Katie Meadow

Friday night was a Zoom seder, which was really a disjointed cocktail hour. I've never celebrated Easter, but Sunday evening we made a delicious fried rice, using all kinds of misc. items, including a little smoked ham, shitake mushrooms, shredded black fungus, carrots, cabbage, peas, chopped Chinese omelet, Chinese chives, and so forth. Satisfying comfort food. It was probably the first time I ever had ham for Easter. My daughter's Easter dinner on the other hand, far away in Atlanta, consisted of matzoh ball soup and beef short ribs. I didn't even know she knew what short ribs were. I'm so proud!

My freezer is an ungodly mix of ham stock, chicken stock, pork neck bones, home made tomato sauce and ice cream.

Report from Berkeley Bowl: My husband went yesterday morning, The line to get into the store was long, and he had to wait more than half an hour before getting inside. He had a mask and so did just about everyone else. People on line were polite and careful to practice physical distance. Upon entering the store everyone was handed gloves. Inside it was calm and everyone was careful. Certain things were packaged differently. No bulk olives, only containers already filled. We don't need flour, as we got our KA shipment, but there wasn't any on the shelves. Nor was there basmati rice, but he did score a package of jasmine rice. Just about everything on our long list was on the shelves. We bought chicken parts for stock and the only shortage was feet; he bought what was there, about half of what we usually get, and for some weird reason the feet were all very small! Were they baby chicken feet? So all in all we did well. Mostly we stocked up on a week's fresh vegetables and fruit, and we now have plenty of soup broth in the freezer for whatever. Tomorrow is one more trip to an entirely different shopping area, which includes picking up a script, ice cream and my favorite rye bread. Hope it's there! Then I think we are set for quite a while. Despite increased anxiety, mostly due to an underlying lung condition, I know I am fortunate. We are retired, used to functioning together fairly well in isolated togetherness and one of us knows how to cook and the other one knows how to bake.. The Bay Area is not doing too badly. We were locked down fairly early, and most people seem eager to obey the rules and to help out those who can't shop or run errands for themselves. The homeless situation in the CA cities is shameful during the best of times, but now it must be really frightening to be without shelter. Stay safe, everyone.

@Anna N and anyone else who likes blue cheese toast, try this. GH is so fastidious I'm a little surprised she instructs you to slice the Cambazola. It isn't very sliceable in my house, even when cold. So I pay no attention to that. Also I don't bother with the microplane for the garlic, jus squeeze a bit into mix. Other types of blue cheese could probably be subbed, and we won't tell her. It's very yummy. GABRIELLE HAMILTON’S CELERY TOAST 2 slices country white Pullman bread, 1/2-inch thick Sweet butter 4 ounces Cambozola triple-cream blue cheese, sliced, divided evenly between two toasts 1 cup shaved celery, from the inner head, toughouter stalks removed, thinly sliced on the bias 2 scallions, thinly sliced on bias all the way up from the white through the green 1 large clove garlic Extra-virgin olive oil Lemon juice Kosher salt Several grinds black pepper Toast the bread to golden. Butter generously, “wall to wall.” Lay cheese slices on top of buttered toast, neatly, evenly. In a small bowl, stir together the celery and the scallions. Microplane the garlic into the celery mixture. Dress with olive oil, lemon juice and salt, and stir very well, until completely dressed, almost wet with dressing. Mound the shaved celery salad evenly on top of the blue-cheese toasts, and grind black pepper over them very generously. Cut each in half or quarters. **Lest anyone believe that I make this for breakfast, let me set you straight. I don't. To me, this is cooking, and if it can't be thrown in a toaster with six atoms of brain power it isn't going to happen. I love it as part of a late lunch or an app before dinner..

I may be blowing smoke here, as the last time I ordered tea on line was about 3 or 4 weeks ago, but most on line spice and tea companies are functioning, are they not? I buy all my tea on line from several different vendors and have for years. Typically I get really attached to certain teas from certain purveyors, and then suddenly I find a new crush.

Don't even think about it, Jo.

Update after you make it, will you? I saw the recipe and I think I have the ingredients. Are you making that parsley oil? It made me tired just reading it, and ordinarily cabbage soup doesn't have a big draw for me. Picture makes it look delicious, though.

Two reasons why we are baking bread. Well, "we" is a stretch since my husband is the only one in the house who gets near bread dough. So, one: bread requires many hours and timing isn't always flexible. And two: we eat so much bread that if we didn't bake it we would have to be going out to buy it almost once a day and a trip for just bread isn't in the cards these days. Meanwhile I'm baking too, just things without yeast. My taste for sweet stuff is up up up.

It looks like Florida tried to suck up parts of Alabama and Georgia. whoa, Heidi we are of one mind. I"m only seconds behind you.

Forgive me if this is a stupid question and an equally useless suggestion. Is tofu the whole point? Are you looking for a vegetarian dumpling that requires it? I've had good dumplings that are just. well, vegetables: a mix of stir fried cabbage, chinese chives, dried wood ear mushrooms, and any other veggies that appeal. Garlic, ginger, soy, sesame oil, rice wine, all for flavor. A little cornstarch couldn't hurt. Personally I would just skip the tofu and have it some other way. Like maybe take some firm tofu, pat it dry, saute it in your favorite oil until crispy and serve alongside the dumplings with garlic and chili hot sauce, dipping sauce, whatever. The idea of tofu in a dumpling seems problematic, especially if you are having so much trouble getting the texture right. I know I'm lazy, but getting tofu to taste tolerable in a dumpling seems like a really difficult challenge.

