(Now Not So) Novel C - Throwback

Back in the early days of March, when we worried about what was coming but did not know for sure, Sissy and I took a trip out to the Mothership to help the family prepare, and to prepare ourselves, for hunkering down to get past the peak.  It happened to coincide with dates midway between my and Sissy's birthdays.  On the last of three days of epic grocery shopping, we picked up Indian food from a highly recommended storefront that happened to be in the Mothership neighborhood.  It would be our last takeout for two months; that visit out would similarly be the last family gathering for 2.5 months.  Governor Cuomo imposed the stay at home order the following weekend.  At the time, I started this post to process the changes - but never wrapped it because I could not muster the energy to make the last - the carrot cake - for many weeks yet.  Finally did it.  So, interesting to look back now a half year later into this....

Festivities in the time of the novel coronavirus call for novel candle blowing care, novel chutney uses, and a novel carrot cake for a kind of novel celebration - novel compromises....

Normally for a shared dessert, there would be two candles, over which Sissy and I would lean and blow out simultaneously.  Sissy insisted that instead the flan be cut into individual pieces and our respective candles be planted into our separate ones, so we would not be breathing over the whole flan.  Fine.

Novel cuisine: Left the Mothership laden with pandemic provisions and the remains of the prior days’ Usha Foods meal - the last of the takeout before mandatory isolation - and at the end were left a green chutney with some sort of pickled vegetables (pepper? onion?) and a yogurt sauce (slightly sweet) that were originally accompaniments to the chickpeas.  So, how to extend mere sauces?  Spiced lentils and brown rice, of course!  Quite a tasty extension it was.

And then on my actual birthday, by myself, I craved cake.  Apparently there is no shortage of microwaveable mug cake recipes suitable for a solo celebration - including for carrot, my favorite, with the bonus of using long-lasting carrots, too.  I started the preparations on the right day, but then my energy flagged ... it was some time before I actually completed it.  I would not say it was a "cake."  It was interesting.  Under the circumstances, really, it was fine.

Novel times, novel criteria.