I have been traveling a lot lately so want to make it easy on myself for Easter. I bought a Spiral Cut Ham from Whole Foods (on sale) and some Asparagus, which I will roast. Sides will be Scalloped Potatoes (possibly store-bought, depending on my energy), sliced Pineapple and a Garbanzo Bean, Carrot and Mint Salad I will make ahead. My friend gave me frozen Croissants for Christmas from Williams Sonoma she says are amazing, so I will serve those to go along with dinner, along with some Mango Jam.

For an appetizer, I will make some Whipped Feta spread and serve it with baby carrots I have from Empower Farms and pita chips. Dessert is Angel Food Cake (from Publix) sliced and filled with lemon curd mixed with whipped cream and topped with berries and mint leaves. This idea for a Semi-Homemade Dessert comes from Sharon’s sister Sandie, who made it recently. It looks spectacular and should be pretty easy.

I’ve already set the table, an Easter Woodland theme, with pink napkins and green and white plates. I folded the napkins into a Garden Party design from a book I’ve had forever. I like to fold napkins for Special Occasions and this one is easy and also leaves a little space for a flower, silverware or a place setting.

It’s easier to fold the corners in on the diagonal and then put it squared off when folding under the two sides. You can also flip it up or down, depending on how deep the item you want to tuck it in is and I found it worked better turning the napkin inside out to start.

Happy Easter!

Up Next: Whipped Feta Spread

So for two years, I avoided it like the plague.

I washed my hands for 20 seconds, stayed six feet apart from my fellow man, hand sanitized my hands raw, wiped down groceries, sprayed disinfectant on the mail, Instacarted groceries, Amazoned everything, had shoe washing stations outside my front door, wiped down all surfaces with Clorox wipes, wore a mask, took Vitamin C and D, went on endless walks and I prayed. Still, apparently my luck ran out on a recent trip to New York, which lit up like Rudolph’s nose on a map of Covid hot spots in the U.S.

I’d had fair warning as Matthew Broderick and then his wife, Sarah Jessica Parker, tested positive for Covid, which is why the play we’d gone to see- Plaza Suite– was cancelled. While we wore masks in the airport, on the plane and at the plays we attended, we let our guard slip in other places. We didn’t always mask in Ubers, ate indoors (it was cold) and walked the crowded streets of New York and into stores, like we were immune to contracting the dreaded Coronavirus. We were not.

Zeke felt bad first.

He took a Zyrtec and another allergy medicine, thinking he had allergies, and when he tested for Covid, it came back negative. The next day, however, it came back positive. The following day, I had a slight headache, which I attributed to being out in the sun during a tennis match, but I tested negative. The next day I had a nasal drip and thought “Oh no!” but I tested negative two more times, with two different brands of tests. Still, given the circumstances, I avoided people at my grandson Phoenix’s 1st Birthday Party, which took place at our home.

I’d already made my Mom’s Baked Beans and S’Mores Ice Cream a couple days before. I was supposed to pick up the Guava and Cheese Birthday Cake from Gilbert’s Bakery, but declined as I didn’t want to be around anyone. My sister Elise, a school nurse, advised me if I was planning on being around people at the party to wear a mask, to be on the safe side. I decided to just stay upstairs and watch the festivities down below. Despite complaining about how our house is too big, it actually worked out as Zeke and I were in separate bedrooms upstairs. And, it was kind of nice to be at a party where I didn’t have to do any work. People brought us plates of food from the party, so we didn’t starve to death.

Easter was a very small affair. While we were going to have an Easter Egg Hunt for Wyatt, my daughter had a big event for Earth Day and didn’t want to take a chance on getting sick. Wyatt and Phoenix’s Easter baskets are still sitting on my credenza, waiting to be unwrapped. Emma came over for dinner and we ate outside.

Monday I tested positive for Covid. I immediately texted my tennis partner and captain, as I’d played Thursday and I was, obviously, closest to my partner, even though we were outside. These last days, I’d hoped against hope what I had was just a cold and a strange coincidence that I’d gotten it the same time as my husband had Covid, but now there was no escaping the two pink lines on the test. I’m not sure what I felt. Not panic, or relief. Perhaps just resignation?

