This week, we asked you to share what foods or recipes are bringing you joy as we stay at home. Below are recipes broken down by category. Make sure to read to the very end to check out some great food ideas without full recipes!

BREADS/BREAKFASTS

 

Easy homemade pretzel bagels

Submitted by: Caroline Duda, CAC Manager of Volunteer Engagement
“These bagels are a little laborious, but a nice way to fill a rainy day.” 

Check out the recipe here. 

Walker Brothers Apple Pancake

Submitted by: Bill Lipsman, Class of 2009
“My wife is a fantastic cook.  One of her quarantine projects has been to reorganize her recipes.  She has found many that she has not made recently and is now doing so.  One is a delicious apple pancake featured at the Walker Bros. restaurants in the northern suburbs.”

Check out a similar recipe here.

Tartine English Muffins

Submitted by: Kent Foutty, Class of 2009

“We’ve made multiple batches of English Muffins, using the recipe from Tartine. Tartine is a bakery in SF, LA and Seoul. It uses yeast but isn’t very difficult. They taste SO much better than the store-bought muffins. Pro tip:  dough is super sticky, so flour your hands and counter top liberally! “

Here is an online recipe adapted from the Tartine cookbook.

Almost No-Knead Bread

Submitted by: Alison Schlickman, Class of 2015

“I’ve been making bread for decades, using my own sourdough starters, fancy flours, etc. This ultra easy recipe makes a darn good “artisan loaf”, it’s just amazing.”

Check out the recipe here.

MAINS

 

Texas Hash

Submitted by: Leigh Gates, Exhibit Host
“Here’s an old standby from my mother that takes very little work and is very filling and comforting.”

1 lb. ground beef
1 can tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
Chili powder
Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
Cooked rice

Brown ground beef in hot skillet, add onion and bell pepper. Cook until soft. Add tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer about 45 minutes. Serve over rice.

Lasagna Soup

Submitted by: Mary Wacker, Class of 2015
“Lasagna Soup involves all of the delicious elements of the pasta dish and only requires a fraction of the work.”

Check out the recipe here. 

Bucatini all’amatriciana

Submitted by: Amy Zimmerman, Class of 2019 and Education Guide

“I am a fan of the Roman pastas such as:  Cacio Pepe, alla Gricia, and Bucatini all’ Amatriciana. (all variations on the basic Cacio Pepe). The key is to creating a great pasta sauce is by adding some of the starchy pasta water so don’t drain it all away!”

1 box bucatini
1 large can San Marzano tomatoes ( I put the whole can in a food processor and just process it until the tomatoes are almost crushed, leave a little bit of chunk)
1 tsp of red pepper flakes ( to your taste, this is my perfect amount)
Fresh ground pepper
1 onion, minced
3-4 oz. of chopped pancetta
3 T olive oil
1 cup fresh grated pecorino Romano

Sauce:

In dutch oven, heat the olive oil, add pancetta and cook until the fat is rendered and it is getting crispy.  Add the chopped onions  and continue cooking until onions are soft. Season with salt  (about 1/2 tsp) and season aggressively with fresh ground pepper.

Add the tomatoes and the red pepper flakes. Bring to boil, then simmer until sauce is reduced a little (about 10 min). Turn off heat. Can make sauce ahead of time but it needs to be hot before you add the noodles.

In another pot, drop bucatini into boiling water (don’t fill the pot all the way up with water, just enough to cover the pasta. This will give you starchy water for the sauce!). Cook to al dente, the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce.

Add pasta to the sauce and turn burner on to low and cook for about 5 min. Add about 3/4 of the Pecorino Romano reserving the rest for serving. Toss well and enjoy!!!

 

Turkey Teriyaki Meatballs

Submitted by: Emily Clott, Class of 2012

“Here is one of my family’s tried and true favorites!”

1 pound ground turkey
12-15 Ritz crackers, crushed
1 egg
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger

Mix the crushed crackers, egg, teriyaki sauce, onion and ginger together in a medium bowl. Add turkey and mix well. Refrigerate for half an hour.

