Doodler brings hilarity to quarantine mealtime

Have you been putting googly eyes on everything in the pantry? Showing up to breakfast in your Halloween costume?

To give her family a daily dose of laughter during the pandemic, Katie Zeigler of Walnut Creek, California, turned to the kitchen whiteboard.

Back in March, the Diablo Valley College professor and mother of two began drawing simple, punny and downright silly cartoons to accompany her nightly menus. Here’s a taste.

“Tonight’s Dinner: Ginger Chicken Bowls” is accompanied by an exhausted mother, faceplanted on the floor. “Sauvignon Blah” is a wine glass with a meh face. And the third-wheel Cous standing next to the Couscous Bowls is almost too much. #oneflewoverthe couscousnest.

“When school was canceled and my husband and I began working from home, the specter of COVID began edging closer and closer,” Zeigler said. “I just wanted to bring one lighthearted moment into each day.”

Now she’s sharing those moments. Zeigler self-published her drawings in a paperback book, “COVIDinners: Adventures in Quarantine Dining” ($10 on Amazon). In 52 pages, she covers the spectrum of pandemic humor, from politics and wine consumption – #grapesarefruit – to a lack of eyebrow maintenance. Yes, the hashtags are marvelous, too.

We found our current mood reflected in Zeigler’s drawings (and even a few dinner ideas), from Fauci Fajitas and Socially Distant Soup to Lord of the Fries. There’s even an appearance by Beavis and Butt-head in “Chicken Scallopini: Hehe, you said ‘pini.’ ”