After SO long of avoiding Covid, it finally caught up with me. Of course, I’m vaccinated and boosted, so it was a very mild case. It just felt like a head cold and certainly not the worst I’ve ever had in my life. I took Advil in the day, Nyquil at night, Vitamin C & D and slept a lot. I finished my Book Club book (The Paris Apartment) and watched feel-good shows on Netflix (Something’s Got to Give). I finally sent in an article to Coral Gables Magazine I started six months ago.

I guess there is some kind of shame involved with getting Covid.

Of not being smart enough to out-smart it, of letting our guard down on our trip to New York, of not being super immune. My resident nurse thinks my husband got it in New York and I got it from him. But, in the end, does it matter where we got it? People telling me I now had Super Immunity meant well, but it really didn’t cheer me up. And, seeing how different people reacted to my diagnosis was enlightening, to say the least.

A woman on my tennis team (who wasn’t even at the tennis match!) called my mother and insisted I e-mail my whole tennis team and tell them I had Covid. My mother called me, reluctantly, and I told her I’d told my tennis captain and partner, so felt I’d done my duty. My mother felt uncomfortable being stuck in the middle and then, this lady started campaigning my tennis captain relentlessly.

I called my captain and we decided she would send out an e-mail saying someone on the team tested positive for Covid and if anyone had any questions to contact her. It seemed a moot point, as I think everyone knew it was ME. And the woman so concerned about the whole team getting Covid from me? Never heard from her inquiring how I was doing. I truly felt like a pariah; like I had a scarlet C emblazoned on my chest.

My sister Kelley brought me Matzo Ball Soup and magazines, my Mom dropped off a book. My daughter A.J. stayed away, as she didn’t want to get sick since she was hosting an Earth Day event. My son Christopher made an unexpected visit to Miami from Colorado. I told him about my status and that maybe I should go to the Keys to avoid exposing him.

I don’t care if you have Covid, I’m going to give you a big hug when I see you.

said Christopher.

“Ok,” I answered. “But only with my N-95 mask on.”

He called me “Covid mama.”

One person, besides my tennis partner, on my tennis team texted me saying she hoped I was ok. An older lady, she’d taken a test to make sure she didn’t have it. It was negative. And, as if to make matters worse, I found out that a text group I’m a part of held a birthday party where everyone, sans me, got invited. So I already felt icky and this made me feel ickier.

I realize I’m lucky to have had a very mild case of Covid, but I came to the unremarkable conclusion- Covid is boring. Not to make light of people who have experienced serious Covid, been hospitalized or died, but this was my experience. Yes, I could read, write, watch movies, garden, cook and take walks, but it’s a very isolating and lonely experience, not to mention the unspoken shame involved. Meanwhile, my husband tested negative after seven days, giving me a time-frame of what I could expect.

A lunch I was supposed to attend Friday obviously wasn’t happening for me, so I drove to the Keys. We went out on the boat Saturday and we both agreed, as we ate our Roast Beef Subs from Avenue Subs in Key Largo (delicious!) at Nest Key, we were glad we bought a boat in 2020. It’s the perfect place to socially distance and the fresh air and salt water are just what the doctor ordered- Vitamin Sea.

So many people- friends and family- have had Covid; I know my experience is not unique. I’m joining a big club I never wanted to be a part of. At least I have comfort I’m joining a club people like Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Prince Charles and Camilla and, of course, Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker have joined. We’re in good company. And it’s something else my husband and I have gone through together, although nothing we ever wanted to. I guess when we’re old and gray we’ll say “Remember when we got Covid after that trip to New York?”

I’m a firm believer in trying to learn something from whatever calamity occurs. So, what did I learn from Covid? Certainly, that no one is immune. And also, empathy for people that get it. I would certainly reach out to friends and family that have it to check up on them by texting, phoning or e-mailing, drop them off soup, magazines, books. I would do something to make them feel like they’re not so alone.

But for now, I’m ready to put this in the rear view mirror.

