Allow me to sign off on a lighter note. The other quarantine discovery has been Mark Bittman's No Knead Bread recipe. Oh my! That crust. The recipe calls for a Dutch oven, which I don't have, so I used a pyrex casserole dish with a lid. I'm really trying to only order essential items so our warehouse and retail workers aren't further taxed by frivolous demands. The only tweak: I would double the salt in the recipe. I found my first loaf crusty, but insipid. For years, friends have been raving about this recipe, and I have resisted because I have been led down the garden path by too many bread bakers. They rave about homemade bread, and how easy it is, but three rises and one day later, I find myself thinking: 'I just wanted a slice of toast, not a lifestyle.' Then my local bakery closed in early March, and things got real. Now I'm a believer. Truly delicious and super easy. You will need 18 hours so I usually make the dough in the evening for a fresh loaf in the morning. A warm slice with a lashing of butter is, in a word, heaven. 

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On Netflix, I recommend Unorthodox, Self Made & How to Fix a Drug Scandal. I was so moved by the last series that I wrote to Luke Ryan, the lead defense lawyer in the series. This man is the embodiment of the word advocate and I told him as much in our correspondence. He wrote me back:-) If you watched the series, and are curious, let me know I'll share the correspondence.

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I'm currently watching Outlander, which is good. The Scottish Highlands look ever so inviting, if a bit nippy. And men in kilts. Swoon.

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I have mixed feelings about Never Have I Ever on Netflix. It's set in California and has a South Asian protagonist. If this show existed when I was an adolescent, I'm pretty sure my head would have exploded. But the reliance on tired stereotypes and outdated tropes, the fat phobia and caricaturized, shrewish mother detracted from what could have been.

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Thank you to all of you for your support during these trying weeks. Your calls, text messages, orders and gifts are keeping me warm and well. Thank you for your patience in shipment delays.

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The first morels and lilacs are here, and I am feeling hopeful.