In a moment of temporary insanity, I headed to the grocery store this morning. While this is a trip I sincerely look forward to, I was half dreading it today. With all of this Covid-19 hysteria, I had no idea what I would or wouldn’t find when I got there. I quickly found the courage I needed when I considered being stuck with two teenage boys out of school for two weeks and low food supplies…talk about hysteria.

The crowds were pretty average…I have definitely seen it worse. As I made my way through the produce section, everything looked to be well- stocked. Then I got to the refrigerators where the bagged lettuce is kept…totally empty. I stood there thinking, “Was there a run on lettuce?” I venture further into the store with what was surely a “WTF” look on my face when I got to the meat section, and my jaw just dropped. There was not a single pack of meat to be seen. Not. One.

No beef. No chicken. No pork. No bacon. The duck was gone. The veal was gone. There weren’t even any hotdogs. Nothing organic or kosher. Nothing. Nada….except for two or three packs of some cut of lamb and I chose not to go there.

The momentary insanity that brought me to the grocery store flashed back. I thought, “What’s wrong with the meat? Have they pulled it from the store?” Then it dawned on me that it was completely sold out. Holy hell.

Thankfully everything else was pretty abundant – minus the toilet paper (don’t even get me started). Suffice it to say that we will be eating a lot of pasta in the next week…totally fine by me.

With this…I am grateful that I decided to make a pot of meatballs last night. No pasta..just some nice, crusty bread and a salad. Fantastic.

I combined ground beef, ground pork, 2 slices white bread soaked in milk, 1 egg slightly beaten, a nice helping of grated Parmigiano and Pecorino Romano, 1/2 small yellow onion finely diced, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I sautéed them a minute or two in the pan, added a splash of white wine, and 1 can whole peeled tomatoes (pureed). Covered and let cook on low heat for a good hour and a half.