2020

As I write this post, my ‘Quaranteam’ approaches day #20 of internment. We’ve been playing all sorts of games for three weeks, but ‘Never have I ever’ is the one that loops continuously through my mind each day. Never have I ever imagined living in such an extreme sheltering scenario. And yet here we are, April 2020. Despite drastic change we are managing well as a unit of four adults and a busy four-year old (Sino). We are working, cooking, and playing together like never, ever before. It feels like the sweet sleepy subplot of a horror film. I attribute our momentum to my daughter Kate’s prescient initiative: putting us ALL on a preschooler’s schedule right from the get-go. I can attest there is nothing more soothing than the reliability of a routine that includes snack time, hopscotch, and episodes of the Magic School Bus during a pandemic.

One thing that will never, ever change is our family’s affection for afternoon teatime treats. My newly christened chocolate ‘Quarantine Cake’ makes all my eaters happy. Versatile and full of flavor, it can be made plant-based, gluten-free, or with pretty much whatever is left in your pantry. Don’t tell Sino, but it’s super nutritious and loaded with zucchini! Despite its simplicity, the cake delivers a gorgeous chocolaty mouthfeel that pairs beautifully with a hot beverage. We all deserve something soothing to sustain us during these surreal days of confinement and I think Quarantine Cake is just the ticket.

 Quarantine Cake                        

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Choose any combination of baking dishes: loaf, sheet pan, or muffin cups and prep for baking.

Blend well together: 2-eggs OR 2-T Red Mill egg replacer; 3/4 cup-applesauce; ½-cup maple syrup; ½-cup sugar; ½-t salt; ½-cup avocado oil or melted coconut oil; ½-cup plant (or any) milk; 1-t cloves; ½-t pumpkin spice; 2-t vanilla.

 Add 3-t baking soda; 2-t baking powder; 1-cup unsweetened cocoa powder; 3-cups grated zucchini; 2-c whole wheat flour; 1-cup flour*; 1-cup chocolate chips and stir together with a wooden spoon just until a shiny batter forms. Optional extras to add in: 1-cup chopped walnuts; 1-cup shredded coconut.

 Spoon batter into prepared pans two thirds full. Top with more chopped walnuts, if desired. Baking times will vary according to pan size: a loaf takes @45-50 minutes while a muffin size bakes 12-20 minutes. Keep an eye on the cakes as they bake, testing with a toothpick for a cooked center.

*for a gluten-free bread use 2-c gluten-free flour and 1/2-cup, each, of oat and almond flours.  Recipe Kim Dannies ©2020.

 Panic in the Pantry

Besides the daily news, the main thing that triggers my doom loop is the challenge of keeping enough fresh, healthy food flowing into our hungry household while minimizing the threat of Covid-19 exposure. We have tried various methods of procuring food including a Costco delivery, curbside pick-up at our meat & seafood store, and home delivery by Sweet Clover Market. These blessings have worked out pretty well, but there comes a time, about every two weeks now, when someone on our Quaranteam must ‘take one for the team’ and hit a bigger grocery store for restocking. I have always preferred cooking to shopping and never have I ever thought ‘I miss grocery shopping!’ I do now. This very hot topic—one that was unimaginable four weeks ago—has morphed into an ethical crap shoot as we reason our way through the safety criteria in an effort to select our best candidate to shop. Ultimately, Kate insists on going as she is statistically our best bet—plus, she’s a really fast shopper.

Vita Veg Shakes

 With a sporadic food delivery system, I’m finding that I can’t keep enough fresh vegetables in the house to satisfy my desired plant-based diet. I’ve come up with a great milkshake that not only provides me with a full blast of nutrition, but ensures that perfectly good food does not go to waste in our pandemic kitchen. I use Momentus plant-based protein powder and Ripple pea-milk, but any kind of protein powder/milk will work great. I toss the dregs of Sino’s snacks–cukes and carrots, grapes, berries, half an apple, celery sticks, maybe a beet from dinner or a frozen banana half, and some frozen spinach into my vitamixer. I don’t use broccoli or onions or anything I wouldn’t bake into a cake; these kinds of food scrap go into my soup pot.

I add a scoop of Momentus Chocolate or Chai Vanilla protein powder, a generous pinch of turmeric with a tiny black pepper kicker, some ground flax, ½-cup plant milk and ice chips. I add water as needed. The vitamixer blends my kooky kitchen mix into a thick, creamy, delicious shake that is loaded with protein and vitamins.

The yield is approximately two 12-14-ounce shakes. Typically, I drink one and store one for the next day; nowadays, I find myself splitting the goodness with my housemates. The genius of this shake is that never have I ever eaten this combination of nutritious foods on a plate together—gross! My vita shake delivery system is an efficient, elegant and very enjoyable way to pump up my diet.

Sheltering Sleep

 We decided to add Athletic Greens to our pandemic pantry during this occupation to supplement our diets and support our immune systems. It’s a superfood delivery system that’s easy and pleasurable to consume. It’s on the pricey side, yet very concentrated, so we drink it alternating days with our regular supplements. Generally speaking, Jeff’s not a great sleeper, but he already has several good nights under his belt these past few weeks (despite the market!) I’m a solid sleeper, but never have I ever dreamed so deeply, and remembered my dreams in the morning so clearly. This means I’m spending more time in REM mode, which is a solid marker of deep, desirable sleep.   

Inspiration & Innovation

For cooking inspiration during this crisis I am following Half Baked Harvest and Oh She Glows  on Instagram. This seriously fine food porn keeps me thinking about new ways to use odd ingredient combinations, like the farro—roasted pineapple—almond salad I whipped up last night. Never have I ever have thought to put this combo together, and it was stunningly delish. I absolutely adore Katie Webster’s delightful Maple book and her comprehensive Healthy Seasonal recipe site. Check her out for detailed recipes that are paired with nutritional guidelines.

Sino and I have been having fun looking at my cookbook, The Everyday Gourmet, a history of my family recipes. He gets a kick out of hearing about his Mama’s childhood favorites. We are planning to make ‘First Kiss Chocolate Cake’ for Easter Sunday—if I can find all the ingredients, that is.

 Never have I ever been so cautious about cleanliness and food prep in my kitchen. This post from Harvard.edu is an excellent summary of kitchen safety procedures and practices for a pandemic. I wish you all safety and good health through these trying times. Hang in there my dear SpiritScouts—keep cooking with an open heart and clean hands!

I’d love to hear from you—feel free to send your comments to me!

And The People Stayed Home

And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.

And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.

And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.

-Irish Poet Kitty O’Meara 2020