Covid Cuisine Recipes of the Pandemic -- Experiences for History:

John Lindsay and Linda Cartier

With little opportunity to eat out since pandemic restrictions shut down most restaurants except at times for patio dining and take out, our dishwasher has never been more used.  We generally ate out at least twice a week so now we had to prepare our own food and due to working late most nights we could only take out occasionally and found delivery inconvenient. 

We also had limited time to prepare elaborate meals so most were quick but there was variety.  We are vegetarians, mostly vegan, but do eat fish on occasion (note: the fish and chips at the Apollo are great with flaky fish, tasty chips, coleslaw and even soup) - We also enjoy the falafel wraps with lemon potatoes, rice and green salad at Herc’s.  These were just about the only take outs so far during Covid).  We are anxious to get back to our regular eating out venues.

Breakfast is basic .. hot or cold cereal.  Then its lunch – sandwiches can get pretty boring but made very tasty with a ”grill press” which I bought at Home Hardware early on in the pandemic and cost under $30.00.  Preperation simple - put in cheese and sliced meat (both vegan In our case) topped with sprouts or sliced pickle, some mustard, press, and enjoy no need to "butter" tops of bread.  It's the next best thing to grilled cheese sandwiches.  See pics below for example.  Perfect for two, but you can buy larger models to do four sandwiches at a time.  Only takes a couple of minutes to brown and heat up the ingredients – with pickles  - tasty.

With time being in short supply it was best to make up meals that could produce leftovers such as soup, chili, and beans.  

My Covid cabbage soup recipe: 1 large onion -diced – 3 stalks of chopped celery, 1 chopped zucchini – 1 green and 1 red pepper chopped – a cup of chopped carrots plus of course a large head of cabbage red or green chopped or I medium head of both red and green cabbage.  Cook the onion and carrots in some olive oil in fry pan together with 4 cloves of chopped garlic until the carrots and onion are tender and the onion translucent.  Move to large cooking pot, add about 10 cups of water and other ingredients except cabbage and boil for about 10 minutes, then add the cabbage and boil until as soft as you like, maybe another 30 minutes and add pepper and a bit of salt to taste.   Super good for you and freezes well - also low in calories so could help take off some of the pounds that may have been added during the pandemic.

I love baked beans but have never been able to prepare any to match Grandma Browns Baked Beans from a small operation in the town of Mexico – yes that is the name of the community in upper New York state (google for more information).  I used to bring home to Canada a case or two when I visited my relatives in the States.  Custom officials at the border were always amused when I declared my beans which were not available in Canada.  I like to keep recipes simple so this is my baked beans recipe, not as good as Grandma Browns but I am sure just as healthy, and I make a big batch so I can freeze some for future consumption.

My Covid pandemic baked beans:  Soak 2 lbs (900 grams) of navy beans overnight. Rinse next morning and with freshwater boil until tender (as they will not get any softer later in the process).  Prepare in large mixing bowl one large onion (chopped), two cloves of ground garlic, 4 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1 cup of tomato catsup, 1 cup of fancy molasses (or one cup brown sugar) a quarter cup of mustard (regular or hot), a teaspoon of chili flakes or hot chili sauce.  Add the drained beans to the mixing bowl and stir thoroughly (save some of the water from the drained beans if necessary to make the mix more fluid).   Pour into crock pot and set on low for 8 hours - taste and add more flavoring of your choice if desired.  Take out enough to fill a casserole dish and place in 300 degree oven uncovered to create a nicely browned top and serve after about an hour with crusty bread and salad.  The remainder remove from the crock pot and after placing in container(s) freeze for future use.

From Heather Lewis: 

Over the years, the Sudbury Region Police Museum proudly participated in the Sudbury Blueberry Festival and hosted a Blueberry Luncheon. Our No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake quickly became famous and in demand. Due to Covid and other circumstances, we have not been able to participate but we would like to share our recipe with the community to enjoy this summer. The museum recently relocated to 128 Larch street and we are looking forward to opening to the public once again. In the meantime, continue to stay safe and healthy!

The Sudbury Region Police Museum

No Bake Berry Cheesecake

2 cups graham crumbs                   ¼ tsp salt

½ cup melted butter                       3 tsp lemon juice

¼ cup sugar                                    2 tsp vanilla

1-8oz pkg of cream cheese            32 oz container cool whip

1 cup sugar                                     3 cups blueberries

Combine crumbs, butter & sugar. Pat ¾ of mixture in 9 x 13 cake pan to make a crust.

Reserve remaining mixture for topping.

Blend together cheese & sugar. Add salt, juice & vanilla & beat until fluffy.

Add & fold in cool whip. Stir in fresh or frozen berries.

Pour mixture over crust.

Sprinkle reserved crumbs evenly over top. Refrigerate