Pandemic

14 Freezer-Friendly Recipes to Prepare for Lunch or Dinner During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Herbert M. Pickett 3 weeks ago

During the coronavirus pandemic, daily routines have been thrown for a loop. With fewer trips to the grocery store, it’s especially important to make the most of the ingredients that you have on hand for lunch and dinner. One of the ways to make cooking at home for your family easier is by preparing meals that you can freeze. On those occasions when you don’t feel like starting from scratch, pull one of these delicious meals from the freezer, heat it up in the oven, and say bon appétit.

One of the other benefits of cooking homemade freezer-friendly recipes is that they’re often healthier than store-bought versions. Take Mozzarella Sticks, for example—while our version doesn’t stray too far from the kind that you’d find in the grocery store, there are far fewer additives in the breading when you prepare them at home. Our recipe calls for breadcrumbs, which you can

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Nutrition program offering migrants culturally sensitive food choices thrives during pandemic

Herbert M. Pickett 2 months ago

Growing up, Leila Cassandra Bocanegra, 26, was used to eating the traditional Mexican food her parents, immigrants from Monterrey, would make. She acknowledges that some of the food, consisting of lots of tortillas and breads and meats, were heavy. 



graphical user interface, application: Iluminada Vilca (highlighted) offers nutrition education courses via Zoom for migrants who would otherwise not have access to the program.

© Iluminada Vilca, Cornell Cooperative Extension Monroe County
Iluminada Vilca (highlighted) offers nutrition education courses via Zoom for migrants who would otherwise not have access to the program.

But with the Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program (FVRx) run by Cornell University’s Cooperative Extension in Monroe County running several clinics in the Finger Lakes, Bocanegra and her family have learned that it’s possible to eat healthy while also eating foods with cultural significance. 

“You can still have the food you love, but you need to read nutritional labels, and have balance,” said Bocanegra. 

The Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program is a federal initiative started in 2014 which looks to make fruit

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Last full service restaurant standing at Urby stays hopeful during pandemic

Herbert M. Pickett 2 months ago

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — From Seppe’s shiny, tiled dining room, co-owner Joe Iovino talked about the Stapleton restaurant’s future. He remains hopeful for the family’s sleek Italian restaurant, the only full-service one open for pickup and delivery at Stapleton’s Urby development right now.

Yes, there still is the gourmet coffee shop, Cafe Americano in Urby’s lobby a few doors down from Seppe. But the other sit-down eateries that kept the complex a worthy food destination have shut temporarily in the pandemic.

Freshly opened in the fall, Wynwood Cafe stopped its breakfast and lunch format. Celebrity chef Vic Rallo put Pastavino, Navy Pier Prime and its more casual, downstairs counterpart, Navy Pier Taproom on pause. Egger’s has closed for the winter season. A new wine and liquor store has been ready to open for about a year, awaiting its license. So, it’s rather quiet around Navy Pier Court this February.

Seppe

Urby

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Bill of Fare: Quality food and loyal customers keep Antimo’s Italian Kitchen cookin’ throughout pandemic

Herbert M. Pickett 2 months ago

Customer loyalty and a reputation for quality food have sustained Antimo’s Italian Kitchen in Hopewell Borough throughout the pandemic.

With indoor dining in New Jersey restricted to 25 percent of each restaurant’s capacity, the focus is on contactless curbside pickup, says owner Antimo Iovine.

“Ninety-five percent of our business is curbside pickup,” he said, since reopening after the initial state-ordered closure at the start of the pandemic.

Customers order their food and pay online, park in a spot designated for pickup, pop their trunk (making sure there is room for the food) and call the restaurant to let them know they have arrived. Staff members bring out their food and put it in the trunk.

On the restaurant website Iovine assures his customers that he and his staff are taking extra precautions for cleanliness and sanitation while offering the same quality food they are known for.

Iovine said he has

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