Cooking in the time of coronavirus

More coronavirus cases are announced every day. Switzerland is a small country (population 8.2 million), but not only are we in the top 10 for total number of cases, we’re #2 for cases per capita. It’s not surprising really considering that we’re next door to Italy and precautions were not taken.

A few weeks ago the government banned events with more than a thousand people. Last Friday the government closed all schools until April 4, banned events with more than a hundred people, and limited restaurants to 50 people. On Monday the government closed all non-essential shops, restaurants, bars, cinemas, pools, gyms, etc. Today the government issued a recommendation that everyone should stay at home unless they need to leave for work, buy food or supplies, or help others. Maybe tomorrow that recommendation will be made mandatory.

So much for going for walks in the farm fields. That seemed to me to be harmless enough, but ok. Stay home it is.

Fine. I’ve worked from home for nearly two decades now. My wife was working from home two days a week, but now it’s full-time. Our son has online learning arranged through his school for 6 hours every school day. He’s on day 2 of that and really enjoying the novelty of it. It’s a bit hard to concentrate at times with everyone here, but we’re so lucky that we are able to stay put.

I’ve been cooking a lot recently. I started cooking more frequently in January when I got some new cookbooks and began adopting a new diet (more on that some other time), but in the last few weeks it’s been even more. Part of it is wanting to stock up the freezer in case we get quarantined. Whereas in the past I might make a big pot of beans or soup and eat it for three days in a row, now we’ll eat it for one day, freeze the rest, and I’ll cook something new the next night. Part of it is wanting to eat as healthy as possible in the hope that it will help our immune systems. Part of it is just indulging myself with delicious food. The world may seem as if it’s coming apart at the seams (it’s not really– I know that), but at least right now in this moment I am with my family, our bellies are full, and our tastebuds are happy. Part of it is probably that cooking is one aspect of my life where I can easily assert control. The world may feel like it’s spinning out of control, but here in our kitchen I can cook good food. Some people hoard toilet paper. I cook.

I suppose it’s a coping mechanism. I’m ok with that.