Sequestration Meal #313

 

I had an inordinately difficult time motivating myself to make this, but I am glad I did. It was relatively straightforward: Cucumber and tomato salad, spicy soy curls with my own homemade creamy dill dressing, and tater tots. The soy curls were from this recipe at V Nutrition, but my hot sauce wasn't very red and so it didn't turn out all that vibrant. It doesn't really matter because it was still delicious.

To be fair, was always going to be delicious; it was breaded things pan fried and then coated in a spicy butter sauce. It would be hard for that to be bad. However, this was still surprising in some ways. At some point in my anxiety-ridden pandemic shopping-from-home, I'd ordered poultry seasoning, which really does lend this a much more chicken-like flavor. When I opened the little jar and smelled it, I was startled by just how chicken-like poultry seasoning is. I guess it goes to show you that what makes chicken taste like chicken isn't the chicken. Poultry seasoning is just a collection of herbs and spices.

I'm trying hard to be gentle with myself these days. They say that the trauma of something like what we've all just gone through doesn't hit you until it's over. And it isn't exactly over--I mean, I'm still working at home, and I'm still wearing masks when I am out in the world, and people are still getting sick and dying--but I am starting to feel it in weird ways, alongside all the other stressors I've had added to my plate recently. I'm honestly glad to have this eating-the-pantry challenge for myself. It is somehow a reassurance to have something to work on that I can control to some degree.

Be kind to yourselves out there.