Love in the Time of Quarantine

After finishing the phone conferences and online meetings for the day, we went out for a walk around the neighborhood. We had not been able to venture outside for the past couple of days due to heavy rains. So, the fresh air was a welcome change. I trailed behind the rest of the family, pausing to admire the spring blooms in neighbors' yards. We had barely gone around the block when my family launched into an animated conversation. It started with the relatively innocuous question, "So, what are we having for dinner today?" but like a runaway train going recklessly off the rails,   the conversation evolved into an epic wish list of favorite food items. Oh, can you make mangsho, today? What will we have it with? The homemade parathas you made the other day? Yes! Yes! Let's have that. But, what dessert will we have? We have to have something sweet. Can you make the payesh? Not the white one with sugar, the other one... You know, luchi also tastes good with ma...

E very year, a group of my colleagues get together for a summer barbecue to mark the end of the school year. Usually, the menu revolves around tri-tip sandwiches prepared by a colleague who prides himself in his grilling skills. The rest of us pitch in with the sides, beverages, and dessert. Last summer, we had a surprise new addition to the spread courtesy a vegan member of the group -- jackfruit burgers. This novel item generated some confusion -- people had heard of veggie burgers and soy burgers, not that they would ever venture to put such questionable things between their buns, but jackfruit burgers? What is that? The vegan colleague patiently explained that jackfruit was an actual fruit that, when eaten in its unripe form, had a meat-like texture. Seemingly unimpressed by this food factoid, everyone, including yours truly, opted for the tri-tip over the jackfruit. Reality is that jackfruit is not a stranger to me. This enormous, green, porcupine-like fruit is ubiquitous in ea...

I t is exactly three weeks since the shelter in place order went into effect in our area. The order has since then been extended to May 3rd and school canceled for the remainder of the year. The number of people affected by the virus continues to multiply, the death toll climbs daily, and no one seems to have any viable solution besides increasingly restrictive measures that have fundamentally changed life as we knew it. Our local health officials are now recommending that we cover our mouth and nose if we happen to go outside. There are no face masks, gloves, or hand sanitizers to be found anywhere and stepping outdoors without these protections seems to be tempting fate itself. I find myself watching videos on how to clean and disinfect groceries and wondering whether the heat setting in my dryer is high enough to kill germs. This is now our new normal. I have always been one for family celebrations. Birthdays and anniversaries mark the high points of any calendar year. In these b...

One of the positives of sheltering in place is that I get to spend more time with my kids. Since they were babies, I left the house before they were out of bed in the mornings and sometimes, depending on my schedule, did not see them till late in the evening. Now, though we spend most of the day in separate rooms attending conference calls and online classes, we are all within "yellable" distance of each other, 24x7. Most of the yelling being comprised of, "______, come, eat your food."  Spending the whole day together also means that we have to have a plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Not counting the multiple pantry trips for snacks, those are a lot of meals to plan. Breakfast is easy in our house. We usually grab something quick because no one seems to be particularly hungry at that time. It is lunchtime that catches us unawares. Typically, we have a rotation of lunches that we pack for work and school. Now that we are no longer following that routine, I ...

The only other time in my life that I can remember being in a community-wide, house-bound state is during the Calcutta monsoons when after hours of torrential rain, city streets would be waterlogged, houses would be submerged, and life would come to a standstill for several days. Much like our current state, we would be trapped in our houses with limited supplies, with concerns about hygiene and disease, and an uncertainty about when life would return to its normal course. Unlike our current circumstances though, the monsoon-induced state of shelter in place was marked by a sense of community, adventure (at least, for the kids), and a reassurance that things would go back to normal as soon as the rain stopped and the water receded from the streets. As the news around the world becomes grimmer by the day, I find myself returning to the comfort of childhood memories of sheltering in place during the Calcutta monsoons. Due to its geographical location, Calcutta receives copious amo...

"Today at 5:00 PM, Modi has asked everyone to come to their windows, balconies, and rooftops to make some noise -- ring bells, beat thalis (metal plates), blow conch shells, clap our hands," my mother announced during one of our daily phone calls. "Why? To ward off Corona?" I found myself asking, realizing both the incredulity of the question and the probability of this scenario actually playing out in India. India is the land of magical realism, a place where the mundane is never too far removed from the fantastic. It is a place where life is firmly rooted in the ever-present reality of poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and corruption. Yet, the supernatural lurks at every street corner promising escape and oblivion. " Jaani na, kintu hoteo paare." (I don't know, but it is possible.) My mother went on to elaborate that some times loud noises create reverberations that can ward off evil spirits. "Why else do temples and churches ring their bells an...

The food blog universe is suddenly awash with helpful posts about cooking during the quarantine. Most of these posts include suggestions about how to stock your pantry and freezer. The recipes that follow typically include using pantry staples like canned beans, pasta, jarred tomato sauce, and chicken stock. While it is probably a good idea to stock up on dry goods and non-perishables in the event that the shutdown is prolonged, here in California, we are still fortunate enough to get fresh produce. My fridge is filled with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables that are claiming priority over the items on my pantry shelves. So, I bookmarked the pantry-centric recipes for another day and set out to recreate a childhood favorite bursting with the vivid tastes and colors of fresh vegetables. Growing up in India, we definitely had a seasonal cycle of availability for fresh produce. The food cooked at home followed this cycle. While the summer meals showcased different kinds of gour...