Up Next: Spaghetti Josie’s Way

The first thing you can do with leftover ham, is of course, ham sandwiches. While they are perfectly fine as a plain ham sandwich or on a hot biscuit, you can also think outside the box and make a Cuban with Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard on Cuban bread. The only thing missing is the Roast Pork. Or try a Monte Cristo, with ham and Swiss cheese piled on a thick bread, which is dipped in egg and fried in butter. Add the traditional sliced turkey if you have it, otherwise, this is still a hearty sandwich and delicious served with a berry jam on the side.

I loved scrambled eggs with diced ham, but it’s also perfect in Omelettes or in a Breakfast Burrito, with sauteed onions, peppers and shredded cheese. If you’re into that kind of thing (some think it sacrilegious) you could make a Hawaiian Pizza with ham, pineapple and mozzarella cheese. Ham Salad is another option, made with hard boiled eggs (might have some of those leftover), mayo, relish, onion and mustard. Ham salad can also be served as a dip with crackers and veggies.

Chef’s Salad is another option for a lunch or light dinner. Iceberg lettuce, sliced radishes, celery, wedged tomatoes, quartered hard boiled eggs and turkey completes this salad, with French or Russian dressing served to dress it. Swiss cheese seems to be the most common denominator of cheeses served with ham, but Cheddar or Monterey Jack also works well.

I used some leftover ham last night in a Quiche, which was a twist on Quiche Lorraine. Instead of bacon and Swiss-like Gruyere Cheese, I used ham and Cheddar, with some sliced green onions thrown in for good measure. I served it with an arugula and tomato salad with a mustard vinaigrette. There’s an easy and adaptable quiche recipe I used from the Serve It Up! cookbook by Kimberly Tabor.

Pasta is a blank slate, so ham works perfectly in it. It’s great in Mac ‘N Cheese, but I turn to my old friend James Beard for other inspiration. He suggests using ham in a cold Orzo Salad and Spaghetti Carbonara, where prefers Smithfield ham to the traditional bacon. And how about this easiest of recipes?

Ham and Peas

Very simple. Pour a cup of heavy cream into a saucepan. Let it cook down and thicken slightly and add some peas and bits of ham. Pour over hot noodles and sprinkle on quite a lot of grated cheese.

From Beard on Pasta by James Beard.

The leftover ham bone is just dying to get used, as it’s full of flavor and shouldn’t be wasted. My favorite way to use it is in a Split Pea Soup, where you can also utilize any bits and pieces of ham leftover. I use the recipe in the Fannie Farmer cookbook. A ham bone also works well as a flavoring for other bean and green dishes.

Croquettas are also an option for leftover ham, albeit a complicated one, but I cut out a recipe from the New York Times Food section for croqettas from Isla Canaria in Miami I made recently. Although labor-intensive, the recipe makes a lot and the croquettas can be frozen for future consumptions, if you don’t want to be a glutton.

Croquettas are made by grinding leftover ham in the food processor, then adding a bechamel sauce to it. After letting it sit in the fridge a couple hours, you cut the mixture into rectangles and shape it into cylinders, then freeze. Lastly, dip the cylinders into an egg wash and bread crumbs and freeze again. Finally, fry in hot oil and eat. with saltine crackers, lime wedges and hot sauce.

The good thing about leftover ham is there are endless ways to use it. These are just some ideas.

Ham held the same rating as the basic black dress. If you had ham in the meat house any situation could be faced.

Edna Lewis

Up Next: A Close Call

The highlight of the week was seeing my grandson Wyatt for an early Easter egg Hunt on Friday. I hadn’t been able to see him, up close and personal, for a couple weeks but since he was leaving for North Carolina the next day, to see his other grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins, A.J. decided it was silly for me not to see him. He arrived in his Sunday best, saying “This is the best day ever!” He had a great time finding the 11 hardboiled dyed Easter eggs and 30 plastic eggs hidden around our backyard.

I changed his clothes (he said he was uncomfortable), fed him Spaghettios for lunch and Zeke and I took him down the trail to look at the stuffed animals neighbors have placed in the trees for children to find during their bike rides. The trail is a couple blocks away from our house and Wyatt kept asking “When am I going to see the animals?”

