Day 33, Kitchen Quarantine, Time

As this day dawns, we are facing another month of social distancing, and I am embracing it, because it is teaching us all something.  It is especially teaching me that time is precious, whether it's time spent with friends, family or by oneself.  I've become more aware of nature, my surroundings and those around me.
As I have cooked over the past month, I've commented about how much better the dishes have tasted.  I'm pondering why after over 50 years in the kitchen these dishes that I have prepared for many years suddenly taste better.  Is it that I have extra time to saute, or to tweak the seasonings. Is it the quality of the ingredients, or the extra time I've taken to prepare it because I have the time.  I'm genuinely curious to see if anyone else is finding this to be true with any of the dishes they are preparing.
The other night, Dr. C. and I were having a meal, and he said, "it's a good thing we are friends, or this would be a prison sentence."  I said, "I think it's the food."
I think food builds community---if our kitchen table could talk, you'd hear all about the trials and tribulations of the family, but also the laughter and joys shared around a family meal.
Tonight I'm cooking a turkey; Thanksgiving in April.  We've had over a month of social distancing, I'm thankful we are well and healthy.  This is not my preferred way of spending time, I'm conscious that there are others who are immuno-compromised like my friend who is in the hospital 120+ days post Bone Marrow transplant---this social distancing/quarantine is about my friend, not about me.  It's about those with underlying health problems that may be affected should I become infected and be asymptomatic. Follow the guidelines for them, this isn't about you or me.  And please, don't tell me about your rights---I get it, but if you infect grandma, and she dies, your rights won't mean a damn thing. 
OK, so I'm off my soapbox, but please stay home and stay well, that way we can all be healthy and restart our lives with a new normal.   I'll be posting some recipes from our dinner tomorrow, so stay tuned, until then there are lots of great chefs doing Instagram and Facebook live demos, check out Massimo Bottura, Chef Jose Andres, and my friend George Geary.