As the pandemic wears on, I’ve been contemplating the big picture and coming to terms with the idea there is no big picture. Or if there is, it’s too big for me to figure out, so I’d rather just ignore it.
Deep thinkers and perhaps those with strong spiritual beliefs might take issue with that sentiment, but it’s the little picture that keeps me reasonably sane … taking care of my mind and body, tending to relationships and living as well as I possibly can.
I’m not sure what the future will bring, but that’s nothing new. My guess is lockdown and semi-lockdown will continue for months and months. We have enough money to get what we need, and so far, we’ve been able to get pretty much everything we need without going inside a store.
If that’s reality for the foreseeable future, we’ll call ourselves lucky. And grateful. In the meantime, I’m focusing on simple pleasures.
I’ve been walking almost every day. In fact, I just got back from a nice walk and spent much of it thinking about social distancing on the road and other pedestrian safety tips, which I will share in an upcoming post. Remind me to mention the snake!
Much of life seems to revolve around food, but then it always did. We spend a good bit of time shopping for it online, going to pick it up and preparing it. As always, different stores have different things, and we are fortunate to have multiple options. We’re buying more pantry items, so I tidied up that area, and Dale started calling me Marie, as in Kondo. He said all the little cans were dress right dress, which is a military term that refers to being parallel.
Yeah, man. Nothing like parallel cans to settle your soul.
I’m more careful not to waste food. I froze milk in two-cup portions. They say the texture changes, but I only use it for cooking anyway. We used to buy ripe avocados and eat them the same day. You probably knew this, but you can buy them firm and let them ripen on the counter. It turns out avocados keep at least a week in the refrigerator once they’re ripe. A semi-gnarly apple is greatly enhanced when microwaved with cinnamon and brown sugar. A dollop of yogurt on warm apples is delicious!
There seems to be a cinnamon shortage with all the baking going on, but I had plenty of sticks, so I let them roll around in a dry frying pan on low heat to get some of the moisture out and then buzzed them up in a coffee grinder we reserve for spices. I added a smidgen of brown sugar because I read somewhere it helps the process along.
Oh, and you can freeze parsley and cilantro.
I wash the herbs well and spread them out on a bath towel, so as not to squander my precious paper towels. I pat the herbs dry and remove any thick stems. Divvy them up into smaller portions, put them in a zip lock, label and freeze. The texture changes a bit, so you might not have a pretty garnish, but the taste is great.
For dinner one night I made baguettes, and we just allow them to be the star of the show with good olive oil, brie and Italian cold cuts. I tossed fresh spinach with vinegar and sea salt and had that on the side.
Dale periodically freezes raw scraps of veal, pork and beef that are left over from other dishes, and yesterday he used the Kitchen Aid with the grinder attachment to turn the scraps into meatballs. We had spaghetti and meatballs, and they were the best meatballs I’ve ever had. We were going to have leftover baguettes on the side, but someone ate them all!
Tonight’s dinner is Chiapas pork from the freezer. Dale made it a month or two ago, and we had tons of leftovers. It’s basically a pork shoulder marinated, spiced and cooked in the oven until falling apart in a puddle of delicious sauce. To go with, we have fresh shredded romaine lettuce, sliced onion and homemade blue corn tortillas. We eat them like tacos.
I did a little yard work, my least favorite simple pleasure, but the weather is lovely, and I guess it wasn’t so bad. The air quality is amazing with so many cars off the road.
We’ve been trying to clean out our freezer and have done a pretty good job of it. It seems lately all we’ve been doing is adding to it and we don’t have that much freezer space. (I so miss the chest freezer I used to have.). We aren’t as creative as you and I know we could eat better. Especially with my dad here now, it seems our days revolve around our meals.
For us, a chest freezer is essential! Ours is out in the garage. Days revolving around meals — not a bad thing!
Yum, yum! Sounds like you two eat exceedingly well!
Over here, I finally returned to ‘normal’ cooking this past week in that our markets are fairly returned to normal at this point. Last night was a spicy chicken chili, tonight is a cauliflower korma. Most exciting will be a warming trend that starts today, meaning we can eat it outside. I’m looking forward to that!
Otherwise, miles of daily walking are keeping us sane. And I do mean miles – we did 11 yesterday!
If I recall correctly, you live in Orange County (where I was born and grew up). I’m surprised the stores are normal, but then I guess that’s relative. And wow, good for you on the walking! That’s impressive. I’m topping out at 5-6 miles, and I’d like to extend that. We are also looking forward to eating outside — that’s the whole reason I did yard work yesterday!
Donna, I live in S. County, which is quieter/less dense than the rest of the county. Therein lies the reason, I’m sure.
“…there is no big picture. Or if there is, it’s too big for me to figure out…” I hear you. I focus on the little things, too. I call it my cow theory. In a period of angst, I noticed how tranquil the cows were, grazing in a pasture. I was even disgruntled with them – all they did was eat, poop, rest, walk, drink. Lucky bi&*%s. This morphed into my cow theory. When everything else seems out of control, I focus on those things I can control – diet, fluid intake, exercise, rest. So meal planning and prep, water intake, exercise in the fresh air, regular bedtime hours (this doesn’t always translate into sleep) and down time. Somehow, taking control over the little things transforms into a sense of well-being when the big picture gets to be too much. Physical distancing has created a dialed-down life that elevates the day-to-day. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing?
Well said, Mona! I’m on board with your cow theory. “Physical distancing has created a dialed-down life that elevates the day-to-day.” I love that.
Living in the moment is probably what we should all be doing right now. Just take it day by day. Looking to the future can increase stress and worry. However, I have to look to the future as I am moving across country in about 6 weeks. So that is as far into the pandemic future as I can concentrate on, right now. Nice post, Donna. It cheers me to read of you and hubby’s cooking adventures.
Deb
Exactly — thinking about the move as opposed to all this other stuff might actually be therapeutic. I was surprised to discover being supply chain manager keeps me focused on specific tasks.
I’m so happy it cheers you to read of our cooking adventures.
So glad I’m not moving as soon as deb although I’m looking forward to moving. I’m surprised I’m going so well living in my little nest but I suspects that bodes well for the downsizing and living alone. I have yet to be bored, surprisingly and im.exercising in the house and taking advantage of the back yard.
I agree! I’m not bored.