Honestly, I feel a little foolish trying to continue the exercise I began in the good old days of 2018. The reason I started this blog/pod combo was because I was so disappointed and feeling so useless in the days when Trump and his cronies were just always opting to do the wrong thing – always poised to help themselves and their investments first, and then maybe would pretend to think about working American (not immigrant) people second. NOTE: IF MY OPINION OFFENDS YOU, PLEASE UNSUBSCRIBE TO THIS RIGHT NOW. I WON’T BE INSULTED.
I’m writing this on March 23rd, and at this point 4 or maybe 5 people I know have been struck with COVID-19. And I’m sure the number will have risen since I typed this. I live in New York City, and we have become the epicenter of Coronavirus over the past week, our numbers tripling in as many days. I’ve been homebound since March 14.
That was the week I conducted this week’s interview with Kathy Gunst and Katherine Alford, who wrote this fantastic cookbook/reader: Rage Baking. They were enraged before it became trendy!
Do I mind staying home? No. It’s not a big sacrifice for me at all. It is, however, to many people in my life who need other people with them to do their jobs. What I object to is the attitude of the president, for whom no consequence will matter unless or until he ends up in prison (if he can’t figure out a way to pardon himself first). He makes me so angry I could bark.
Help corporations? How dare he! Help the people who are cowering in fear – with or without medical insurance – who have lost their wages and are having to do triage over food vs. medications for their family. Not to mention pay rent.
The good news comes from other places: a slew of doctors flew to Spain from Cuba, all to volunteer in that country’s hospitals; companies like Tito’s vodka and Estee Lauder, who are now manufacturing hand sanitizer, and Tesla, which promised to make ventilators. My friend Sara is using her time at home sewing face masks, as are other generous people with sewing machines. Then there are all the artists who are performing on Instagram and YouTube from their homes, singing in their bathrobes or sweatpants, giving, and giving, and giving – though they may not know when or where their next paying gig will occur.
There are good people, wonderful people. They constitute my top five of the week:
1. Governors Andrew Cuomo and Gavin Newsom. The two most populous states are fortunate that they have capable, compassionate people as their governors. These are men who believe in science and math, so they actually understand the enormity of this pandemic. Further they cherish human lives over the chance to make some money. They have become the leaders we need.
NY Governor Andrew Cuomo
California Governor Newsom
2. The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, which sends out a newsletter every day, which records the numbers of casualties and fatalities around the world. Numbers don’t lie.
3. My mom’s team. My wonderful mother is dependent on health care aides who live with her, and they are taking very good care of my progenitress. As I tell them, I am so grateful to them.
4. Rufus Wainwright. I don’t know him, but I love his music and his voice. Every day he makes a video of himself singing a song in his bathrobe. (I’ve seen 3 or 4 so far.) He calls these his “quarantunes,” and they help to pass the time.
Rufas Wainwright on Instagram
5. Religious and meditation leaders on Zoom. I tuned into a prayer service last weekend, and found the experience moving. Watching the people congregating from their homes, participating in their own way, reminded me again, how we’re all in this together. Whether you are a believer or not, some of the zoom gatherings are helpful to buck us up, especially for those who live alone.
Kathy Gunst’s 5 Things:
1. Family, 2. Friendship, 3. Outdoors, 4. Food. Baking. Cooking. Chopping. Eating. Repeat. 5. The written word.
Katherine Alford’s 5 Things:
1. Being by/in/or on the water, 2. Quaker Meeting, 3. Cooking with/and for Friends, 4. NY's Chinatowns, 5. Spa Castle Korean spa in NYC.
Kathy Gunst:
Instagram @kathygunst
Twitter: @Mainecook
Katherine Alford:
Instagram: @katherine_alford
Katherine Alford
Kathy Gunst
Lisa and Katherine taste Lisa’s Rage Baking experiment.
RAGE BAKING: The Transformative Power of Flour, Fury and Women’s Voices - A Collection of Recipes and Conversations for Our Time
By Kathy Gunst and Katherine Alford
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Rage-Baking/Katherine-Alford/9781982132675
Website: www.RageBakers.com
Instagram: @ragebakers
The authors have kindly allowed us to reprint one of their recipes here on the 5 Things That Make Life Better blog. Thank you Kathy, Katherine and Ruth! From Rage Baking: Oatmeal Cookies from Ruth Reichl
2 ½ cups instant oats
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of fine salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted, plus more for buttering
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.
Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush two cookie sheets with butter.
Mix the oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and stir together with a wooden spoon. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until evenly moistened.
Drop slightly heaping tablespoons of the batter onto the prepared pans and flatten them with the back of the spoon. Bake until the edges of the cookies begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheets for a minute or two, then use a metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack and let cool completely. If they stick to the cookie sheets, put them back in the oven for a minute, then try again. These cookies will keep in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days.
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