Well, here we are at the end of 2021! Many of the stressors of the dreaded 2020 had unfortunately trickled into the last 12 months as well: job burnout, the challenges of virtual learning, major construction lasting for over a year, the inability to fly, and COVID variant concerns. But, as compared to last year, some of those areas of previous tension are slowly waning and moving toward a more sane normal. My ‘Best of 2021’ comes in the form of optimism.
What can I say about a year that many would like to forget? 2020 was rough…
The last time I dealt with a dangerously contagious illness was in the early 2000’s. Working in a hospital brought the occasional meningitis or Tuberculosis patient across our threshold; the anxiety and fear of contracting a potentially lethal infection only lasted for a shift or three–to our added advantage we had layers of PPE (personal protection equipment) between us and the patient. To be constantly fearful about becoming exposed to and infected with a virus as insidious and unknown as COVID was all new territory: I would never look at travel and simple activities such as grocery shopping the same way again. In 20 years of nursing, the word quarantine had never crossed my lips, but now was being uttered multiple times per day–every day.
Isolation from our family and friends was difficult. Rumination and worry ruled our days. We cleaned our mail and groceries; unopened Amazon deliveries sat on the back porch for days. Groceries were scarce and essentials were non-existent. When the schools shut down and virtual schooling began, navigating through the programs and monitoring my son’s progress felt like a part-time job–online learning is not for everyone. Varying opinions about COVID complicated matters. The impact on the mental health of my household was palpable–normalcy was not on the horizon.
As the summer ended, the stressful decision came as to whether or not to go back to school in August: I chose to go back to work and my son chose to stay home and continue virtual learning. Our COVID numbers at school were high, as were emotions and hypervigilance. School nursing was worrisome: What if I caught COVID? What if I was one of those carriers that remained asymptomatic but contaminated my family and friends? The word overwhelming was an understatement. The light that glimmered at the end of the tunnel did not become visible until the vaccine arrived in early 2021; so as this post is about 2020, I’ll say that the year ended with little changed from the beginning.
Sunchokes, otherwise known as Jerusalem artichokes, are funky. They are neither from Jerusalem nor an artichoke. A tuber that grows on the underground stem of a certain species of sunflower, sunchokes look like the offspring of a potato and a knob of ginger. The taste took me back to my childhood when I used to eat raw potatoes–why I ate them raw, I’m not sure–but nonetheless, this odd root has nutty, starchy, slightly sweet undertones with a texture similar to jicama.
I’m a verbose person. I write haikus for fun to practice being concise. I had an entire commentary written to commemorate the history of My Veg Table, observing its 100th post in seven years. Instead, I scrapped it and presented myself with a challenge: celebrate my 100th post in 100 words…
My second road trip to Savannah started as a solo event, but quickly turned into a duo for four whole days: being fully vaccinated meant more hang time with my BFF. Stephanie’s place is about 15 minutes out of downtown Savannah, so we could pop in and out of town to do as little or as much as we chose. With her quarter at SCAD finished and my school year coming to a close, it was the perfect time to take advantage of our Memorial Day weekend by exploring the surrounding areas, cooking and relaxing.
What’s more fun than ordering from a menu? Creating your own menu. A charcuterie board is merely a combination—usually create your own—of cured meats, cheeses, pates, jams/jellies/compotes, nuts, honey, pickles, veggies, dried fruits, mustards, crackers, olives and the like, presented on, well, a board. The combinations are limitless and your board can be as big or as small as you can imagine it to be; they are great for a large party or a party of one. It is an experiment in flavor-pairing and an interactive way to dine with friends and family.
There are two vacant lots a few houses down from mine. Currently, they serve little purpose other than a place to play ball, a cut-through to the alley and a place where we left our leftover Halloween pumpkin for the local wildlife to feast upon…until the other day when my husband and son arrived home with a very special find from a tree on-site. As green as a lime, as smooth as an apple and the size of an orange, it was clearly unripe, but I wasn’t sure of what exactly it was. Its ovoid shape and stem had the unique hallmarks of a persimmon; I was fairly certain that they had stumbled upon a Hachiya persimmon tree. Upon further research, we found that this was a black sapote—cousin of the persimmon—but very different, so much so that its nickname is the chocolate pudding fruit.
Every cook needs an arsenal: those essential items that you just can’t cook well without. For me, it’s my special knives, my Le Creuset pots that cook everything evenly, that nonstick skillet that never sticks, my favorite spatula and tongs, sheet pans, good olive oil, aged balsamic, and of course…spices. The right spice can turn boring into fabulous and introduce nuances and flavors to the most mediocre of ingredients. Enter my spice hoarding situation: you name it, I’ve probably got it—and so much more.
I’ve taken many road trips: especially since COVID hit and flying anywhere was off the table. But, I haven’t taken a road trip—solo—since my college days. So, you can imagine my excitement when I was given the opportunity to travel to Savannah, Georgia to not only have some time to catch up with one of my favorite people, but also to house-sit in one of my favorite towns…by myself.
During this mask-wearing, social distancing, virtual-everything year—plagued by not only an insidious virus, but also isolation, fear, loneliness and worry—comes the one holiday known for tradition, gathering and food: Thanksgiving. Instead of joining family around the table, we decided to travel—safely—west to Alabama and New Orleans. Read on to find out how our non-traditional turkey day ended on a more, much-desired traditional note.