There is a NYT recipe for Bacon Fat Gingersnaps that's been around for a while, easily found on line. It would take me six months to get the amount of bacon fat called for, which is 3/4 cup. That's for two cups of flour. I expect I will never make them, but it would be fun to taste one....or two. The picture looks very appealing--a tall stack of very thin cookies. I'm guessing they are super crispy, or they certainly should be.

It has been suggested elsewhere that those of us who are not amongst the people receiving benefits on the first of the month should be mindful and wait a few days before shopping so that those in need can get the distance required if possible. Also remember that not all foodstuffs qualify for SNAP, and if they get bought up, the folks who may really need them will be out of luck. Nothing is simple these days, and the balance of life as we are used to it has shifted. Things you never thought about before are out there waiting around the corner, minutes from now. Stay safe as you are able.

And then treated to an updo. Options chez nous include: home made marmalade, sorghum and salt, cinnamon sugar, sorghum and salt with a smear of ricotta, ricotta with salt and pepper and optional tomato slices. Of course the ricotta these days depends upon a "tier two" trip to a specialty shop which means waiting until a list is long enough to justify it.

I never heard of ham and pineapple pizza until I moved to CA in the early seventies. Nor have I ever eaten or been served ham with those Sunset Magazine pineapple rings thumb-tacked to it. I just assumed the pizza was a west coast version of something invented in Hawaii. It was usually on the menu as a Hawaiian Pizza. I certainly don't see it on the menus of artisan pizza places these days. Nettles? yes. Pineapple no. So we make it at home when our daughter comes back to visit from Atlanta: Fresh Pineapple and Black Forest Pizza. She is always thrilled, since she doesn't know any better. After all it's what Mom and Dad made for her as a kid. My husband eats it, but he thinks it's pretty stupid. Of course he makes the crust so he has an investment.

That makes two of us. And probably only two of us.

After at least 15 years of pretty consistent use we retired our 7 qt Le Creuset dutch oven to an afterlife of bread baking. It's truly hideous, but then my husband is the baker and I don't really have to look at it. You are probably thinking that it wasn't beautiful after 15 years, either, and you would be right. For his dutch oven rustic breads my husband heats up the pot way high before putting in the dough, and he says it's a challenge to drop in the dough without touching the pot. But then he's a risk taker. All you bread-bakers have my undying admiration. I don't believe I've ever made a yeasted bread in my life. Without his bread we would have to be leaving the house every other day just to keep ourselves in toast. Although, not to brag, I do make excellent cornbread that does very well in the toaster. In this time of pandemic I am so nostalgic for everything from my youth. My favorite snack after school every day at the soda fountain/drug store was a toasted corn muffin and an egg cream or a lemon coke. @weinoo, does Dr. Brown's still make Cel-ray tonic? It sounds pretty bizarre now, but I did used to like it. My father used to say it puts hair on your teeth; I never knew whether he meant that in a good way or not. Right now the idea of celery soda conjures up sprinkling your celery stick with sugar, instead of salt. Doesn't sound too appealing. Well, maybe with a martini. Sorry, that really is revolting. My brain is scrambled. Every day at breakfast we discuss whether we can go one more day without shopping. I need my daily dose of tart citrus. I really don't want to get scurvy.

Me neither. After all, it's bacon grease. But I admit that I don't eat much bacon, except for a BLT once in a while, and even then I end up tossing the grease after a few days unless I have some fresh greens and a compulsion.

That makes ham and pineapple pizza look like traditional Italian.

Eating plenty. Including more sweet stuff than usual. Ice cream. M&Ms. Two days ago we baked an Atlantic Beach Pie. Yesterday I baked a chocolate loaf. Afternoon snack was lots of crackers with Cambazola. Dinner was roasted potatoes in duck fat and and a filling salad. And yet I am having to belt several pairs of jeans they are getting so loose. I will admit I am a bundle of nerves.

Good grief that sounds miserable. Have a drink and some goldfish. Too right, these aren't normal times. xox.

Let me go out on a short limb and suggest that dementia is too strong a word. I too am finding my thought processes warped, but I just believe it is the result of stress, and how can you avoid that right now? I have noticed that I have a hard time with new recipes, get confused when I typically wouldn't. Making the usual suspects is safer, since I do it with half a brain anyway. But tasks I don't ordinarily do become recipes for mistakes. Yesterday when using the processor to crumble up some biscotti I forgot to put in the blade. Twice. Focus is problematic these days.

@Shelby I don't think there's a good way to know what to do with them until you peel one and see what it's like. I wouldn't even hazard a guess. I've never fried a regular banana, only very ripe plantains.

This morning my husband and I made an ersatz Atlantic Beach Pie. Ersatz because he isn't crazy about the saltine crust, so we made a crust with biscotti. As if saltines aren't ersatz enough for a pie crust!Totally easy and you could probably use various flavors of biscotti, whatever was on hand or your favorite. Isn't the filling pretty similar to a lemon icebox pie? Lots of lemon juice, 4 egg yolks, one can of sweetened condensed milk and a handful of zest. Still in the fridge, to be eaten as a late dessert. I need a LOT of treats these days.

Thanks for the tip! I just ordered my limit of AP flour.

I'll add raisins to curry when hell freezes over. And it never will.