Corona Virus & the Internet

One silver lining to this whole pandemic situation (certainly, the only one I can come up with at the moment) is the on-line contact with friends and acquaintances. Thank heavens for the internet and all the app developers who are keeping me as emotionally on-balance as is possible in these crazy days. I would be a basket case without regular phone, email, text, & WhatsApp. And, of, course, the main lifeline is the internet. So, thank you to all those folks, past & present who develop, deploy and maintain all the hardware & software that makes “keeping in touch” possible.

Cooking news: Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) did me a good turn (as she always does!) with the grilled pork chops last night.  The pork chops that I bought at my local Monoprix (French grocery store) were about 1/2 inch thick but cooked well on our imdoor electric grill. They were delicious with Mireille Guiliano’s recipe of finely chopped sauteed celery and granny smith apple. Next time I fix them, I will cook about twice as many pork chops.

Tonight, I tried Ina Garten’s Tuna Salad with Humous Sandwich recipe (but without the sourdough bread – all I had was Baguette Tradition.) It was okay – a bit “fishy” and bland – I wonder if I skimped on the amounts?  I still have quite a bit left over so I will add some salt, mayo and Dijon mustard to it.

I made more banana bread this morning. And, great news!, my husband found the fabulous Cook’s Illustrated The Best Light Recipe cookbook’s light oatmeal cookies recipe on-line at delishably.com. (I sent in a couple of emails to Cook’s Illustrated website and even spoke to a really nice lady over the phone about the recipe but they did not have the recipe in their database nor did they have a hard copy of their cookbook. (It was published in 2006, so it is a bit “long in the tooth,” as it were.)  No need for tears: as of yesterday, I have the recipe and I am about to make a batch! (The oatmeal cookies are on the “What To Bake” list for this current corona-virus crisis.)

Paris news: Some neighborhoods (like mine) are very quiet with little foot traffic and what few people who are out are careful to keep a distance. Friends have mentioned that some other areas are not so deserted and not so much “social distance.” 

It was another stunningly beautiful day here with clear blue skies, gentle breezes and temps in the mid-60s (F).  This is a tough day to keep Parisians inside! Even as I type this, there is a family of 5 in the closed courtyard across from my window – 3 dark-haired little boys and two (tired) parent-looking adults.  It looks like the kids range between 2 years old and maybe 6 years old. They are running & screaming & laughing in the courtyard. Go to it, guys. Trust me, we all wish we could be doing the same.