Category Archives: Domestic Blitz

In which we don our aprons and putter about the house.

Domestic Blitz, Eating, Family matters

We baked some things today

Today was considerably better than yesterday. The weather was just about perfect — around 74 degrees, sunny and breezy. It’s my mother-in-law’s birthday, so Poppy made a birthday cake and I made the chicken pot pie she’d requested for dinner. (They’ve been living with us for the last several months for health reasons; we’re not visiting anyone or having visitors.) Both the cake and the pot pie were delicious.

Our county reported its first resident COVID-19 positive test today. There were two previous positive tests, but they were both people from other states who are visiting the area. They’ve both gone to other counties to “shelter-in-place” wherever it is they’re staying. That’s what happens when you live in a place rife with vacation homes, I guess.

I did a much better job taking care of myself today. I haven’t been eating well or on a regular schedule, and I made a concerted effort to do both today. We also spent some time outside and went on a nice walk. I don’t know how long this whole thing is going to last, but I should probably continue doing those things even when we aren’t in a global pandemic.

blessings, Current events, Domestic Blitz, Family matters, Homeschool

It only took me three days to cry

I feel like I’ve been holding it together pretty well through this. I’m worried, of course, but I’m trying to take it day-by-day and not panic. I did break down a bit this morning, thinking about far-flung family members and wondering when I’ll be able to see them again. Honestly, it was whether I would see them again, because I am dramatic and I’ve read to much post-apocalyptic fiction.

But! My mood improved, and there were some Good Things. Such as:

Good things

  • Driving around with Poppy
  • A relatively smooth start to virtual schooling.
  • Poppy attending a tae kwon do class through Zoom.

    • Virtual school days

    The school district officially launched their Virtual Days today! Pete had forgotten to add a few of his classes to Google classroom, and one of his classes had an audio meeting that we weren’t prepared to join. He popped in at the last minute. We had a couple of other bumps that were partially technology and partially emotional, but overall the day went OK.

    A tour of local Target parking lots

    Oh the things that are qualifying as entertainment. We ran out of printer paper, so I ordered some for curbside pickup from Target. Except when I got to Target, they said “Oh no, you ordered from the other Target!” So Poppy and I drove to the other Target, which had our order. But on the way there we got a text saying our order was ready at the first Target! Mayhem! At least we got to drive around a bit.

    Quarantine eats

    We had a ridiculously luxurious dinner this evening. Delicious as it was, I wish that circumstances hadn’t made it possible. The restaurant where my sister-in-law works had to close because of the virus, and they cleared out all the food and sent it home with the employees. She brought us ribeye burgers, steaks, bacon, Lion’s Mane mushrooms, Brussels sprouts and purple potato gratin. I grilled the steaks and burgers, sauteed the mushrooms with shallots and garlic and warmed the gratin in the oven. We’ll be back to standard fare tomorrow.

    Bandwagons, Domestic Blitz

    On your marks, get set. Bake!

    A long, long time ago — all the way back in 2008 — I joined an online group called The Daring Bakers. Someone would post a baking challenge every month, and then members would attempt them and share their results. I think the first one I made was a caramel cake, and it was delicious. Others didn’t work out so well. (I’m looking at you, pao de queijo and savarin.) But some of them, like the buche de noel and the Momofuku crack pie, were delightful. And then there was the princessatorte and the Battenburg cake. We all have a hot mess or two in our history, and mine seem to involve various royal desserts.

    The point is that I was baking weird, challenging things, and it was fun. Most of the time. Sometimes it just felt like a chore, and those chore-times started outnumbering the fun-times so I stopped doing it for awhile. When I wanted to start again, the Daring Bakers had disbanded.

    I didn’t stop baking altogether, but I also didn’t push myself to embark upon new baking adventures. I missed the camaraderie — celebrating one another’s beautifully puffed puff pastry; commiserating over burnt caramel.

    Then a few months ago something new popped up in my Facebook feed: Someone was starting a group dedicated to making food from “The Great British Baking Show.” I love that program as much as I love a good cake, even with the new hosts.

    And so I signed up without hesitation.

    Our first challenge was to make a “fruity cake.” Not a fruitcake in the holiday-brick-of-cake sense, but a sponge cake with fruit baked into it. I missed that note the first time around, and I made a chocolate sponge cake with whipped cream and fresh strawberries and nary a fruit inside the cake.

    It did not go particularly well.

    A sponge cake gets all of its lift from air that’s beaten into the eggs, so you’re supposed to sift the flour over the well-beaten eggs and fold, fold, fold just a wee bit at a time. Instead, I decided just to dump it all in and then fold, which resulted in clumps of cocoa in the mix. After that misstep was followed by too much time in the oven, I had myself a very flat sponge.

    It was not a good bake.

    I cut the burnt edges off as best as I could and sallied forth, because we are not one to waste cake. Rockford and Pete claim it was good despite all.

    Not wanting to be defeated by a sponge cake, I regrouped and tried again. This time I used As Easy As Apple Pie’s Italian Sponge Cake, which turned out indeed to be even easier than apple pie, provided you follow the directions. I added blueberries, brushed it thoroughly with lemon syrup and topped it with coconut whipped cream and candied lemon peel, and I was very, very happy with it.

    (Even though the coconut whipped cream didn’t whip quite as I wanted it to and the blueberries all sunk to the bottom, which ended up being the top.)

    I’m looking forward to seeing what concoction the organizers order up next, and I’m very much hoping it’s not a Tudor Week challenge.