As it seems, my family is quite talented in the kitchen. We are all becoming culinary masters, as many individuals around the world have become, during isolation. The cooking varies from baking bread to creme brulee. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are now more than the required staple meals of throwing something together. It has become a work of art for the 'norm'' and, not for just the master chef's themselves.
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| Country Loaf |
Most evenings, my two daughters virtually together for wine o'clock and cooking preparations. They have mastered Limone Pasta, a house specialty at NYC's, L'il Frankies in the LES. The recipe is generously offered by Chef/Owner, Frank Prisinzano, on Instagram. Thank you, Frank! My girls rave about this dish and simply can't get enough of it. My new favorite pasta is from 'The Chef' aired on Netflix. Jon Favreau and Roy Choi cook this amazing pasta with garlic, lemon, parsley and parmesan. I am addicted. It has become my isolation comfort food. It goes well over both linguini and zoodles! Their recipes are available on Netflix.
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| Challah |
My brother, R, has even dabbled with experimentation and made fresh homemade pasta. [Ive heard, but not tasted.] With the absence of a pasta machine his fettuccine was prepared with manual labor of love. From what I heard, it was fantastic. And, for the record, he makes the best chicken parmesan on the planet.
The most fun is baking with my 7-year old nephew. According to his family, he makes the challah [bread]. He's in charge of the bread making at home. Last week, he gave me a virtual lesson. Yes, a lesson. He was my instructor and taught me how to make challah from start to finish. He sent me the recipe, we gathered our ingredients; and, then had a virtual bread making class. Needless to say, I made two loaves of braided challah with him and have since made another two loaves. Delicious.
I can't wait until the quarantine is lifted so we can all get together and tastes each others kitchen creations. OR, maybe we will all be going to the gym together if we keep it up at this pace. :) Stay safe!
Helluva welcome back, to me?
It's been nearly [3] years since I've last posted on my blog. What a time to return, but during a worldwide pandemic. What a mess.
As we all know, the majority of the human race has been in isolation for an average of 30 days or more [rather SHOULD be] in their respective homes worldwide. During this time, we have all had the opportunity to reflect on the good, the bad and the ugly in our lives. Certainly, I have, but not sharing. I will share; however, that aside from work, cooking and making masks, my biggest achievement each day [or every other-ish] is to take a shower. Can you believe that! I can't.
I've gone through all the phases of the pandemic - crying, scared, angry, fun, relaxing, working, guilt [for leaving my house] and more. For the first few weeks of the mayhem in my community with the new statewide rules and regulations, I had to convince my parents [and other family members] to stay 6' away from people, wear a mask, wash hands, tell clients to NOT come to the office, wash hands, use disinfectant to wipe door knobs and light switches, wash hands, wear gloves when pumping gas AND to toss the gloves after using, wash hands, disinfect your steering wheel, car door handles and shifts AND MORE followed by washing hands. After 2-1/2 weeks of begging and pleading, they got the message. Also, the fact that my Mother had been sick for over [1] week and had was tested for Covid19 [negative] helped all of my family and friends, worldwide, face the facts when brought closer to 'home.'
Mask, gloves, paper towels, disinfectant spray are the contents now taking up space in my car. With my new lifestyle and routine in place I go to the grocery store, post office, father's office and houses to deliver food, semi-safe. Phew - 50% safe. That's a great feeling knowing I am semi-safe from a potential deadly virus [note sarcasm].
As everyone has seen through digital media, people are trying to make the best of their situation using their time to create music, videos, jokes and spiritual messages to share moments of laughter and pleasure worldwide. Not only do I find myself addicted to 'live' performances on Instagram, but just also reading and scouring the internet for anything to capture my interest for any split second of the day.
My family and I speak daily via FaceTime or Zoom. We've had virtual cooking lessons, watched movies, played bingo and puzzled together, to name a few activities. Today is the second birthday Zoom bash to celebrate in the family during the pandemic mayhem [Happy birthday MSR].
That's it for now. Back to making masks for those at the front lines, including hospitals, police departments, fire departments, nursing homes, etc... Keep up the great work.
Let's all hope and pray for the miracle scientist busy in the lab to find a vaccine for us all soon!
As it seems, my family is quite talented in the kitchen. We are all becoming culinary masters, as many individuals around the world have become, during isolation. The cooking varies from baking bread to creme brulee. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are now more than the required staple meals of throwing something together. It has become a work of art for the 'norm'' and, not for just the master chef's themselves. 
The most fun is baking with my 7-year old nephew. According to his family, he makes the challah [bread]. He's in charge of the bread making at home. Last week, he gave me a virtual lesson. Yes, a lesson. He was my instructor and taught me how to make challah from start to finish. He sent me the recipe, we gathered our ingredients; and, then had a virtual bread making class. Needless to say, I made two loaves of braided challah with him and have since made another two loaves. Delicious. 
