I first thought of kimchi when I felt like to stockpile for shelter-in-place. A
cultural gem that tides the Koreans over every winter, it came to me in 2014
when I had the good fortune to run into Maangchi's videos. I have since
made and enjoyed many batches and even given it as gifts to friends at work. 

Since March, I have made two batches, each with one five-pound cabbage, one
raddish, one carrot, and one onion and some of its relatives such as green onions,
leeks, and Asian chives. I usually leave the freshly-made kimchi in a sealed plastic
container on the countertop overnight. By the next morning, it would become bubbly 
when pressed down, which means the bacteria have already started working. It is
then moved into the fridge.

I think it is often best eaten with other foods, either as a side dish or as an
ingredient, because there is a window when fermentation renders just the
right amount of acidity for it to taste great by itself. On the other hand, Tim
and I are never tired of the sundubu jjigae and the (meatless) kimchi fried 
rice regardless of how long the bacteria have been working at it. 

Recently, I have discovered that kimchi is a great companion (as a side dish) for 
sandwiches. I never was good at making sandwiches but, looking at the pile of
canned tuna gathered over the years (This had nothing to do with Covid-19. I am a
natural hoarder), I decided to do something about it. These days, I have got over my
bread-phobia and there are no misgivings. I followed a super easy recipe for tuna
salad, made the sandwich with a loaf of baguette or sourdough, and it was an
instant hit. The richness of the mayo and tuna was perfectly balanced by the sharp
sour crisp kimchi. The contrast was mouth-watering.

I tried the Italian dish, sausage and beans (Salsiccie e Fagioli), from my
favorite cookbook "Italian Cooking For Dummies" with canned white beans and
had great results. Next, I bought 10 lbs of dried cannellini beans and started to
cook them from scratch, as recommended in the book. I soaked about two cups of
dried beans overnight and simmered them with garlic, celery, and sage for about
one and a half hours. The white beans became as creamy as mash potatoes and
absorbed the gravy from the fried sausage. Over three weeks, they made three 
hearty, healthy, and very tasty meals.

I also tried the bolognese pasta sauce. Either the online recipe that I followed was
not the best or my cooking really stunk. In the end, it did not beat our traditional 
tuna pasta which we don't make as often these days as the particular oil-packed 
tuna has gone up in price.

To make a healthy meal requires good planning and execution.  It is an essential 
skill and such fun that I think the consumer society has cheated us out of. Cooking's
importance is made even more manifest by the pandemic. It's time to reclaim it.