Anxiety cooking and baking
Well this past week was a whirlwind, wasn’t it? Last Sunday, I thought maybe we should buy some extra groceries and have plenty of things in our freezer just in case we need to work from home more — but at that time, that still seemed like paranoia, like overreacting. I had two weekend trips with friends planned for later this month, and as of Monday I checked in with friends to see if they were still planning to travel. It was Monday, and we were still naive and thought the biggest risk of traveling might be getting the coronavirus ourselves, so at that time, most of my friends still thought they’d go.
By Tuesday, the conversation around social distancing started to pick up, and by Wednesday, I was cancelling all my plane tickets and my work had ordered everyone to start working from home until at least April 3rd.
As of Wednesday I, an innocent idiot, still thought I could at least go to bars to see my friends since I would be starved of social contact while working from home the next few weeks. I texted my friends and joked about co-working together while we were all working from home.
By yesterday the gravity of the whole thing had really settled in and I realized how risky it was not to myself but to everyone in the community if I went to bars, or restaurants, or just generally went out when I didn’t need to go out.
In the beginning of this, it was easy to think: I’m not sick. No one I know is sick. Even if I get sick, I’m young and healthy and it probably won’t affect me much. So I can still go about my life, right? (Sometime in February I remember telling a coworker “you can’t live your life in fear!” That feels like forever ago now). But the bigger problem is that many people have have the virus without showing any symptoms, and this little thing called asymptomatic transmission means you can not know you have it, but still give it to someone else even though you show no symptoms.
It’s no longer about me, but about whether I could unknowingly pass it on to someone else. And so, as annoying as it may feel, it’s time for us all to put our trips and our social lives on hold so that we don’t unknowingly infect someone else. It’s time to stop going to gym classes and movies and restaurants and bars.
Anyways, so you’re stuck inside self-quarantining! Inspired by my friend Alanna, I decided to make a list of goals I want to accomplish this month while staying indoors the next few weeks, or however long this might last. My list includes doing yoga videos at home since I’m not going to workout classes anymore (Yoga with Adriene, anyone?), taking a walk everyday to make sure I still get some fresh air and physical activity, working on some long-term writing projects, meditating, and taking on some cooking and baking projects that I might not normally have a lot of time to invest in.
More about those cooking projects: today I made the Bon Appetit camouflage fudge brownies and they are INCREDIBLE! They’re also a recipe that takes some time so they’re a great quarantine project. Other things I want to try: these scallion biscuits or maybe jalapeno cheddar biscuits, and focaccia (either BA’s no-knead focaccia or Samin Nosrat’s famous one from Salt Fat Acid Heat). I’ve never made bread or focaccia, so now seems like as good a time as any to try to my hand at it. Eventually I want to try these pumpkin maple muffins that someone on Twitter recommended.
I love a pantry pasta, particularly this very easy and delicious lemon butter angel hair pasta (I add parmesan, and a lot of extra black pepper, to make it a little more cacio-e-pepe-like). Also on my list for quarantine: caramelized shallot pasta, creamy cauliflower pasta.
And while baking is fun, we can’t subsist on carbs alone, so make sure you eat a vegetable everyday! I almost never cook beets because they seem complicated but am going to make a salad with roasted golden beets this week.
What are you cooking and baking during quarantine? I’d love to hear about your cooking projects! I’m always looking for new ideas to try, so feel free to reply to this email and share the recipes you’re trying.
What I’m reading
This is not a snow day, Medium. Written by a doctor, this is one of the best things I’ve read yet on social distancing.
Out of an abundance of caution, I have no idea what to do, Vice. If you’re feeling confused about what you can and can’t do, you’ll related to this one.
Your social life is going on hiatus, The Cut. It’s hard to give up your social life! I’m an extrovert, and I hate this! But it’s necessary for the greater good.
Please, don’t go out to bars/brunch today, New York Times.
How canceled events and self-quarantines save lives, in one chart, Vox.
How I learned that giving in to sweatpants doesn’t mean giving up, Fashionista.
A brain hack to break the coronavirus anxiety cycle, New York Times.
Coronavirus will be hardest for gig and service workers in the US, Teen Vogue. Don’t forget to tip service workers well right now — social distancing has real impact for the livelihoods of hourly workers who often don’t have paid sick leave.
How millennials are talking to their Boomer relatives about the coronavirus, BuzzFeed. A good piece to read if you’ve having trouble convincing your parents/grandparents on why they should stay home.
Everyone’s a curator now, New York Times.
What I’m watching
The new season of Ugly Delicious on Netflix is great (I especially liked the episode on Indian food, which was really well done). I’m re-watching all of The OC (still good!). I might start The Wire!
What I’m drinking
I’ve gotten a couple requests for more wine content after last week’s newsletter! So, if you’re looking for recommendations for wines to stock up on while you’re quarantined at home, here are a few things I’m drinking right now:
Joe Swick: I’ve gotten a little obsessed with this winemaker from Oregon who does incredible natural wines. City Pop (a petnat) is one of my favorites, but I just bought the Miuda too.
Valentina Passalacqua: Valentina is a female winemaker from Italy and the wines from her Calcarius line are delicious. I especially recommend the Troiabomb.
Costadila: I love Costadila’s natural, unfiltered sparkling wines.
Don’t forget to drink water, eat vegetables, go outside, and get some exercise. Take care of yourselves, everyone.
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