I have held onto Nigel’s narrative for years. ‘Tender’ would be the perfect word to describe Tender, perhaps too tender for me to cook from in previous years, but not today. Tender are the teeth as we speak.
I decided to self-quarintine March 12th, days before social distancing was practiced around me, and before NYC schools would shut down. Here’s what I learned so far:
- streets in the Upper East Side, where I live, are still buzzing with people who are not practicing social distancing. They are walking in groups, sitting in parks, treating this like a vacation. We need a mandatory lockdown. Nurses and doctors are risking their lives every day, and these people are part of the problem.
- many have lost jobs. MANY. and others are forced to go in. several teachers after the shut down went in doing work on the computer that could’ve been done at home. why? my current situation with work is this: coworkers are asking me what is going on, and I have no answers because I haven’t been told what’s in store for the company. are we getting paid leave? will our small nonprofit survive this? do I assume I have no job here on out? I repeat: many have lost their jobs. many have to go in. and many job statuses are up-in-the-air. Personally? not knowing makes me sick. i’m spiraling more often than not.
- we must BUY LOCAL, SUPPORT LOCAL, like never before. and for someone such as myself who has done 95 percent of my shopping at greenmarkets but is now too afraid to hop on the train or bus, there’s OurHarvest you can turn to. Farm goods delivered to you, from farms and local businesses I’ve seen at the markets. This makes me happy. Forrealz.
- cooking is saving me right now but I can’t recipe-develop. I want to compile a list of pantry staple recipes for you but can’t seem to. what I CAN do is have others tell me what to do for once. I’ve turned to cookbooks I’ve owned for years but have barely cooked from. Tender, for starters. I owe this to a cookbook club on Instagram, #fearlesscookbookclub.
- people are saying social media is making things worse, but it’s mostly FB. I’m making connections right now that are keeping me sane on Instagram. my community of recipe developers and food photographers and foodies are on point with the support and real talks without being too pushy. more like a physical hug i need but can’t get.
like one I haven’t received from my sweetheart and I’ve no idea when I will.
These are just some of the things I learned. If I get further into politics, I may pop a vein. Perhaps next post? Now, here’s a couple of the things I’ve made from Tender:
dark chocolate-beet cake with a crème fraîche poppyseed frosting–I don’t know how to describe this, other than it went right with everything I was feeling and needed to feel. It was downright earth-deep. Note: he doesn’t add sugar to the frosting. I did. Not mad at it.
and what he calls, A winter dish of potatoes, onions, and melted cheese (I added mushrooms, too)
has anyone else noticed how fond he is of cheese? remember when I said I’d quit it? okay maybe not during quarintine.
I’ve made other things not from books, but from watching Jamie Oliver on Hulu. This salad of edamame (from the freezer!), fire-roasted red peppers (from a jar!), grilled green olives, arugula and parmesan shavings (from the farm!) is going on rotation. Season it with salt, pepper, olive oil, splash of red wine vinegar. He uses fava beans. I didn’t have.
Please be safe, loves. Please reach out if you feel the need to. Stay home if you can.
<3