Editor's note: The Law Journal has asked readers to share what life was like for them during the COVID-19 pandemic—how they got through the once-in-a-century crisis and how it changed them. Submissions are edited for length and clarity. If you are interested in sharing your experiences, contact New York bureau chief Andrew Denney at [email protected]. I am a matrimonial attorney in private practice in New York City who always loved to cook for friends and family. When the city went on lockdown, and my practice basically ground nearly to a halt, cooking became my full-time job.

Jennifer P. Brown
However, as a result of quarantine, there were many challenges to deal with: limited ingredients and supplies or suppliers, not being able to go out to the grocery or specialty stores whenever I wanted, holidays and birthdays being so restricted and the quality and availability of ordering in became really limited. I taught myself to make different kinds of breads and recreate take out and restaurant-quality meals that my fiancé and I couldn't otherwise get, in addition to making my usual dishes and family favorites. We learned to shop at midnight when there were nearly no other shoppers in our local market and source items online or at small stores that were open in a limited capacity. I also started planning meals in advance rather than day to day (like most city people do) and doing larger shopping trips or supply orders in order to limit exposure to the outside world. Planning meals and cooking became my daily "projects" and the way to keep me focused and sane. Throughout the pandemic I posted pictures to my personal Facebook and Instagram accounts. Friends and family members were so awed at what I was doing that they encouraged me to publish a book. But I was a nobody, so getting a publisher was impossible. Publishers are looking for people with thousands of Facebook and Instagram followers or celebrities. So, I found a website online where I could write up the recipes that I created with little stories about each recipe and I self published a cookbook in both hardcopy and e-Cookbook formats. I also created a Shopify website on which to sell the books. The book is entitled "When Life Hands You Lemons – An Attorney's Journey Through Quarantine as an At Home Chef." It follows my cooking journey from the start of lockdown through the summer, in order. I include the recipes, anecdotal stories and pictures of most of what I made. This book project was another way to keep my mind task-focused and gave me something to keep me occupied. I started selling the book on Black Friday and continue to do so all myself, even shipping the individual books directly from my apartment. Even though business has gotten busy again, I continue to cook regularly and post pictures and stories about my food on my Instagram cooking account (downtownjbrowncooking) and my Facebook cooking account (Downtownjbrown Cooking). I encourage people who bought my book to post pictures of what they've made from the book and I repost so others can see.