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Week 2 of Isolation – Eating

Some of the world around me is worrying about toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Currently, I am focusing my worrying on food. Having enough, getting enough nutrition, balancing stress and comfort eating, and not going hungry.

For the world other than me, there are those that can’t get it easily. SNAP, the Federal food stamp supplement program instituted planned changes reductions weeks before the pandemic hit. Children (and their families) dependent on School breakfast and lunch programs are no longer going to school. I’m doing my best to continue my support of this through Feeding America but I’m open to other ideas.

For those not used to working from home, perhaps it’s sourcing three meals a day plus snacks for yourself when you likely bought lunch or had it where you worked. And many of you have families and kids all at home making this less about packed lunches or money for lunch and more about having to source food, meal prep, and somehow still work. I might be able to help.

Why? Well, because I’ve been working from home for eight years next month; before that, I was a cook, and I’m good at planning and strategy. So, this week, I’m going to talk about the strategies we’re using to feed the two of us. I’ll start with some of what we are preparing and go from there.

If you have specific needs, leave it in the comments and we’ll tackle it one by one. We’re a community here – a tribe and keeping sane and satisfied during this time is going to be a challenge for everyone.

To start the week in food, we braved the farmer’s market today. More about solidarity and community than anything else. As our guv’nah says, keep your distance if you have to go out, pretend you have the virus and do all you can to keep it from others.

It was a small market with sparse attendance so it was easy to stay away from each other. It was very good to see the farmers and sellers we know. Happily East Bay was already out of sourdough, so we nibbled on those pastries you see in the picture before lunch. Upper Crust had some options left, including Everything bagels!

I love freesias for many reasons

Freesias are my favorite flower. It’s a sense memory that brings me joy.

I love freesias for many reasons.

yellow petaled flower
Photo by Kali Neri on Unsplash

 

First and foremost, they are a sense memory for me of my childhood. Much like violets (but that’s another post.)

Secondly, they have a robust and unforgettable aroma that I know with just my sense of smell, and I have yet to find any manufactured fragrance that smells even a bit close.
Thirdly, freesias are a true spring flower. Once spring is gone, they are not available until the next year. (Or if they are, they are without the intense aroma that makes them unique.)
And, sadly, I am horrible at making them grow.
I have planted bulbs for them just about every year, and every year, I get a few paltry, weak-looking leaves and no stems. No buds. No flowers.
I know it’s not watering because I get the daffodils and irises and tulips in the same bed. It’s something else.
So, I have serious freesia envy whenever I see them in someone else’s garden. I will go OUT OF MY WAY to smell a freesia (which sometimes makes Handsome uncomfy since it means sneaking into someone’s yard!!)
So, because mine droop, I have become a cut flower freesia junkie. All spring, I look every place I see a flower vendor for freesias. I smell them, and if I get that hit of memory, of care, I buy the freesias.
But the story doesn’t end there, because once you buy freesias, you have to take care of them every day or they will die prematurely. And they aren’t usually cheap.
So, here’s a few steps to help you figure out how to take care of your cut freesias, wherever you find them:
  • Align your freesias, so the blooms are all where you want them in a bunch.
  • Cut the freesia stems on the diagonal so that the stems don’t sit at the bottom of the vase.
  • Make sure nothing but stem will be under the water line
  • Fill the vase a little more than halfway with room temperature water
  • Put in your freesias
  • Change the water and recut the stems every day or every other for longest life.
  • Remove each spent (dead) flower when you change water to extend life.

P.S. I don’t use floral preservative, ever.

I’d love to hear your stories about freesia or flower memories in comments!

Here we are again

So some of you may have found your way here from one of our old sites and be surprised by the content.

While times change, we do want to house the old cooking, whiskey and cocktail articles as well as our homage to Native Bear and Nibblers.

What you all don’t know is that four years ago, I (Trace) was seriously injured while traveling out of state. The injury affected all aspects of our lives for quite some time and it is only now that I feel comfortable enough to start sharing our stories again.

I may choose to go into more detail in the future, but for now… the synopsis is that I sustained damage to my primary hand and had to deal with the trauma from the injury. I’m much better now but don’t foresee taking on commercial cooking or baking again any time soon.

So it is with great happiness and joy that I am able to relaunch this site and this new(Er) blog with my current exploits. As time permits, I will add in older posts and articles; I may even have a go at framing in some of our experiences from the past few years.

For those of you looking for whiskey or cooking content, I can only as for your patience as I regroup.

Best health to you all,

Trace