It’s becoming increasingly difficult to stay indoors. I realized this when, this morning, I heard the happy voices of unsupervised children in our neighborhood. What I found utterly disheartening was the inconsideration of the parents of these children.
There are those in this neighborhood with compromised immune systems. Both adults and children. I’m completely flummoxed as to why people don’t understand the reasoning for staying indoors. And worse than that, the selfishness of those people.
Venting aside, I’m still going to the office every day. And I have to say, I’m loving it more and more by being the only one, save for two others who work in the mail area, because my productivity level is wonderful. Not bragging but it’s just that without distractions, the “Mrs. Kravitz” employees who are constantly watching what others are doing and not concentrating on their work, the office socializers who “get” out of work by floating from cubicle to cubicle are not there. And so, I’m in my glories of working harder than ever.
I’m wearing a mask and gloves to and from work and whenever I need to venture out of my home. Which is nearly never other than going to work and back.
This is how I’m driving to and from work. We had “work” masks in the garage and am using these until I make “regular” masks. The gloves are key!
I could politicize this post but I’ve decided to focus on what we can do indoors. Let’s face it. We are all well-aware of why this pandemic is so serious in our country so I won’t delve into it.
And especially stay calm!
But. I’m keeping busy in the calm respite of our home.
Now more than ever, our sunroom is my comfort zone!
Granted, during the weekdays I’m dressing more and more casually at the office because nobody is there. And during the evening, I’m so pooped from work that I’ve been heading up to bed to watch TV and get well-needed sleep.
Yes! I’m sinfully casual at work. In fact I wore these leggings TWO days in a row!
It’s the weekends that have me active in the confines of the castle!
And this weekend brings new activity!
As you know, I love to cook. And I’ve decided that during our weekends indoors, I’ll bring world travel to us! Last weekend it was Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken.
This weekend it’s French pastry in the form of Bonaparte’s favorite—Pains aux Raisins. Epicurious Pains aux Raisins Recipe
The finished pastries. Complete with apricot glaze!
And before they were cut.
I use Chef Thomas Keller’s brioche recipe for these delights and there’s plenty of dough left over to make more brioche. I got a regular loaf and a small loaf out of the recipe. Brioche Recipe
The two loaves after coming out of the oven!
The Pains aux Raisins are now individually-wrapped and placed in the freezer. This way when Bonaparte wants one, he can take it out early in the morning to defrost naturally or bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes. They freeze beautifully!
Each one of these babies is now in the freezer!
Apparently. I was lucky to have yeast in the house because a couple of my friends were unable to even find yeast in the store at this time. My guess is that many home cooks are making their own bread.
The crumb on this brioche is excellent. Its so buttery with a touch of sweetness. It’s wonderful toasted and makes a great snack on its own.
And the interior is golden yellow from the eggs and butter! Yum!
The success depends upon patience. You make the dough batter the night before baking, allow it to rise then refrigerate overnight.
But—where are you going? Refrigerating overnight is no big deal at this time. Right?
Last night we went to Mexico via Chicken Tinga. You know, I’ve never made this before and I don’t make authentic Mexican food simply because I don’t have any recipes. After enjoying the smokey goodness of this recipe, I’m now in search of more authentic Mexican recipes. Chicken Tinga Recipe for you!
Shredded chicken with smoky chipotle. I added jalepenos for more heat!
Lime wedges, cheese, sour cream and cilantro to finish it ott!
Next week we will visit the Middle East I’ll do a tagine!
Although I lack the conical tagine cooking pot, I can still make tagine in a dutch oven!
I also started polishing some silver. This ladle was nothing but tarnish. So was this silver platter.
Getting rid of tarnish is always a good thing! Good as new–sort of!
On the rare occasion of venturing out of the house, we took a drive to Produce Junction yesterday to buy fresh flowers. It was worth donning masks and gloves because the staff was dressed the same way. Our flowers from two weeks ago were sadly wilted and there’s just something so cheerful and happy about fresh flowers. It was also good to see that those who also ventured out were in masks and gloves as well.
I bought enough flowers to fill two vases…
New flowers. I newly untarnished antique all atop an antique chest of drawers that I keep our table linens in!
For now, this is our new normal. But hopefully it won’t last forever. Safety and health are important. We gotta do this for now!
I’m also revisiting wigs I haven’t worn in a while. I’ll tell you, wearing wigs is a blessing during this time of closed hair salons!
Take care and I’ll see you next week!! I’m doing weekly posts for now simply because I’m exhausted after work!
Be well and try the recipes! They’re fun!