I said “Wyatt, you have to be patient. Do you know what that means? Sometimes we have to wait a little bit for things.”

This made me think of all of us in the pandemic. It’s been so hard to be at home, to not go out as we used to, to not be able see our friends and family and to self-isolate. But, we too, have to be patient. Of course, it’s not the same when what you’re waiting for is within sight and a couple blocks away. We have no idea how long the pandemic will last and if the world, as we knew it, will ever go back to normal.

The other exciting news our family had this week was that Lauren, my oldest stepdaughter, got into University of Florida’s LLM program for getting her Masters in Tax Law! Yipee! We cracked open the proscecco (although that’s not been that different than every other night the last month) and toasted her acceptance. Now we have to adjust to the fact that we’ll have a Gator in the house. Zeke noted she’s graduated as a Seminole, soon to be a UM Cane graduate, and now UF. Go Gators!?!

I finally got up the nerve and stepped on the scale. I was relieved to find I was the same weight before COVID-19! About five pounds (at least) from where I want to be, but still! I consider this a minor miracle, given the stress eating, boredom eating, take-out food and excessive wine drinking that’s been going on.

When I mentioned this fact to Zeke he said:

“Well, then we need to cut out this” and pointed to his wine glass.

“Are you crazy?” I said. “You are NOT taking away my wine!”

I told him I attributed not losing weight more to eating ribs, pizza and pasta than my wine drinking. I’ve been mixing up the Pinot Grigio with Sauvignon Blanc, Rose and Sparkling, with a little Albarino thrown in for good measure. I get bored drinking the same wine all the time.

Speaking of wine, Total Wine has a great method for getting your wine. You order and pay online. They send you an email when your order is ready to be picked up. You drive to Total Wine, park in one of the designated spots and text them the spot you are in. They will then bring out your wine, stick it in the trunk and you’re set to go. No contact whatsoever and you’ve got a week’s worth of wine that will probably last you three days.

The other new thing we tried was DIY pizza. I had a gift card for Farinelli 1937 in Coconut Grove that I wanted to use. I called up and ordered one pizza special (Truffle pizza $30) and one do-it-yourself pizza (prociutto with arugula $14). Zeke picked them up and brought them home. They give you everything you need to make your own pizza, including the flour. We had a pizza stone which we heated in the oven, while we held the Truffle pizza on low. Our do-it-yourself pizza turned out awesome! I liked it better than the twice-as-expensive Truffle pizza. This isn’t as easy as take-out, since you do have to cook and clean up yourself, but it’s worth trying.

Another big hit was ordering the Family Meal Deal from Sports Grille. For $50, you get a rack and half of ribs, pulled pork sliders, French fries, Cole slaw, macoroni and cheese and Texas toast. It fed six of us with leftovers, so it was a good deal. The Mac and cheese, however, was straight up Kraft from the box. Pick-up was curbside.

Other DIY Miami Restaurants:
Eating House has Pasta Kits. Pollo Tropical has Citrus Marinated chicken. Nave in Coconut Grove has $25 pizza kits. Coyo Taco in Coconut Grove has a Family Pack from $25 to $34. Chug’s Diner in Coconut Grove has Meal Kits for $60.

I’ve been cleaning religiously every morning, the countertops, knobs, light switches etc…

“You know I read this article on MSN,” Zeke told me, “You’re supposed to let the spray sit on the counter for at least 10 seconds before wiping it off. And, when you wipe with paper towels, you need to keep folding it over for every knob, so the germs aren’t transferred from one to the other.”

“So, do you want to start doing the cleaning?” I asked.

“No, I’m just letting you know what I read,” Zeke said.

Yeah, thanks. Likewise, when I’m cooking, he has a tendency to look over my shoulder and make recommendations. When I boiled salted water to put asparagus in for Easter dinner, he pulled out the steamer.

“Steaming is a better way of cooking asparagus,” he informed me.

“Do you want to cook then?” I asked.

No, he didn’t. He just wanted to tell me how to do it.

Easter was a small affair, with just Zeke, Lauren, Rachel, Emma and myself. We had a Publix spiral-cut ham, biscuits, asparagus with lemon sauce, sweet potato soufflé and fresh pineapple salad with raspberries. No one had room for dessert, but we have plenty of leftover ham.

