I'm on the Pavement Thinking About the Government

Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

...Over creamy polenta and nothing felt wrong about it!  Must be the new dimension we're living in that these two foods could pair so well together. 

I'm realizing that my body is like the city right now.  We both need to get back to business, begin walking, riding bikes, exercising regularly and working in order to live.  Everything needs to start working in order for the whole system to function properly.  In order to get better you need to put it all in motion.  But in some cases, that sets you back several days to weeks if you push it too far or too soon.  That's the fear for the city as well.  I need to feel well enough and like the city, I am doing so much better.  Our numbers are down, less and less people are dying each night but that's because no one is out on the streets or in crowded spaces.  Some readiness could be attributed to herd immunity but you just have to walk to notice just how many people have left the city entirely.  My body is gaining strength and I would say other than the chest pains, and new back pain, I'm almost there.  Today I was able to walk (to get a chest x-ray) but through a beautiful neighborhood here in Brooklyn, and I went a good distance.  Could I ride my bike to work and then handle an 8 hour shift yet?  Could we put everyone on the subways going back to work and crowd the parks and sidewalks, grocery stores, hospitals again?  The answer is no, not yet.  Even though it's so much better, the healing is dreadfully slow and there are tons of Corona surprises left at our feet each day.  We can only pray this monster is dying.  So many unknowns though for this big dumb city and my loca ass.  If I had another few consecutive uptick days, and able to work, would it just fade away altogether or could it resurface?  Could I contract it again or did I build immunity?  Does it lay dormant just waiting for us all to screw up?  Will I or the city reactivate it's strength if we begin functioning as if the threat is minimal?

Broccoli, Mushrooms, Onions, Garlic & Chicken

The slurry!

Name this plant, so vibrant with little red berry looking things

Lilacs!

Iris

Empty Brooklyn Promenade 

Lady Liberty Social Distancing way out

Empty Brooklyn Borough Hall 

Empty Downtown Brooklyn

The Fool on the Hill

Even Buddah being cautious

Mini Motorcycle

I Built This Garden For Us

As I sit watching documentaries and listening to albums, my sister was out tilling, shoveling, pulling weeds and preparing her garden boxes out in Colorado where they could really use a good dousing of rain, something we've had plenty of and more to come this weekend.  I envied her stamina remembering how much energy it took just to cover them with tarp at night during my visit last October.

I'm helping!

Not only did she have to till the soil, she had to dig up all the weeds around the area and spread rock as well as carry nearby boulders to separate the boxes and hopefully she'll have less invaders this year.  

This was last year. The deer made short work of those fences. 

I'm calling this day, not horrible.  I wasn't able to walk because of chest pain but it was super windy so it was nice to just leave the windows open and let the giant breeze flow through the apartment like a tree house.  P walked around the block and came back winded, a good reminder not to overdo it right now. Acceptance without complacency.  Everything is starting to feel unreal and more like a dream anyway.  I made quinoa and corn on the cob, hamburger and beans to make chili bowls using the leftover condiments.

Sometimes you have to hang on to good, even if it's not your own.  My sis's garden work became a lifeline of sorts to my own energy and strength, not to sound dramatic.  You begin to distrust your body, which is abnormal. If anything we take it for granted.  Imagine for a second if you couldn't get up and walk for 20 minutes without feeling like you're having a stroke, and it's been 6-7 weeks of this on and off.  It gets to you and not in a good way.  So many people in New York weren't so lucky though so we're super grateful to progress to health and in no way want to complain constantly like I probably have been doing.   We made a pact today to stop mentioning it entirely unless there is an emergency in case this demon virus can be conjured.

Well They'll Stone You and Say That It's the End

Had another virtual appointment with doc today.  Unfortunately once you mention you're having a hard time with chest pains, they need to see you in person so we headed out for a real visit.  They have what I call a Leper entrance,  someone comes to get you from outside, they lead you down a stairway into one room in the basement that they call the Clean Room.  There I had more blood tests, the antibody test, and EKG and my vitals were good.  I was able to get P seen as well, and also get bloodwork.  The doctor told me that more and more of his patients like us are coming back, now he's seeing more people 6 - 8 weeks out still dealing with symptoms.  So his advise was that it is just going to last as long as it lasts and that's what it is.

I have a real hard time with doctors.  I love ours in many ways, so this issue is coming from me. My brain fogs up even though I write questions down, I'm too freaked out to ask much of anything when in the examining room.  I just go numb.  In the end, after all the tests it doesn't matter what you say, this is what it is I guess. I tried to listen very carefully to what he's telling me, which isn't much.  It isn't until after he's gone I realize I still have so many unanswered questions, again. 

