Kitchen Goals

This pandemic has me going stir-crazy at home. There are a lot of things I want to do, but I also find myself procrastinating over a lot of it, eventually opting to just lie in bed watching TV or reading a good book. One thing that I always plan on doing but never get around to is cooking. Pre-pandemic I used to randomly pick recipes online and try them myself but it has been a while since I last did that. 

One of my recent (stress-induced) pandemic purchases was an oven. Our old one broke during the start of the pandemic and it has been a challenge getting someone to fix it. After all the hassle I decided that it was easier (read: less stressful) for me to buy a new one -- which turned out to be less expensive than the original one, by the way.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Right now I have a list of recipes that I want to make using the oven, but I haven’t tried anything yet because of these ECQ/MECQs (aka lockdowns). The Delta variant of the COVID 19 virus is wreaking havoc all over the place and it has been scary to go out to shop for ingredients for anything. As much as possible we purchase from nearby stores to avoid crowds (which I had been afraid of pre-pandemic anyway) or get food delivered these days. Going out for the hard to find ingredients means risking the health of people around me (since I am fully vaccinated, but members of my family are not since they are not part of the schedule yet). 

For now, I can only plan to make these recipes. I really hope that the pandemic will end soon. There’s so much I want to do when we are finally free to do what we normally do again.

Here are some of the food that I am planning to make once it is possible for me to do so:

Chicken Enchilada - I miss eating this in Mexican restaurants. I want to try to make it at home so that when I crave it I can just make it myself.

Buttery Baked Chicken - When I was younger a neighbor used to make this amazing chicken baked in butter. I never got the recipe for it but I found one online and I want to try to see if I can recreate that recipe from my childhood.

Baked Fish with Mushrooms - I am obsessed with baking fish. And I love mushrooms. This is a recipe that is a must-make for me.

Saengseon Jim - I found this recipe when I was looking for one for baked fish. I have no idea how this would taste but since I have liked almost all the Korean food that I have tried so far, this might be a good one to try.

Easy Oven Baked Ribs - There was a recipe from Chrissy Teigen that I tried involving ribs that  were supposed to be grilled but I baked them instead and they turned out really good. Trying a recipe that is specifically for baking seems to be a good one to try.

Chocolate Blackout Cake - I have been craving for really good chocolate cake. Maybe I can make one?

Snickerdoodles - This is something I have always heard of but never tried. I love the taste of cinnamon so when I read that it was an ingredient, I knew I had to try it.

Oatmeal Cookies - I think the last time that I made oatmeal cookies was in high school. That was so long ago! I need to remember how to make this again because oatmeal cookies are a personal favorite!

Rosemary Focaccia Bread - I tried this a few years back and even if it did turn out good, I felt that I could still make it better. I want to try this one again!

Korean Cream Cheese Garlic Bread - I have been seeing this online but I have not tried it. It looks so good and I want to try it!

I can’t wait until this pandemic is over…I might keep salivating over the thought of all this food until I can make them!