Rating: 💋 💋 💋
So how about that Corona virus, huh?
I'm not going to pretend I have any amazing kernels of knowledge in regards to this pandemic. I am not a medical professional. There is still so much we don't know about this disease, so we just need to trust what the health officials are saying and be as clean and cautious as possible. Stay hydrated, wash your hands with soap often (using hand sanitizer only in a pinch), and limit exposure as much as possible.
Of course, corona virus has been in the news for weeks, but I did not mention it here because of my lack of expertise. What new information did I have to contribute on the subject? In the past week though, the sickness has exploded across New York state and beyond, and hysteria reached an all-time high. It made its way into my kitchen, thus, making it a relevant topic for this blog.
It's truly wild how it escalated. On Wednesday, someone in the studio joked about how COVID-19 must be rough for the dating scene. No one is allowed to touch each other! By Thursday evening, jokes had dwindled, and one of my supervisors sent me home two hours early because so few people were in office. People were beginning to really freak out. Speculation was at an all-time high and I heard reports that grocery stores were nearly sold out of food due to panic buying. I decided to get to the grocery store asap, rather than waiting for the weekend when everything would surely be gone.
As soon as I got into the long line that wound its way through Trader Joe's, I realized that it was already too late. Everyone who had to work during the day on Thursday had missed the wave of people stocking up, and we were left to pick from the scraps. Shelves were empty. There was a pile of crumpled skins were onions used to be. There were people blocking the line by tilting their cart sideways, while others snapped about line-cutting. I saw two people fighting over the last box of cauliflower rice. Adults. Fighting over the last box of cauliflower rice. Worst of all, the staff set up to do line control made no efforts to guide shoppers or stop the chaos. The entire experience was disorienting and upsetting. Unable to find anything I needed anyway, I left. I have no interest in returning, ever. Instead, I stocked up on yogurt and granola (all they had left) at a shell-shocked Target. After the two hour ordeal, my bag split open all over the grimy sidewalk. It was traumatizing. After all that time and money, my groceries were ruined.
Except they weren't. A kind woman gave me one of her extra bags, and a lovely couple helped me pick up my groceries off the sidewalk and put them in the new bag. That meant so much to me. They comforted me, telling me it would be okay and that I was doing a great job of taking care of myself, which was really so sweet. They made up for every nasty shopper I had encountered in the barren stores, showing me that there is still good in the universe, despite all this craziness.
Don't worry. As soon as I got home, I deep-cleaned all my food, storing it in Tupperware and trashing the tarnished store packages.
While most of New York was shutting down and clients and staff were dwindling, I still had to go into work. By Friday evening, it was just me, Lysol spray bottle in hand, dancing to the Spotify 'COVID-19 Quarantine Party' playlist bumping over the office speakers. It slaps.
Last Saturday really was a great. In the afternoon, I had a super fun photoshoot in the Chinatown/Little Italy area and then, in the evening, Maura introduced me to socializing while in isolation. We had a virtual movie night, complete with When Harry Met Sally, sheet masks, white claws, and mallowmars. I had never seen the movie before and absolutely adored it. It was so funny when Harry and Sally watched a movie together over the phone - just like us! Then I went to bed because I had to rest up for a different photoshoot in East Williamsburg on Sunday.
In between the shoot and the movie night, I cooked a dinner to carry me through the week. Empty shelves aside, Shannon and I pooled our resources and visited multiple markets to get essential ingredients like eggs, pesto, and olive oil. Thanks to that, I was able to whip up this Roasted Red Pepper and Red Onion Frittata on Saturday night.
It was super easy to make and I think frittatas are going to work their way into my rotation now. You can really get creative with them, swapping in any vegetable and cheese you like.
There was only one bit of drama during the whole cooking process: I nearly cut off my right pointer finger while chopping the onion. When it occurred and I saw the damage, I first thought of when a contestant on America's Next Top Model (my favorite childhood show) did the exact same thing to herself, and Tyra told her you have to turn the onion over flat once you get to the end. The thing is, I have followed that lesson from Tyra Banks ever since, but still I sliced myself. Sad. My second thought was a memory of when I used to watch Oprah with my mom, and this woman got a paper cut in the kitchen. Subsequently, the cut got infected and she wound up having to have her entire arm removed. I then exclaimed, cool as a cucumber, "I'm gonna die!"
Thank God for Shannon, who insisted that I would not die and I would not have to go to the ER and take space away from people who need corona virus testing. We cleaned the cut up and, yes, it is deep, but I think it will be okay.
I continued cooking with a glove over my right hand. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
The dish was fabulous. The sharp, vinegary red peppers were perfectly rounded out by the creamy, sweet gouda that demands attention with every bite. Truly phenomenal. My only critique is, I would cook the red potatoes slightly longer than the recipe recommends. After five minutes, they still weren't quite as soft and flavorful as they should have been, so I'd aim for seven to nine minutes to give it that extra push. I have been enjoying social distancing immensely though, just hanging out, this frittata and me. It's delicious and very comforting in these tense times. To reheat, definitely opt for seven to ten minutes on a stovetop or in the oven. Do not microwave, out of love for yourself and the eggs.
Also, I discovered I might need to brave Trader Joe's again one day after all. I bought their Green Goddess Dressing on a whim a few weeks back and first tried it on the spinach-arugula mix I paired with the frittata. Dude. That dressing is so delicious. It's tangy and fresh and you can really taste the avocado base. Oh my God, I love it. I hope when I have to return to TJ's for a new one, the joint has returned to a calmer vibe. Wherever God was on Thursday, he was NOT in that Trader Joe's...
The photoshoots were so fun and gave me a little bit of human interaction in a controlled environment. Plus, they provided an opportunity to go out into the sun. The endorphins from the Vitamin D were totally running away with me! Still, I booked those appointments pre-social distancing, when I was still expected to go into work Monday-Friday. As it turned out, that shoot in Williamsburg was my last appointment with the outside world.
On Sunday night, our CEO made the call that we would work remotely until otherwise advised. I joined you all in this social distancing experiment. This news relieved me because, while I am not too concerned about being sick myself, I really don't want to pass it on to anyone else and harm anyone with a damaged immune system. We cannot keep living life as normal. This is not normal. We are dealing with very exceptional circumstances that are totally bending our system inside out, and we need to be receptive and responsible to those circumstances. I just hope this ends soon, and that maybe even some positive social change will come out of it.
I hope you are all safe and healthy! Take care of yourselves!
XX,
MK