My big outing this week was to CVS for my medicine. I know I should’ve had it delivered (since medicine is an essential need, CVS will deliver it) but I didn’t get my act together in time, so I just went to pick it up. There were signs posted at the entrance saying customers were required to wear masks. I had my mask on and surprise!, so did everyone inside, from customers to staff. In Miami, this kind of compliance is a minor miracle. After picking up my medicine, I ventured into the hair coloring section to look for a tip kit for my hair, which is getting darker by the day. None of the kits looked familiar to me, from when I used to do my hair, so I gave up and went to check out.

The cashier was situated behind a plexiglass window, with a narrow slot in which to slide items. This made it hard to scan some of the bigger items, like my Epsom salts. I had a question about a BOGO, so the manager came up to check on it. He had gloves on, but no mask and stood inches away from me. Likewise, a customer in the checkout lane next to me had no mask on.

“Aren’t people supposed to be wearing masks?” I asked my cashier.

She couldn’t understand me, because of my mask, but finally told me, yes they were.

They are calling these people covidiots and I’ve encountered more than my fair share, like the skateboarder who passed Zeke and I on the sidewalk when we were walking, then doubled back and passed us going the other way. We were near Epiphany Church and hopped up the hill to evade him. He almost seemed amused at this, like he was getting his jollies out of scaring these old people. Some millennials are calling the coronavirus the “boomer remover”. Thanks millennials.

I’ve been looking around my house and noticing things that need to be fixed up and organized, so I ordered a drawer organizer and rubbermaid storage containers for my kitchen and hangers for my closet. My housekeeper has a very specific way of folding my underwear, so I took out a pair to figure it out so I could replicate it. It may be a Marie Kwondo thing, I’m not sure.

Besides that, I REALLY miss my housekeeper Isa. Big, fluffy orange hairballs from our cat Eloise have started accumulating around my house. These, Isa normally took care of with her huge, industrial strength vacuum cleaner. I don’t even have a vacuum cleaner, so I’ve been trying to make due with my dust buster, which I recently ordered on Amazon.

Speaking of Marie Kwondo, I haven’t read her book but did read an article online that said to start with organizing your desk, specifically with your pens. She said, oftentimes, pens we have on our desk are just junky, give-aways, not pretty or fluid pens that “spark joy”. I looked at mine, and sure enough, my pen holder was filled to the brim with crummy pens I’d picked up from one place or the other. I went through each one, testing how it wrote. If it didn’t write easily or hold a good memory for me, I tossed it into a pile for the Vets of America.

They aren’t collecting items now, but I will have a big bag when this whole thing is over. One thing I was going to donate, but decided not to, was a white cotton tablecloth that belonged to my grandmother. It had a lot of rips and holes in it, but I decided I may as well sew it while I’m watching T.V. As I sat in my rocking chair watching The View, the lacy tablecloth draped over my lap, it reminded me of a doll of a little old lady sewing lace, my grandmother had brought me from Brussels.

Other projects I’ve been doing: I made applesauce out of apples that were getting wrinkled, made quick pickles out of a cucumber and made more homemade ricotta. I’ve also been saving the bottoms of Romaine lettuce, celery, scallions to grow in the kitchen and the top to a pineapple to plant. My garden’s looking good and I had a UF Journalism student (Carla) come over to film it for a student project. I talked about how it’s been comforting to have gardening as therapy in the pandemic, as well as a practical source of fresh food for my family.

Alcohol sales are up a lot, Tiger King has a new episode and people apparently are having weird dreams during the pandemic. I had a dream the other night that I went on a cruise with my sister Kelley and sister-in-law Becky. As we got on board our cruise, we were surprised by some friends that had come along for the trip unexpectedly. I’m not the Dream Doctor, but I have a feeling that means we’re all on this crazy ride together. We thought we were going for a three hour tour, but it turns out we’re all stranded on this desert island, for who knows how long? But it’s nice to be here among friends.

Up Next: What to do with Easter Leftovers and Foods to Fight Viruses