Because of the Covid-19 lockdown, I’ve all been spending a considerable amount of time in my kitchen. I took advantage of this opportunity and trained my humus bowl to spin. She mastered clockwise fairly quickly. Counter clockwise did not come as easily to her.

For the first few weeks of self-isolation I was embracing the experience, trying new recipes and being as imaginative and innovative as I possibly could be, given the unavailability of so many ingredients and infrequent grocery store trips. My husband and I sat down together for lunch and dinner. We used placemats and cloth napkins. It was nice.

As we enter week 7 of social distancing, I will admit that some of these niceties have slipped by the wayside. We had to have a chat about speaking more civilly to one another. Well, to be more accurate, the chat was about me being more civil. I think I snapped at him when he asked what was on the menu for lunch, and what time would it be ready at. It’s a new normal and we both have to learn the new dance steps.

Dinner is now eaten on our laps in front of the TV, watching Ozark. But we’re still using cloth napkins, we’re not animals. Saturday’s dinner was a sheet pan full of nachos for each of us. I topped them with diced tomatoes, kalamata olives, pickled jalapeños and cheddar cheese before popping them in the oven. I served them with sour cream and guacamole on the side.

Along the same vein as nachos, but infinately healthier is this hummus and Israeli salad platter, served with pita chips for scooping up all the goodness. I was inspired by a similar dish Ina made on Back to Basics. She made her own humus, but, “store-bought is fine.” I roasted up a can of chickpeas with olive oil, cumin and smoked paprika for some extra protein and crunch.

Spread the hummus on a large plate, top with the Israeli salad and call it dinner. Cloth napkins not optional!