SCO Yummy: Quarantine Edition

As we continue to follow social distancing protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s no doubt that we may find ourselves bored from time to time. Blazers are taking up various hobbies to pass the time; one of the most popular ones is cooking. Recipes are circulating all over social media and food lovers are rushing into their kitchens to try them out. 

If you’re hungry, bored or have nothing else to do, cooking is an excellent pastime that usually ends in edible results. Keep reading for some Blazer-approved viral recipes. Without further ado, I present the quarantine edition of “SCO Yummy!” 

Sourdough Bread

Though it may seem basic, bread is one of the most popular foods that people are rushing to try while at home. It takes multiple days to make bread from start to finish; to be exact, sourdough bread requires 76 hours of preparation time before 40 minutes of cooking time. Freshman Lucia Santoro-Vélez enjoys baking, but she has never been able to make bread because of the time it demands. “Because of corona, I’ve been able to spend more time on more labor intensive baking projects,” Santoro-Vélez says. She recommends the following recipe. 

sourdough

Photo: Sourdough bread require a lot of time, so quarantine is a good time to try it out (courtesy of Creative Commons).

Sourdough bread require a lot of time, so quarantine is a good time to try it out (courtesy of Creative Commons).

Sourdough Bread Ingredients:

• 3-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 1/2 pounds water
• 2 1/4 pounds organic all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon unrefined sea salt

See the full recipe here.

Cheesecake

Junior Anika Dasgupta loves all things food and is actively posting her quarantine creations on her food Instagram account (@a.hungry.foodie). Cheesecake is one of her favorites. “It is really silky and is best topped with fresh fruit,” Dasgupta says. 

cheesecake

Photo: Cheesecake is a creamy delight (courtesy of Anika Dasgupta).

Cheesecake is a creamy delight (courtesy of Anika Dasgupta).

Cheesecake Ingredients:

• 2 packages (8 oz. each) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
•  1/2 cup sugar
•  1/2 teaspoon vanilla
•  2 eggs
•  1 ready-to-use graham cracker crumb crust (6 oz.)

See the full recipe here.

Dalgona Coffee

The dalgona coffee trend began on TikTok in early March, when the hashtag #DalgonaCoffee accumulated more than 10 million views. Photos and videos of the easy-to-make recipe quickly popped up all over Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as well. While at home, Dasgupta decided to jump on the bandwagon. “Armed with a spoon and a metal bowl, I whipped a mixture of coffee, sugar, and water for the better part of an hour,” she says. For those who love coffee but aren’t willing to spend an hour to make it, electronic mixers and whisks are simple substitutes. 

dalgona

Photo: Dalgona Coffee is a quarantine favorite (courtesy of Anika Dasgupta).

Dalgona Coffee is a quarantine favorite (courtesy of Anika Dasgupta).

Dalgona Ingredients:

• Instant coffee
• Sugar
• Boiling water
• Milk
• Ice

See the full recipe here.

Pancakes

Pancakes are an essential comfort food that people are cooking in isolation. Scrolling through TikTok, you may have noticed one crazy new take on pancakes: pancake cereal. The mesmerizing videos feature the creation of bite-sized pancakes that are an interesting replacement to cereal. If that’s too much to think about, the recipe for the classic, full-sized pancakes is below. 

pancakes

Photo: Pancakes are one breakfast food that can be cooked at any time of day (courtesy of Anika Dasgupta).

Pancakes are one breakfast food that can be cooked at any time of day (courtesy of Anika Dasgupta).

Pancakes Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup salted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• Clarified butter or high-heat vegetable oil, for cooking

See the full recipe here.

Baguettes

Bringing it back to bread, senior Jennifer Ren endorses the following baguette recipe because it is easy to follow. Like Santoro-Vélez, Ren is using the extra time she has in quarantine to complete this time-consuming task. “My friend got me a baguette pan for my birthday last year and I never got a chance to use it... Making bread takes so long so I usually don’t have the time, but now that we’re in quarantine it’s a different story,” Ren says. Baking bread seems to be quite the accomplishment, so take the time you have now to follow the recipe below.

baguettes

Photo: Baguettes are another time-intensive creation (courtesy of Creative Commons).

Baguettes are another time-intensive creation (courtesy of Creative Commons).

Baguette Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cool water
• 1 9/16 teaspoon active dry yeast or instant yeast
• 4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
• 2 teaspoons salt

See the full recipe here.

If these recipes don’t interest you, look up the recipes for your own favorite foods. For example, junior Lara Ohja is cooking a variety of Indian foods during the free time she has. Ultimately, quarantine is giving all of us a chance to try new things. Whether you hop on one of these viral trends or find a recipe of your own, take this time to try something new!