First, Zeke and I celebrated 18 years of marriage on June 5th. This officially puts us past the mark of my first 17-year marriage, so Zeke can breathe a sigh of relief. We drove down to the Keys on a sunny Sunday, grateful for sunshine after a week of rain. We stopped at Gilberts for lunch and got a Seafood Appetizer Platter.

Dinner was at Ziggy and Mad Dogs, an upscale (if there is such a thing in the Keys) steak and seafood chophouse. Our dinner and server was very good, but the table they gave us was awful- next to the restrooms and a service area. Ziggy and Mad Dogs is already a kind of noisy place, with terrazzo floors and this two-top was in the middle of everything, not ideal for a quiet, romantic meal.

I made the reservation through Resy and, even though I mentioned it was our anniversary, they stuck us with this stinkaroo of a table. The table next to us were also celebrating their anniversary and tried to get their table changed as well. The moral of this story? While online reservations are convenient (and sometimes there’s no other choice) it’s always better to call the restaurant directly especially for a special occasion. They are also usually more flexible with dining times (Open Table is notoriously bad for this). In this case, according to our waitress, I should have called and asked for a table “along the wall.” Live and learn.

We ordered a bottle of Albarino and split the Mad Dog Wedge ($12) to start. I got “Big Ben’s” Smothered Medallions– two filets covered in caramelized onions, blue cheese and au Poivre sauce. Zeke got the Crabmeat Stuffed Snapper ($36); Roasted Asparagus and Potatoes Au Gratin ($8) were our sides. Everything was very good and our waitress helpful and sweet.

Wyatt’s last day of school was Wednesday. A.J. asked me to pick him up, since traffic is a nightmare on the last day of school, so I walked there and got him; he was red faced and happy. On the way home, however, a deluge of rain poured down on us. Even my umbrella was no protection. Wyatt gleefully jumped in puddles and sloshed through flooded grass on our way home. I quickly dried his clothes and shoes, as he had an End-of-the-Year Party to go to and a dinner for his cousin Gracie’s Graduation from Kindergarten. They’ll both be big First-Graders soon!

I whipped up some Egg Foo Yung for A.J. and Phoenix that night, which I served with Won Ton Soup and Stir Fried Veggies. I had a craving for Egg Foo Yung, but that is one of those dishes that seemed better in my memory than it was in actuality.

The next night I had BOTH Wyatt and Phoenix, so A.J. could go out to dinner. It was pretty much of a S**t Show, with me trying to get dinner ready, Wyatt wanting dumplings to eat instead of shrimp and Phoenix opening up every cabinet in the kitchen, trying to pull out hazardous materials to ingest. Zeke came home (after drinks at Riviera) to grill the shrimp and veggies I’d skewered ahead of time. I tried to eat, while also feeding Phoenix little bits of food. We then hurried into the family room to watch Jeopardy, which had already started.

Wyatt had found a marble he wanted to make a marble game with and was whining no one would help him, Phoenix was pulling board games off the shelf at a rapid rate, as I tried to remove all breakable objects and prevent him from eating the marble Wyatt kept leaving on the ground (can you say choking hazard?). For some reason, I stubbornly tried to answer Jeopardy questions against all odds, while Zeke sat there drinking his wine, oblivious to the chaos.

Just to let you know, you’re losing.

Zeke said.

“Are you f**cking kidding me?” I answered. I couldn’t even hear the questions!

I’d watched the last episode of Grace and Frankie that day, so I was kind of in mourning. Dolly Parton makes an appearance in the last episode, as a receptionist in heaven, thus reuniting the whole 9 to 5 gang. I will certainly miss these two wonderful characters and their quirky families.

I read about a Jennifer Aniston Salad that she invented and that she, Courtney Cox and Lisa Cudrow ate EVERY DAY for lunch on the set of Friends, so of course I had to try it. Although I don’t know if I could eat it every day, it was delicious and would be an excellent once-a-week addition for lunch, especially on Meatless Mondays.

I shopped at Trader Joe’s Friday and tried some products which I can recommend. The Chunky Spicy Guacamole ($3.79), Kalua Pork Spring Rolls ($4.79), Organic Dark Chocolate Rice Cake Thins ($1.99), Hold the Cone ($3.79), mini Ice Cream Cones ( in different flavors) and Truffle BBQ Sauce ($3.49). I also bought prosciutto and melon to bring to Kelley’s house as an appetizer. the next night. Peonies ($9.99) are also at Trader Joe’s, which are only available for a short season.

On Friday, Kelley had a ceremony at Temple Judea announcing her conversion to Judaism and introducing her to the congregation. During the service, the rabbi told us to name something we were grateful for, and Elise and I agreed we were thankful for our family. Kelley choose the name of Ruth as her Jewish name, as she was the first Jewish convert. It was a lovely, uplifting ceremony with lots of music and blessings. We went back to Kelley’s house for a Shabbat Italian Dinner. Mazel Tov!