Remove turkey mixture from frig and form into meatballs. Heat 2 tablespoons butter, and thoroughly brown the meatballs. Then cover with water, bring the water to a boil, then turn down the heat to a low boil and cook until most of the water evaporates.(Takes about half an hour.)  At that point pour about 1/2 cup Soyaki or Teriyaki sauce over the meatballs and cook another 5 minutes or so. It will become a glaze.

Serve meatballs over rice pilaf or Rice-a-Roni with a green vegetable. Bon appétit!

SIDES

 

Roasted vegetables

Submitted by: Kristi Turnbaugh, Class of 2007
“I have been roasting every vegetable imaginable. So simple.”

Potatoes, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips … Slice into 2-inch chunks, toss a little bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper, spread it all on a cookie sheet and bake it for degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until it’s roasted to your liking.

Desserts

 

Chocolate-Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

Submitted by: Caroline Duda, CAC Manager of Volunteer Engagement
“I made these cookies and they totally reminded me of Potbelly’s Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Raisin version. I used the golden berry blend from Trader Joe’s which really added to the yumminess.”  

Check out the recipe here.

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies

Submitted by: Judith Robinson, Guest Services Volunteer

“When I’m not busy zooming around the city with CAC, I’ve been baking lots of cookies to share with my neighbors and building staff. These are always a big hit!”

3 c flour
1 t baking powder
¼ t salt
2 sticks butter, room temp
2 1/3 c. packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 t vanilla
2 1/3 c chocolate chips
1 ½ c walnuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.  Beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in vanilla.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add flour mixture; beat just until combined. Fold in chips and walnuts.

Drop dough by ¼ cup portions about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment.  Bake just until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes.  Cookies will still be very soft to the touch in center and look somewhat undercooked.  Transfer to wire racks to cool.

IF FROZEN, YOU CAN ZAP IN A MICROWAVE AT MEDIUM POWER FOR A VERY LITTLE BIT AND THEN THE CHIPS WILL BE WARM AND YUMMY.

Makes 22 cookies.

Oatmeal Cookies Made with Applesauce

Submitted by: Russ Seward, Class of 2005

“During this extra time at home, we have been trying cookie recipes. This recipe was obtained from my brother in Texas.  He sent me a photo of an index card with mother’s hand writing with some ingredients smudged on the card.  Recipe is for Oatmeal Cookies made with applesauce.  Mom put in some black walnuts, also.”

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1 egg
1 cup applesauce
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 or 3 cups oatmeal
1 tsp vanilla if desired

After mixing ingredients (dry first, then wet), put dough in refrigerator covered in plastic wrap for 30 minutes. Cover hands with butter for shaping dough into cookies. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.

---

Other Great Food Ideas to Get You Started

Jill Tanz is having fun learning about sourdough. She says her first loaf was delicious but dense, and she is making some snacks like crackers and pretzels while her starter, Golda, builds up.

 

Cynthia Bates has been cooking up a wide array of recipes, including:

Chicken tikka with mint raita and mango chutney
Greek style beef stew with onions & feta
Pinto bean vegetarian chili w/ zucchini & corn
Red pepper, wild mushroom & sausage lasagna
Fennel gratin with walnuts & Gruyere
Carrots with cumin and oranges
Rhubarb galette with creme fraiche
Strawberry cake with cardamon syrup and whipped cream icing

Dan Fitzgerald is making various fruit hand pies, a great way to pass some time.

Carol Patterson has been preparing recipes that take lots of time to make. She recently enjoyed a risotto with walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese.

Carol Van Dyke has been enjoying making bread the “good old-fashioned way…by hand!”

Ellen Shubart and her family love baking and have been into no knead, no yeast breads. Ellen’s daughter shared a beer bread recipe that Ellen and her husband Richard have been wanting to try. With Mariano’s out of flour for two weeks, a fellow docent came to the rescue! Virginia Gerst purchased a bag of flour from The Chicago Women’s Club fundraiser and safely dropped it off to Ellen and Richard so they could embark on their beer bread adventure. Ellen reports the bread was easy to make!

And finally, Vicki Marek says:

The food that brings me the most joy is anything I order from our local small businesses to help keep them going during these trying times.