Wok & Roll by Peter Kwong, (Frederic) Inter-County Leader
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Yes, the virus is here, and it has been affecting the whole world since its discovery in Wuhan, China, in December. Since then, it has spread to nearly every country, and the whole world is in a panic mode.
I do feel the panic in the Northwoods these days. People have been wiping out the shelves that stock bread, meats, eggs and toilet paper. I’ll never understand how the usage of toilet paper is connected to the respiratory system.
My good friend Bob Boyd has announced that he would provide a demonstration of using only one sheet of TP every time you use the bathroom. While waiting for his demonstration date, I’ve heard about this package of organic TP for sale. It comes in two flavors — eucalyptus and birch — and pinecones are complimentary. Hopefully, folks will calm down and resume their daily life activities. I am still pondering on the thought of how the virus and toilet paper are even related. Another mystery of life.
So, after walking through aisles of empty shelves in Walmart, I began to wonder how we are going to survive in this dramatic situation. Companies are sending memos that they have plenty of inventory to keep up with the demands, yet people are still in a panic-buying mode.
Just what can you do with 2,000 rolls of toilet paper, while your monthly use is eight rolls? That’s more than 10 years’ supply! What comfort and satisfaction can one get from stocking ample supplies of toilet paper while depriving others who have to depend on using “organic” tissues (or digging out old Sears catalogs from the recycle bin)?
While walking down the empty aisles at the grocery store and wondering just what folks are going to do with 10 years’ supply of toilet paper stocked in their garage, I was thinking about us common folks who have to live a normal life. What to do and what to eat when all the food supplies are wiped out? Luckily, when I checked on the shelves that are stocked with pasta and rice, they’re fully stocked, and so was the vegetable section. Aha, I told myself, there’s still hope for the human race. Yes, we can survive and we will live, as we are humans, the smartest of all species.
So I came up with a few food recipes that are simple, easy to make and with plenty of stock in the grocery store. Let’s just try with two simple recipes, fettuccine Alfredo and garlic toast. Two easy dishes that would make grandma proud. So, are you ready?
Fettuccine a la Peter
A fancy name, but it is just pasta with cream sauce that I made up (hence it bears my name). If you order fettuccine Alfredo in a fancy restaurant, you might be able to get away with paying $22, even with a couple of grinds of grated Parmesan cheese on top. There are hundreds of recipes, but here is my survival version:
Ingredients (for 6)
- Fettuccine, 1 package
- Half and half, 1 pint
- Monterey cheese, 4 ounces
- Chicken powder, 1 tablespoon
- White wine, 1 cup
- Herbs, 1 cup (basil, tarragon, Italian parsley)
Method
Cook the pasta till al dente and set aside.
In another pot, heat up the cream and other ingredients, stir slowly and adjust the flavor to taste. Add the pasta to the sauce and let it simmer. The sauce will thicken as it absorbs into the pasta. Hence the golden rule that I learned from an Italian chef — “never add oil in the pasta while you’re cooking it, just add some salt.” If the pasta is coated with oil, it won’t absorb the sauce. Such words of wisdom. I’ve been doing it wrong for so many years.
The dish should be rich and thick. Then sprinkle with grated Parmesan and serve. Sprinkle with some chopped Italian parsley and serve with garlic toast, and you’ll be the hero.
I know the next question would be, “Just how do you make garlic toast”? Oh well, we’re all in the survival mode, so I might as well give out my secrets. So, are you ready?
Garlic toast
Ingredients (for 6)
- French/Italian bread, 1 loaf (thickly sliced)
- Garlic, 1 clove minced
- Butter, 1 cube
- Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon (sprinkle)
- Paprika, 1 teaspoon (sprinkle)
- Italian parsley, 1 teaspoon (chopped, garnish)
Method
Brush the bread with butter or olive oil and toast in oven till brown, set aside.
In a heated skillet, melt the butter, add minced garlic and cook till brown. Spoon the garlic over brown toast evenly. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and add paprika for more color, with chopped Italian parsley.
You can eat the garlic toast as a snack, or as a side dish with your fettuccine.
Pick a good bottle of Italian white wine, or some local white wine — Pinot Grigio or even Riesling will do. The old days of red wine goes with red meat, and white wine goes with chicken or fish are gone. Choose whatever you fancy and enjoy your meal. These days, I like Pinot Noir (a red wine) with my grilled salmon with light cream sauce. Who is there to tell me that it is not appropriate?
So, forget about the virus, it will go away if we all watch what we’re doing — self-isolation and sanitizing everything when we have contact with others. Colleen worked as a hospice chaplain for many years and she has been giving me lectures of what sanitizing everything means, as she was in contact with dozens of patients every day. Door knobs, touching each other, just about everything that you never dreamed of can be infectious.
So, stock up your wine rack, just stay home and eat, drink and be safe.
If you have any questions, just shoot me an email at phkwong1668@gmail.com.
