Monthly Archives: April 2020

Cooking Up a Quarantine

#quarantinerecipes, food, ,

Two chain letters (via email but also apparently also via social media) have been circulating, as many of my friends have confirmed, in this time of quarantine. Why this is happening right now is anyone’s speculation, and speculate they have. In the past week or so, articles, features or columns about this phenomenon have appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and on CNN to name only the more reputable sources.

I noticed this trend a little over a week ago, when my husband received the “recipe” chain email. Then I received the “uplifting poem/quote” one. Since then, I have been researching and writing an article for our Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage web site, which will appear just as soon as our beleaguered and over-worked editorial committee gets to it among all the other material they have been rapid-fire publishing in the past few weeks.

I did not respond to the poetry one, but I thought the recipe one would be fun and maybe I would actually get a few good new recipes. Unfortunately, I only received three recipes instead of the thousands I had imagined. (But they were good ones, thanks to those who sent them!)

I sent a recipe that I had recently tried, from Parade magazine, to the email first on the list as per instructions in the letter. It bounced back to me. Maybe it had a typo in it? Or that person changed their email without informing their friends? Or…?

So, my recipe was lost to the many who it would have been forwarded to. But, wait. I could share it with you, dear readers. And without any obligation to forward it to ANYONE unless you do have someone you truly want to share it with. Make sure you get their email correct, though.

Here’s a shot of the recipe as it appeared in the Parade magazine. I made it pretty much word for word, and I am on my second batch now. These are very versatile, as stated. Enjoy and keep safe!

As the World (Keeps) Turn(ing)

childhood; stuff; family, ,

Our family has watched daytime soap operas since before I was born. One of my earliest memories is coming home from kindergarten and watching the soaps on CBS (As the World Turns and The Guiding Light) with my grandmother who babysat us after school while my mom was at work. Years later, my mother, my sister and I got semi-addicted to Days of our Lives, which is one of the few hold-outs of revamped weekday daytime TV. (Most soaps were not so lucky, and got axed in favor of more talk shows and game shows.)

My mom is in assisted living now and I usually call her once a week. One of the things we talk about is “the soap.” We rehash the plot, fill one another in if we missed a day or two, and discuss how ridiculous the storyline has become (or always was?) and always question why we still waste our time watching it.

But, I think right now, “Days” and other fictional distractions are just what we need. While they do sometimes confront “real life” current issues (though not often or particularly well) the soap is taped so far ahead that the storyline now exists in a refreshingly pre-COVID19 bubble. People go from place to place, discussing their problems over meals at the local hang-out, and the most talked-about medical test proves or disproves the paternity of someone’s baby. Unlike watching a movie or TV show with a fixed time period, it just, well, goes on like normal life is supposed to, albeit in a heightened dramatic fashion.

And here we are, in our own real-life soap operas which take place mostly in our our homes, with a reduced cast of characters appearing in person. I haven’t taken a lot pictures in the past couple of weeks, except things I want to share with my remote family members, friends and co-workers. But here are some snaps from my recent activities.

I cut my own bangs and took a selfie. Ugh my face looks terrible… but my hair looks OK.

Like many other people I have been experimenting with new recipes, including this naan bread using self-rising flour (the only kind left at the grocery one day) and Greek yoghurt. Not bad!

I ordered our ginseng friend and colleague Jim Hamilton’s novel… I can read it and call it research, right? It’s a good story so far.

“STAY WELL” is my new sign-off to everyone. We’ll see this through and get to the other side, just as everyone on Days of Our Lives has for 50 years on NBC!