It all happened so suddenly and instantly. We were in the midst of planning to reduce the food offerings at our cafes when the directive came to completely close the cafes. It seemed like only minutes, even though it took us a few days to properly close and speak to everyone on the team. There were many questions I could not answer and there were answers that did not matter.

Life came to a halt for many of us, and for the first time in a very long time, I was scared of things I could not see, and problems I could not articulate. I was worried.

All of a sudden, I had too much time in my hands. Like many people I know, I imagined many positive things I could do during the quarantine to keep busy. Learn Spanish, organize my office, finally start the scrapbook for my son I had planned to do when he was four…he is ten years old now. Purge my closet. Lose the 20 lbs. I have been trying to get off the last 15 years. Write. Read. And read some more. Somehow, the motivation took time to rev up my spirits. I slumped on the couch for the first couple of weeks until I started hating myself for not doing anything. Then I got on my feet and started to tackle what was in front of me.

1. I organized my home office. (I have not started the scrapbook though.)
2. I purged my closet and my son’s room. The result was three trash bags of junk and two trash bags of clothes and toys to be donated.
3. I organized my kitchen pantry. Opening the cabinets and seeing everything in its place makes me smile. It is a small dose of happiness during this time and it is a chef thing.
4. I read and read and read some more. During the quarantine, I read An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, Unpassing by Chia-Chia Lin, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, Becoming by Michelle Obama, Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, and I just started The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. All great reads and moving in so many ways. My mind and soul were being fed, finally.
5. Speaking of being fed, I also cooked. Almost every night I cooked our family dinner. We dedicated Friday nights as our “take-out night,” to support the local restaurants in our neighborhood, but there were nights when I strayed from my usual recipes. Chicken enchiladas, stuffed shells, lobster risotto, cacio e pepe, shrimp tacos, stuffed eggplant, and other dishes have now been added to our family favorites.
6. I also baked. Baking is not my strongest suit. In my time as a professional chef, I have always been fortunate to work with talented pastry chefs and team who can execute my vision. I never had the need to enter baking territory at work. Nevertheless, the desire to bake is there…deep down, way down. With all this free time, my son and I were inspired to do some baking at home. We have mastered a couple of cookie and brownie recipes. One of my colleagues was kind enough to share her sourdough starter with me, so I hesitantly baked my first focaccia. My first try was not bad, but the third one was good enough that I shared it with some co-workers. The weekly feeding of the starter excites me. I only hope that my interest in keeping it alive does not fade anytime soon.
7. I have not lost the 20 lbs. but I meet my goal of 10,000 steps daily, most days. The new love for baking does not help with the weight loss. Someone has to eat the baked goods!
8. I reconnected with people. I checked in on people from my past and present to ask if they were all healthy and safe from the virus. I even checked in on the ones who probably did not want to hear from me, and the ones with relationships I should have mended long ago.
9. Family is essential. I drove 660 miles to see my mom and sisters for a couple of hours. It was worth it. We could not give each other hugs but seeing them in person at a 6 foot distance was what I needed at that time.
10. We celebrated my husband’s 50^th birthday with friends through social media. The long-planned celebration was supposed to happen at a club in Hollywood that would have involved musician friends playing on stage with my husband, tributes and roasts, cake for everyone, and food trucks. Instead, FB became our stage. Friends posted live songs, tributes, and PG-rated roasts. He also did a virtual live show of his own. The virtual show was bustling and had 1.9k views. It was terrific and, in the end, just perfect. The lesson? Be creative and pivot when needed.

This global pandemic reaffirmed several things for me and kept my feet grounded. I am not an exception. I could lose the life that I have in a second. I am not special. I could lose a loved one in an instant and my heart will be forever shattered. I am not immune. I could die suddenly and not have the opportunity to witness my son grow up into a man. I am powerless. Unexpected fears rose from many facets of my being. I felt non-essential.

• Marinated shrimp
• 4-inch flour or corn tortillas, warmed up                               
• Paprika cream
• Cabbage slaw
• Sliced avocado 

Shrimp and marinade

• 1 pound of 21-25 count raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail off
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• ¼ cup finely chopped onions
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp. lime juice
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• salt and pepper

• 1.5 cups sour cream
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp. lime juice
• Salt

Instruction: Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Cabbage slaw

• 2 cups finely julienned green cabbage
• ½ red onion, finely julienned
• 1 jalapeno thinly sliced
• Cilantro leaves

Instruction: Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Salsa verde

• 1.2 lb. of fresh tomatillos, husk and stems removed
• ½ of yellow onion, chopped roughly
• 2 cloves of garlic
• ½ bunch of cilantro leaves
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 ripe avocado
• 2 tablespoons of lime juice
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 tsp of ground cumin
• Salt to taste

Instruction: Combine all the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

To assemble the tacos:

Place 3 shrimp on a tortilla. Top the shrimp with the paprika cream. Then add the cabbage slaw, salsa verde, and avocado. Eat!

Cacio e pepe

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb. spaghetti, bucatini, or linguini
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• ¼ chopped fresh herbs: parsley, chives, basil
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 2 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup (or more if desired) grated parmesan

Instruction:

Cook the noodles based on the direction on the packaging.

Place a large pan over medium heat. Add the butter and olive oil on the pan. Once the butter is melted and oil is hot add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the cooked pasta in the pan and mix with garlic. Add the herbs, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Combine all the ingredients well. Add the parmesan to the noodles and stir. Serve.

Onion and herb focaccia

Makes a 9 inch round loaf

Oil a 9×9 baking pan or a 9-inch round cake pan. Place the dough in the baking pan and spread to cover the surface of the pan. Cover the pan and let it rest at the warmest area of your kitchen for 2 hours. The dough will rise.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Remove the cover of the dough and dimple the top with your fingertip. Drizzle the top with the remaining olive oil, sprinkle with herbs and scatter the onions on top. Sprinkle the coarse sea salt all over the dough.

Bake the dough in the middle rack of the oven for 25 minutes. The top should be golden and crusty. Let the bread rest cool down for 10 minutes before slicing.

Focaccia is best serve warm. It should be good for a couple of days and it can be reheated in the oven at 350 degrees.

You can be creative with the toppings. I used what was available in my pantry. Tomatoes and roasted garlic would be great toppings for it too!