Emory Guilford, my niece, got hired by Delta airlines and starts training this week. Her parents gave her a going-away party (which happened to fall on her Dad’s birthday), which was at the same time as Kelley’s dinner, so Zeke went there after the ceremony. Becky made Gregg’s favorite dish- Chicken and Dumplings with Creamed Corn and Peas. Imagine my dismay when Zeke came home empty handed, after I had specifically asked him to bring me a plate. I do think I have a great husband though, because he made special trip down to Cutler Cay the next day to pick me up some Chicken and Dumplings, with all the fixings.

Saturday I had a lunch at Lan Pan Asian with friends Sara and Christian. We all ordered the same thing- the Lunch Special of Thai Basil Chicken ($11.95) with rice instead of Miso Soup. We split two Passion Fruit Creme Brulees, which I didn’t even know they had on the menu. Their lunch specials are a great deal! You get a big salad and California Roll with your entree. Pro tip: Arrive at 11:30 a.m., as we did, and the restaurant will be empty.

It was actually my second visit to Lan Pan Asian that week. I met Courtney there for lunch Tuesday before she left for Colorado. She needed her sushi fix (Sashimi Lunch Special for $11.95) and I needed my Liam fix. Both missions accomplished!

Saturday night, thankfully, was a low-key one at home where we ate Grilled Chicken Thighs, boiled Corn on the Cob and Faux Cauliflower Potato Salad I made from a Parade recipe. Now, you would never confuse this dish with actual potato salad- the cauliflower is firmer and has a different mouth feel- but it was really good and had the Potato Salad vibe to it.

We had to be at Key Biscayne bright and early Sunday morning to participate in the Rescue a Reef boat trip to harvest coral and replant them. As I mentioned in a previous post, 90% of our coral reefs have disappeared in the last 50 years, which is devastating for our environment. This trip was through U.M.’s coral restoration program, which conducts research and educates people about the importance of saving our Coral Reefs.

Zeke and I were “Citizen Scientists” on the expedition aboard the boat chartered through Divers Paradise. You could dive or snorkel; we choose to snorkel. The first stop was to the coral “nursery”, where coral is grown on PVC “trees”. The divers cleaned the trees with metal brushes and snipped small pieces of coral, to be planted at the second location of Rainbow Reef.

Since we were snorkeling, Dalton, a scientist from U.M., harvested coral pieces for us, which we secured into “cookies” with epoxy. I then free dove down about 20 feet to plant our precious cookie on the ocean floor of Biscayne Bay. It was a beautiful, sunny morning- a perfect day to rescue a reef. We had fun and learned a lot. If you’re interested, the organization is called Coral Restoration Foundation at www.coralrestoration.org.

I couldn’t wait to get home to my lunch of leftover Chicken and Dumplings! I only have them at Becky’s house for Gregg’s Birthday once a year and that’s if they’re in town and we’re in town, so eating them is a real treat. They were probably the best leftovers I’ve ever eaten and will have to keep me satisfied for another year. I could make them myself, but these Chicken and Dumplings and the Creamed Corn are truly a labor of love.

Love, love, love. There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done. Nothing you sing that can’t be sung. Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game. It’s easy.

The Beatles

Love may be easy. Chicken and Dumplings, however, are not.

Up Next: The Jennifer Aniston Salad

Grilled Shrimp Wrapped in Bacon Makes 13 to 15 Hors D’ Oeurves

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons champagne or white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound large shrimps (13 to 15 per pound, peeled and deveined, with tails intact

5 slices very lean bacon, sliced thin

Combine the oil, vinegar, dill and garlic in a bowl. Add the shrimps and marinate overnight.

Cut each slice of bacon into thirds and wrap a piece around each drained shrimp, securing well with a toothpick.

Grill over hot coals until the bacon is crisp and the shrimps cooked through, about 7 to 8 minutes. You can also cook them under a hot broiler, 4 minutes on each side, being careful not to burn the bacon or overcook the shrimp.

I’ve made this recipe for over twenty years and it’s always a big hit. If you don’t do them with the bacon, you can just skewer them as I did. If you want to get fancy, you can serve the grilled shrimp with a Key Lime Mustard, a Dill Sauce. or Mango Barbecue Sauce. Just make sure you pass them out along with plenty of napkins, as they can be a messy appetizer.

Up Next: Maryland Road Trip

I consider the beginning of this strange, trapped-at-home situation to be the Monday before the state of Florida shut down all the restaurants (March 16th), because that’s when s**t really started hitting the fan. This week has been called the “Pearl Harbor” of our generation by the U.S. surgeon general, for the escalating amounts of coronavirus deaths anticipated and the lack of critical equipment available to some states.

