Quarantine Dining on Olives & Dates

 

What did I pack for this trip?  A corkscrew, a good knife and a coffee filter holder.  Was I ready for 14 days quarantine in my apartment? It was hard to tell.  I had sent a grocery list ahead for my recently hired house help to buy.  Hopefully my apartment would be decently stocked with sandwich ingredients, breakfast options and even some bottles of wine.  I knew to expect at the very least salt, pepper and Ramen, because the shopping trips to local stores had included me via WhatsApp.  I was feeling quite proud of myself for including items I would readily find abroad in other places I have lived.  I included weights in grams and liters.  And we received two Dominos pizzas on the drive from the airport, to save the trouble of cooking on arrival.

It wasn't until the next morning that I realized that feeding myself for the next 14 days would be a challenge.  The coffee was instant, which I have never understood, the ham some sort of baloney lunch meat, and I could find no peeler for the potatoes and carrots. We found large amounts of fruit, bananas and oranges, that would not last the 2 weeks, along with 5 dozen eggs and a box of 42 packets of ramen. Well, we could snack for a while. 

Our most popular snacks are olives, dates and peanuts.  Something to remember for next time.  I was given the opportunity to have someone run to the store for me, just for a couple of things that I couldn't do without.  I asked for real ground coffee, tonic water and ice cube trays. 

By the time we were 4 days in, Jon was putting all his efforts into acquiring a phone and ordering in.  I was more determined to use all the food in our refrigerator.  What to make?  Lots of side salads, and these basic meals:

• boiled potatoes, hot dogs and baked beans
• rice and garlic chicken
• potato and mortadella frittata 
• ramen noodles with spring onions

I am finding that just about anything is palatable when doused in lime juice and olive oil, sprinkled with salt, pepper and spring onions.