(ding dong)

(ding dong ding dong)

(muffled voice) “Go away! We are wearing our masks and staying at the minimum recommended distance from anyone who does not live in this house! We are in a pandemic you know!”

Are you that muffled voice? I am.

On March 17th, I worked my last day at my job as a Resident Chef at Sur La Table before being furloughed due to the novel coronavirus Covid-19. I remember thinking “Alright! I get a few weeks off! I need a few weeks off!”

*UPDATE* In September Sur La Table was sold, and my store was one of many that were closed. I was laid off, along with my amazing staff.

And here we are in July, 4 months later. I have excelled at staying home and staying safe. I am a champion when it comes to ordering takeout and shopping for groceries on my iPad. Like everyone else, I couldn’t find yeast or toilet paper in the stores, but there was plenty of booze to be had! (plenty of booze is not a complaint, by the way) So I did what so many others did, I made a sourdough starter and began baking bread.

Coincidentally, March 17th is also the day I wrote and published my first blog post! But that was 2009, a much different year than 2020. As I thought about it, I realized that it probably was not really a coincidence that the day I was furloughed was also the day I started this blog. Maybe the universe was giving me a much needed nudge? I have thought about posting on this blog so many times, but I just did not have the time. I worked long hours, had a soul crushing commute in Los Angeles traffic, and I am a single mother to a teen. My other child, this blog, would have to wait.

I know what you’re thinking, that I have been home was four months. Four long months in my house, baking sourdough boules and making limoncello. You’re thinking what took me so long to post something? Well, I am a procrastinator of the highest order. Always have been. It’s part of my charm.

Also, it is not easy for me to just pick up where I left off. I started to write, and stopped. I started to write again, and stopped. I have bits and pieces of posts all over the place. Though none of them were enough for a full blog post. None were even the same subject. I decided I should step back, meditate on it all, do some yoga.

I learned really quickly to throw out all cats and close my door before starting my yoga practice.

****************************************************

Well, here we are again. It’s December 2020 now. I blinked and four months passed. It never ceases to amaze me how time has become immaterial. One day flows into the next, and before you know it another month has gone by.

We are back in full lockdown mode in California because nature is again showing us who is really in charge. This horrible pandemic doesn’t care who you are, where you live or what political ideas you have. Covid -19 an equal opportunity killer.

So many of us are working from home, trying to help our children with remote learning, and trying to stay safe. So many people are having to sharpen up their culinary skills to feed themselves and their families, and I hope Black Girl Chef’s Whites made finding new recipes to try a bit easier.

That brings me to my next point. . . I’m going to start publishing recipes again. I’ll be developing all new recipes, and revisiting some old favorites from years past.

Whether you are an old friend or new, I hope you’ll come along on this new journey with me.

Cheryl