Sobering news, for sure. It’s such a strange and unprecedented time, I have decided to give myself some kind of structure in my life as a way to not go crazy. So, besides the different themes for dinner each night, I will do laundry on Monday, clean the bathrooms on Tuesday, InstaCart shop on Wednesday, etc… The more structure I can self-impose on myself, the more in control and less helpless I feel. When I wake up in the morning, I make my bed and get dressed; these simple tasks make life seem more normal.

I always thought it would have been interesting to have lived during World War II. Besides the fact that I love the clothes, music, movies and cars of the era, it must have been an empowering and communal experience to rally round the flag to defeat a common enemy.

But this pandemic is different. The enemy is invisible, for one thing. Facts we always considered true, like: “get some fresh air” are now false. More like don’t breathe in while passing another human being. And even the ultimate comfort of gathering together to talk, hold hands, listen to music, eat dinner, hug or just hang out, is forbidden, and deemed dangerous. The danger isn’t a mustached Hitler hiling, the enemy is us, our fellow man- friends and family included.

So, I don’t imagine it feels the same dealing with this pandemic as it did living through World War II. There are shortages, like there were then, so home cooks are starting to get creative. Gardens, especially those bearing food to eat, are popular, like the Victory gardens of the forties. But I haven’t experienced that feeling of goodwill and “were all in this together” as I imagine would’ve been prevalent back then. Besides the fact the bear I put out for a kid’s Bear Hunt got stolen, when I pass people in the street (6 feet apart) the most palpable emotion I feel is fear. It’s hard to be magnanimous when you’re afraid for your life, when you look at each person you pass with suspicion. “Do you have it?” I wonder.

Women also pitched it during WWII and made a real effort to support our troops and take over in factories for the men serving in the armed forces. I’ve been wanting to help, but mostly what seems to be needed is people sewing fabric masks and I don’t sew.

I did volunteer to help serve meals to unemployed workers and the their children at a restaurant called Someone’s Son, through the Coral Gables Community Foundation, but my sister Kelley read me the riot act and begged me not to do it.

“Even with a mask?” I asked.

“Yes, even with a mask,” she said. “You’re going to be around a lot of people.”

Since she used to run a nursing home and now owns a pharmacy, I figure she knows what she’s talking about. We now have masks stationed by the front door, to go along with the gloves and hand sanitizer that was already there.

Now, in a total reversal of the original advice, the CDC does recommend wearing a mask while out in public. This is not so much to prevent you from getting sick from others, but to prevent spreading the virus if YOU are sick. Many people with coronavirus are asymptomatic and can spread the virus unwittingly. Others who get it can be contagious up to 14 days before coming down with it. I got a video today on a group chat about how the Czech Republic significantly slowed down the spread of the coronavirus, as compared to other countries. The one thing they did differently? Wore masks when they left the house.

So everything is changing on a daily basis, which inflicts panic and fear. I’m writing, reading and cooking a lot, lifting free weights, gardening and saying Novenas for my family. A journalism student from UF is coming tomorrow to interview me about my garden, after seeing photos I posted on Facebook. Zeke and I are still taking walks, but trying to vary our routes to change it up and stay away from crowded streets. And we’ve been noticing a lot of piles of junk in the swale in front of houses. Apparently, people are taking this unintended break as an opportunity to Spring clean their houses and garage.

My themed dinners this week went well.

Zeke and I were the only ones who showed up for Meatless Monday. The Curried Lentils with Kale (a Linda Gassenheimer recipe) http://www.dinnerinminutes.com was served over jasmine rice with an avocado salad. It was delicious- even Zeke liked it (I did give him some chicken to go with it). I put a homemade Middle Eastern hot sauce on it that gave it I nice kick. I love the one at Daily Bread, so made my own with jalapeño peppers I’d frozen, garlic, cilantro and olive oil. I’m on a bit of a homemade kick and also made homemade ricotta (an Ina recipe) that was SO easy and much more delicious than store bought. I spread it into my baked Ziti last Sunday and on the Date Nut Bread I made last week.

Since the chef needed a break, we ordered Flannigan’s take-out on Tuesday. The week before it was buy one, get one free rack of ribs, but this Tuesday it was buy one, get one free chicken wings. Zeke picked them up curbside, but being pandemic paranoid (aren’t we all?) didn’t check it. They messed up the order- fries instead of dirty rice and no coleslaw. Verdict: the ribs were good but the wings smallish and kind of dried out. I won’t be racing back to Flannigan’s for take-out.