It was cold and rainy this day, the appointment was postponed until later in the afternoon initially and so it basically took a whole day to get through all of this.  P was completely spent, tired and never asks questions, so he almost worked against me.  He always tells doctors he's just fine.  This is another male thing I believe but when the doctor is male too, it makes me wonder how this affects our statistics overall.  P is getting better but I really wanted him to disclose all his bizarre symptoms and behaviors of the past week. Not being able to feel his legs and hands for whole days at a time and his knees going whopperjawed when he walked!   That he too has a dull ache in his chest that comes while walking and that he doesn't make it past a couple of blocks yet. How about the fact that he sleptwalked one night!  Nothing...crickets.  I hear them laughing about the divorce rate this might cause and I give up.  You begin to feel sorry for yourself, like the world is against you in this circumstance.   Deflated, defeated I just ate leftovers that night.  Tomorrow's a new day and I hope to begin feeling better again soon.  I know we will because if it doesn't get worse, it can only get better. 

New York Tough stickers appear on an old mailbox

My nephew's burgers from his LA pop-up site Truck and Trowel 

I stare at these burgers admiring the burger to bun ratio, the thickness perfection, the amount of cheese and onions, the warm lightly grilled bun.  I can taste them just by knowing all of these elements make the perfect burger.

Save My Soul, I'll Save Some For You

This is a golden opportunity for influencers to talk about how they are creating amazing dinners in their upstate homes for their beautiful families with pantry items and leftovers.  How clever they are for being so resourceful, something many of us do everyday and have done for ages.  And that someone will be highly praised for it I'm sure and featured in the NY Times Cooking section.  Meanwhile, us regular folks may have some highlight moments of our own up our sleeves during this isolation period. 

A small taster bowl for P 

Pasta, cooking liquid, gravy, hot sauce and pulled pork

Today, mine was this Vibrant Mexican Spaghetti!  I woke up so grateful to not be sick and with a huge appetite.  I had a strong craving for noodles in a slightly creamy yet not heavy sauce.  But I had all this shredded pork and hot sauce leftover, not to mention this amazing pork gravy that I thought to do over a biscuit but have no flour.  I probably would not have attempted this in a normal setting but am SO glad I did.  Each component brought it's own package of punch and together, they worked in a special way.  The pasta absorbed all the strong spicy flavors of my homemade hot sauce and then the gravy along with the cooking liquid gave it silkiness and clung like hugs to that pasta.  The pork loved the noodles and instantly all became best friends.  I topped with a few cilantro leaves and Cotija cheese for that slightly sour bite to cut through any heaviness.  The closest thing I can compare it to is Asian spicy noodles but with all the flavors of Mexico.  

My Big Girl portion

It literally took 15 minutes and I cooked and sauced in one pan.  I was thinking this might not be easy to recreate but then I realized, it could be a great Thanksgiving leftover dish, just subing the pork for turkey and giblet gravy!

You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me

Baked Chimichangas

I ran out of cooking oil, the corner store has no tortillas and the bread is picked over but they did just get a huge shipment of these grain wraps.  You have to work with what the stores have right now.  For $3.99 you get 6 medium size, a rip off but blessing in disguise as we're not supposed to eat bread.  Somehow I justify it during the Pandemic.

I made these lovely oven baked Chimichangas with shredded pork, hotsauce, onions and mozzarella with Cotija cheese on top.  The wraps were crunchy and thin, great texture although if they were side by side there would be no comparison to a deep fried flour tortilla but that's the great thing, if you haven't allowed bread for months, you really appreciate anything that even looks like it.  This comes from a girl that drank near-beer for 10 years though.  Oil brushed on the top helped them to crisp up and brown in a 350 degree oven.

Roasted cauliflower is a great, super easy side.  Cauliflower and cabbage have been smart purchases if you're trying not to visit the market every day.  They keep well in the fridge and provide enough for a few meals in a variety of preps.

Looks Like I'm the Fool Again, I Don't Like It

I guess egg tastes great with just about anything because of the rich creaminess of that yolk. And a fried egg is probably best but a poached egg is also special in more of a cloud-like pure way.  I toasted up 1/2 an Arnold's bread and melted mozzarella on the bottom, topped it with the egg and my pre-cut leftover pizza toppings from last night.  Such a sweet little breakfast treat.

Angelic!

I made this for P and instantly regretted not making one for myself.  EEeedjiot!

Kick Out the Jams Motherf*#&kers!

Cooking during this shelter in place order brings unique circumstances.  From when, where and how often you procur your food, to using it up, repurposing your leftovers and most of all wanting to eat your own cooking every day. Have you ever cleaned the kitchen so much in one day or cooked so much in your life?  Even if you're not broke or sick, we're all spending more time in that kitchen.  You want to use up all your fresh vegetables before they expire, especially since it takes more effort to get them now.   I wonder if there will be new, fun recipes created during this time.  This meal could qualify.  We bought a giant purple cabbage and even though I pickled it, featured it raw in a salad, sauteed it, roasted chunks of it, and now added it in my stir fry, I couldn't use it all. But I gave it my best effort.  A modern day stir fry of cauliflower rice, chicken chorizo, jalapeno, cabbage & cilantro.  Surprisingly satisfying, and colorful too!  Sometimes you have to break tradition in order to use up your goods.