Deliciousness Matters

Good morning. How are you holding up? Millions and millions are at home this week, sheltered in place, self-quarantined, working remotely, home-schooling, feeding one another soups and sandwiches, keeping panic at bay. Others have headed into work at the hospital or police station, the plant, the supermarket. There are people collecting garbage, building things, reporting, checking on livestock, on parishioners, harvesting oysters, delivering food, operating trains. In New York City, at any rate, there’s a brittle, nervous vibe in the air. This is a most terrible time.

I’m here just to say, quietly, that deliciousness is possible against the backdrop of a national emergency, and that it matters to discover that’s the case, for deliciousness improves moods, and inspires hope. Deliciousness sends a message. Someone cares. That’s as true if you’re making a chocolate-chip cookie pizza with the children as if you’re laying waste to the pantry to create a timpano you’ll eat for a week. So, please, cook this week as much as you can, and reap the rewards in good humor and a little relief: At least we have this.

It’s pretty cool, what you can make from the larder. This week for The Times, I wrote about the joys of canned fish, and about a recipe for soba noodles, tuna and a Japanese-style dressing (above) that’s like a tuna wiggle for grown-ups, a salad that’s as fantastic served room temperature as hot. Maybe you could try that for lunch today, for dinner, for tomorrow.

You could make beans, and you ought to! Melissa Clark wrote on the subject for the newspaper we printed last night and sent out to subscribers and news agents today; it served as an introduction to her invaluable guide, “How to Cook Beans,” on NYT Cooking. You could end up serving this smoky, cheesy, spicy black bean bake. Or this simple repast of beans on toast. (You don’t even really need a recipe! Try these two paragraphs of inspiration on for size, and then get cranking.)

source: nytimes.com