Thursday the mystery meal was Chicken Quesadillas made by Emma and Lauren. They were served with yellow rice and refried beans; it was nice to not have to cook! For Fishy Friday I marinated shrimp in a delicious cilantro lime dressing, that also served as the dressing for my romaine, grilled corn and cherry tomato salad. The recipe came for the Serve it Up! cookbook I helped work on as an Autism fundraiser for the tennis community. Zeke grilled the shrimp and some cherry tomatoes on a skewer, as we sat outside, drank wine and listened to Bob Marley tunes. It almost seemed normal!

I had a Virtual Happy Hour with my Corona Virus Go Away text group on Friday at 5:30 pm on Zoom. It was great to see and hear everyone, although we did have some technical difficulties. Two of our six participants were away from Miami, so we got a peek into the landscape where they’re bunkered down for the pandemic. We cheered with our individual drinks and talked about how it’s been going. When the talk turned to toilet paper- favorite kinds, where to get it, how much we had- someone noted “This is a sad happy hour.” Sort of a contradiction, but a sad Happy Hour is better than no Happy Hour at all.

The winner of best dinner this week goes to the grilled TriTip steak we ate Saturday night. If you’ve never tried TriTip, it’s an economical and delicious cut, kind of like a brisket (according to Zeke), so it tends to be a little chewy but has a lot of flavor. We rubbed it with Santa Maria Seasoning, grilled it, let it rest and served it with mushrooms sautéed in red wine, boiled potatoes with dill, truffled green beans and grilled Italian rustic bread. It was so tasty and even better the next day, on a TriTip sandwich.

Now that we finished Tiger King, we’re on to McMillions (about the McDonald’s Monopoly scandal). We watched Screwball (funny!), so I guess we’re on a bit of a documentary kick. We also watched The Talented Mr. Ripley, one of my favorite creepy movies, last night. If I was home alone (a girl can dream!) I would be watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Roger musicals (Swing Time), romantic comedies like The Philadelphia Story, It Happened One Night and The Thin Man series. These movies were made during the depression, when people needed an escape from reality and I can’t think of a time I’ve ever needed an escape from reality more than now.

I started the new book for my book club, Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton. I’ve only just begun it, but like it. It’s a food memoir. Zeke just finished The Boys on the Boat and gave it a thumbs up. My Book Club meeting was supposed to be at my house this month. Obviously, that’s not happening now. I suggested a Zoom meeting, but didn’t get a lot of positive feedback, so we may just postpone it until we can actually get together in person. We will have all forgotten the book by then.

The 1500 piece puzzle’s done and we picked up more from a friend’s mother. Emma and Lauren have been attending classes online, so they stay busy during the day. I read an article about people going back to hobbies they loved as a child or adult, but had neglected. I bought a calligraphy tablet awhile ago I’ve finally gotten around to practicing on. It’s relaxing. I’m ordering photos I’ve taken to make into photo cards (another hobby of mine). I thought I could send them to people who need cheering up.

Zeke and I have been getting along well. I think it helps he goes to work in the morning- makes it all seem more normal. But sometimes, when he’s crunching on something while he eats, it really gets on my nerves. I just have to walk out of the room and breathe. He comes home for lunch, which he used to before, but now he’s home all day after that. I would normally have those hours between 1 and 6 to do what I wanted. Now, it’s different. We’re adjusting.

I got to see my grandson Wyatt a couple times this week. He was sitting in his Dad’s pickup truck in the driveway as we spoke from six feet away.

“When are we going to go to Disney World?” he asked. We were supposed to go two weeks ago.

“I’m not sure,” I said.

“Maybe when the virus goes away?” he asked.

“Yes, we will go when the virus goes away,” I said.

“When will that be?” he asked.

“Well, that’s the million dollar question baby,” I said. “Nobody knows.”

This week was Palm Sunday and I noticed a lot of people with palms on their doors. Has this pandemic ushered in a wave of faith? Maybe- kind of like finding religion in a foxhole. On the plus side, someone dropped off a container of purple flowers by my front door. I still don’t know who it was, but it was appreciated and I was thrilled to spot my first mango of the season on my tree. I can’t wait to taste it!

Easter is next Sunday. I asked A.J. if I could do an Easter egg hunt in the backyard and watch Wyatt through the sliding glass doors. She agreed.

“That’s so sad,” said Lauren.

It is sad, but right now, it’s better than nothing.

I haven’t decorated for Easter, really don’t feel in the mood for celebrating anything, especially since Wyatt won’t be here. But I will dye some eggs (blue for Wyatt, pink and purple for his Mom) and for the rest of the family with our names on them. I will hide them around the backyard, within sight of my deck upstairs. I will sit on the deck, watch Wyatt find them, squealing with delight and that will have to be enough for this year.

“Don’t worry about a thing, ‘Cause every little thing gonna be alright.”

Bob Marley