Five Things

Why is it that when I am reading a book while using the weight machines at the gym I get dirty looks yet other people often stare at their phones much longer without moving? The other night, a guy sat on the Abs machine for ten minutes reading his email. Of course, it was my final machine of the night but I waited patiently (reading my book) until he was done. Everyone at the gym wears masks but Thursday was the first time they checked my vaccine status, following the new city regulation, of which I approve.  

Have you had any pandemic food cravings? I have yearned for popovers on and off since early in the pandemic. I never really generated enough sourdough starter for bread but I made enough for King Arthur’s Sourdough Popovers, which were delicious. I received a popover pan for Christmas but without any more sourdough I have been trying different recipes without complete satisfaction. I tried Mark Bittman, I tried King Arthur, I tried Betty Crocker. All more doughy than they should be. My sister suggested America’s Test Kitchen. Better but not perfect. Some recipes ask you to warm the milk, some ask you to heat the pan, the new pan manufacturer warned me to only use butter or cooking spray with flour. As you can gather, I have eaten a lot of popovers in the last month or so! They taste great right out of the over with butter, regardless of the recipe.  One the test is how they taste several hours later.

Jodi Picoult’s new book, Wish You Were Here, which I started at the gym the other night (see above), includes a character based on Yoko Ono. But it seems silly to call her a different name when every reader knows who it is meant to be. I suppose, for legal reasons, she couldn’t endow Yoko with an imaginary painting Yoko never owned but now that I have finished the book, I don’t see the need to base the character on a real person at all. The heroine is an art specialist at Sotheby's and the book is set during the first months of the pandemic; it is very readable (hello, 3 am!) but I did not like it as much as The Book of Two Ways, which made my Best of 2021 list. However, it's set in the Galápagos Islands and the rights have already been sold to Netflix. It will make an interesting movie or miniseries, despite the crazy twist she throws in. 

These days we blame everything on Republicans or the supply chain (or both). My mother and I have noticed that Red Rose tea, our favorite, has dramatically increased in price, up to about $4.69 per box when it used to be $3.49 or less and often on sale. It’s still less than 5 cents a cup but I go through a box fairly quickly!

On the other hand, I must not use Chili Powder very often. I finished a .87 oz. container last night and noticed (a) it cost $1.79, which is laughable, and (b) it is from a grocery store that closed years ago! My sister Andrea always reminds me spices should be replaced every six months but some of mine are used so infrequently it doesn't seem worthwhile.