PEOPLE desperately want to resume their B.C. (Before Covid-19) days: No masks. No social distancing. No frequent handwashing. And alcohol? It was for drinking with buddies on Fridays, not the isopropyl or ethyl kind to zap the evil coronavirus disease.
Despair clothes the faces of people as they share how they miss shopping in malls or hanging out at the beach with friends. There is the feeling of being imprisoned without bars and being limited in movement without handcuffs.
On my part, I have learned that the limitation has set free my creativity in the kitchen. If there’s anything I gained from the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), it’s the new way of looking at what I have.
My ECQ imprisonment allowed me more time to play with food. I thank Uncle Gustave for paving the way to my creation, the Desperation Salad, aka Beanapple.
Uncle wanted to have chicken salad to go with the fried fish for lunch. I told him we had no chicken and it was almost lunch. We had no time to hike to the nearest mall to grab some frozen fowl. “Look, I found sachets of chicken spread in our cupboard. Make something I will like,” Uncle said. Desperate to please Uncle, I accepted the challenge.
Beanapple Desperation Salad. I created this salad with what I had: Fuji apples, green (or Baguio) beans and chicken spread. To make the dressing, mix chicken spread with lemonsito juice and salt. As it chills in the ref, blanch the green beans, making sure they stay crisp. Place in cold water to stop the cooking process.
To assemble, cut beans into one-inch lengths. Slice Fuji apple into quarters, remove the seeds and cut into tiny cubes. Place beans and apples in a nice bowl and toss with the dressing. Chill. We won over despair that day.