Cooking During the Pandemic
2020-08-17
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1For the past several months, many restaurants have either been closed or are offering limited services because of the coronavirus health crisis.
2This means people all around the world have had to prepare meals for themselves.
3The COVID home cooking experiences are "all over the map" -- meaning something with a lot of different results: some good and others not-so-good.
4For those who like to cook and are good at it, cooking during the coronavirus pandemic is business as usual.
5But they still may tire of it. Cooking every single meal, day after day, is difficult.
6Yet others may have learned how to cook for the first time and found that they like it!
7Erika Navarrete Nagle is from Denver, Colorado.
8The 33-year-old television producer told The Associated Press (AP) that she was not very good at cooking.
9In fact, before she started working from home in late March, she had never cooked chicken.
10Navarrete Nagle explains that she "grew up in a Cuban family with a mother and sister" who always cooked for her.
11So, she did not learn to cook for herself.
12Plus, she describes herself as a workaholic -- someone who likes to work and works all the time.
13She never had the time to cook nor did she want to.
14Then COVID struck.
15"It took a global pandemic and mandatory quarantine for me to learn (to cook)," she said.
16But now, she says she feels great about her progress.
17"I jumped up and down when I sautéed my first onions and garlic." She said she "almost took to social media to brag."
18Her experience is different from John Wing, a travel agent in New York City.
19He used to spend a lot of time in his car, taking his children from one activity to another.
20Wing was already the main cook in his family of 5 people.
21But since March, he has cut back on his driving duties.
22So, he has been cooking more than ever!
23Wing still cooks things his children will eat.
24But he also has started a few cooking projects.
25He has been learning how to make some new dishes.
26His family has begun ordering more takeout meals from restaurants.
27And his children have started making baked goods -- things like bread, cakes, and cookies.
28When it comes to buying food, Wing likes to make his own choices.
29He describes himself as that guy who picks up and looks at almost every piece of fruit before buying one.
30However, since the pandemic started, he has been ordering fruit, vegetables, and other groceries online.
31This has been a little difficult for him to get used to.
32Emmie Lee also lives in New York City with her husband and two teenage children.
33She was already an active cook.
34But she has used her time during the pandemic to learn to make difficult dishes.
35One of her cooking goals is to make Chinese dumplings.
36If you know anything about making Chinese dumplings - this is not an easy dish to make.
37Lee started her quarantine cooking by making foods her family usually ordered at restaurants.
38These are the dishes that you think about and then want to eat immediately - in other words, you crave them.
39She also started exploring time-saving methods.
40For example, she would cook a big piece of meat and then use it in several meals.
41But then Lee got tired of cooking.
42Lee said she "could not spend all day in the kitchen."
43So, now she cooks dinner and the family eats it together at sunset.
44But anything earlier in the day -- for example, breakfast and lunch -- has become DIY meals, in other words do-it-yourself.
45Lee says she still enjoys cooking but has had "dark days" - times when she is not so happy to cook.
46One way she plans to brighten her dark days this summer is to organize socially distanced outdoor meals with friends.
47Wing, the father in New York City, says once things are back to normal, his family will go back to ordering more meals from restaurants.
48And he will go to supermarkets for food ... in person.
49Navarrete Nagle, the TV producer in Denver, says she feels empowered now that she can cook.
50She can feed her family more than just simple meals. And that, she said, feels good.
51And Emmie Lee, the mother from New York, cannot wait to return to restaurants with friends.
52She plans to eat all the foods she has craved but not tried to cook at home.
53I'm Jonathan Evans.
54And I'm Anna Matteo.
1For the past several months, many restaurants have either been closed or are offering limited services because of the coronavirus health crisis. 2This means people all around the world have had to prepare meals for themselves. The COVID home cooking experiences are "all over the map" -- meaning something with a lot of different results: some good and others not-so-good. 3For those who like to cook and are good at it, cooking during the coronavirus pandemic is business as usual. But they still may tire of it. Cooking every single meal, day after day, is difficult. Yet others may have learned how to cook for the first time and found that they like it! 4Erika Navarrete Nagle is from Denver, Colorado. The 33-year-old television producer told The Associated Press (AP) that she was not very good at cooking. In fact, before she started working from home in late March, she had never cooked chicken. 5Navarrete Nagle explains that she "grew up in a Cuban family with a mother and sister" who always cooked for her. So, she did not learn to cook for herself. Plus, she describes herself as a workaholic -- someone who likes to work and works all the time. She never had the time to cook nor did she want to. 6Then COVID struck. 7"It took a global pandemic and mandatory quarantine for me to learn (to cook)," she said. 8But now, she says she feels great about her progress. "I jumped up and down when I sautéed my first onions and garlic." She said she "almost took to social media to brag." 9Her experience is different from John Wing, a travel agent in New York City. He used to spend a lot of time in his car, taking his children from one activity to another. 10Wing was already the main cook in his family of 5 people. But since March, he has cut back on his driving duties. So, he has been cooking more than ever! 11Wing still cooks things his children will eat. But he also has started a few cooking projects. He has been learning how to make some new dishes. His family has begun ordering more takeout meals from restaurants. And his children have started making baked goods -- things like bread, cakes, and cookies. 12When it comes to buying food, Wing likes to make his own choices. He describes himself as that guy who picks up and looks at almost every piece of fruit before buying one. 13However, since the pandemic started, he has been ordering fruit, vegetables, and other groceries online. This has been a little difficult for him to get used to. 14Emmie Lee also lives in New York City with her husband and two teenage children. She was already an active cook. But she has used her time during the pandemic to learn to make difficult dishes. 15One of her cooking goals is to make Chinese dumplings. If you know anything about making Chinese dumplings - this is not an easy dish to make. 16Lee started her quarantine cooking by making foods her family usually ordered at restaurants. These are the dishes that you think about and then want to eat immediately - in other words, you crave them. 17She also started exploring time-saving methods. For example, she would cook a big piece of meat and then use it in several meals. 18But then Lee got tired of cooking. 19Lee said she "could not spend all day in the kitchen." So, now she cooks dinner and the family eats it together at sunset. But anything earlier in the day -- for example, breakfast and lunch -- has become DIY meals, in other words do-it-yourself. 20Lee says she still enjoys cooking but has had "dark days" - times when she is not so happy to cook. One way she plans to brighten her dark days this summer is to organize socially distanced outdoor meals with friends. 21Wing, the father in New York City, says once things are back to normal, his family will go back to ordering more meals from restaurants. And he will go to supermarkets for food ... in person. 22Navarrete Nagle, the TV producer in Denver, says she feels empowered now that she can cook. She can feed her family more than just simple meals. And that, she said, feels good. 23And Emmie Lee, the mother from New York, cannot wait to return to restaurants with friends. She plans to eat all the foods she has craved but not tried to cook at home. 24I'm Jonathan Evans. 25And I'm Anna Matteo. 26Katie Workman wrote this story for The Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 27______________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29mandatory - adj. required by a law or rule 30quarantine - n. the period of time during which a person or animal that has a disease or that might have a disease is kept away from others to prevent the disease from spreading 31sauté - v. to fry (food, such as small pieces of meat or vegetables) in a small amount of fat 32brag - v. to talk about yourself, your achievements, your family, etc., in a way that shows too much pride 33bake - v. to make (food, such as bread and cake) by preparing a dough, batter, etc., and cooking it in an oven using dry heat 34groceries - n. food sold by a grocer : food bought at a store 35kitchen - n. a place (such as a room) with cooking facilities