An Isolated Menu

Old mother Hubbard, may have gone to the cupboard and found it bare. I was dreading the same returning home from Cuba to mandatory isolation and a house that had an empty pantry. This was a bit concerning. 

But when we drove the friend who had picked us up at the airport to his house down the road, he ran inside and appeared with a handsome frozen free range chicken. When we went to open our refrigerator to place this bird inside, we found a two litre jar of fresh Jersey cow’s milk with a thick layer of cream on top. Next to it lay a bursting container of large free range chicken and duck eggs. And in the freezer, staring me in the face, was a bag of fresh chicken livers for my next foray into paté preparation.

A local butcher provided us with socially distanced fresh sausage and thick-cut bacon. (Although we had eaten well in Cuba, sausage and bacon had not been on the menu.) The next morning, a grocery order phoned in to the local store was amply filled within an hour and a kind neighbour and niece delivered it promptly to our doorstep.

A few days later, as our cow’s milk waned, a delivery of two litres of fresh goat’s milk and a healthy slice of goat cheddar appeared at our door. And behold, the next day, a large wine bottled filled with fresh maple syrup lay mysteriously at our threshold.

The chicken was roasted filling the house with the most gorgeous aroma. It provided a scrumptious two evening meals as well as a healthy batch of chicken soup laden with the fresh vegetables provided by our local grocer. One large duck egg went into the mix for three mornings worth of muffins. Beef stew and fresh paté will soon be on the menu.

Cooking and eating will help the time pass. And what better ingredients than those provided with love.