I would not say we were unprepared for this, as far as supplies are concerned. This morning I was able to find (and successfully order) 60 rolls of toilet paper. It won’t be delivered for a week or so, but we’ve got enough to last us until then. Had I not found this deal, a week from now you’d probably be reading about our dire TP straits. We’ve also got about a week’s worth of paper towels on hand, but I haven’t found anywhere online to order those yet. And forget about antibacterial wipes. We wipe our phones down each day when we return from walks or runs outside. We wipe down our groceries too as we unpack them.
This morning another grocery order arrived at our doorstep. It was far more successful than yesterday’s Vons Pick Up disaster. We got almost all of our items (or facsimiles thereof). For some reason, finding cold cuts remains impossible. Is everyone in this city also making turkey pesto paninis on a nightly basis? I thought I was the only one. Anyway, since we don’t know who is dropping off our deliveries we wipe everything down. And after today we’ve definitely got enough food to sustain us through the coming week.
Speaking of which! Dinner last night consisted of homemade bolognese, thick spaghetti, steamed broccoli, and garlic bread. I used a slightly amended recipe from the Food Network because I don’t think I own a single Italian cookbook. I basically sauteed onion and garlic before adding in some carrots and continuing to cook until softened. Then I added a pound of ground sirloin (it’s all we had) and cooked until the meat was satisfactorily done. A can of crushed tomatoes was added before lots of different herbs and spices (salt, pepper, basil, oregano, rosemary, crushed red pepper). Then I let it simmer/thicken while prepping the rest of the items. The result was a little on the meaty side but I still enjoyed it. The broccoli probably could have used some seasoning, but leftover shredded parm definitely helped. The garlic bread was fine but it was basically butter and chopped garlic, the opposite of chef-y. I can barely focus on one thing at a time in the kitchen, so if my attention was mostly on the meat sauce everything else had to take a back seat.
Today I went for a run (3.10 miles around the “block”). Upon returning I made breakfast tacos. The filling was a combination of eggs and shredded cheddar along with black beans, mixed veggies, and a hefty dose of Trader Joe’s “Everything But The Elote” seasoning. I was far too hungry after my run to snap a picture. Also, it wasn’t much to look at, but it tasted pretty damned good. Our grocery order from yesterday was supposed to include white flour soft tortillas, but we wound up with tortillas made from quinoa and chia. They actually weren’t half bad!
Tonight I’m hosting a video game party that should span the entire country. Dinner will probably be leftover bolognese with a kale salad on the side.
Last Saturday night a group of 8-10 friends from Los Angeles, Seattle, and Boston convened on Google Hangouts and Twitch to play Jackbox games together. Tonight I think our “party” is going to spread even wider to accommodate more folks who want to play dumb games and drink together from our various quarantine zones. If you want to watch us play, you can follow along on my recently-created Twitch channel. If you want to join in the fun and games, you can reach out through social media. I don’t think I have the ability to broadcast all the audio from the Google Hangout to the channel, but I’ll try.
Tomorrow maybe I’ll regale you all with a (gasp) Sunday Mix Tape. Until then, continue to stay safe and healthy.
