer)

■ Trying something new (online farmers market shopping)

■ Asking for help (the increasingly handy husband)

■ Supporting others in the community (being even more aware of where my limited dollars are going).