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Captain’s Log, day 3,540 of sheltering in place in Chicago because of the biblical pandemic caused by COVID-19. My initial feelings of shock and despondency have begun to dissipate. In their place is an odd acceptance of the current situation and the calming affect of carbs because of weekly bread making. I have come to look forward to the daily press briefings by hot and rugged New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. I also watch the daily pressers of our own Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, more to watch if his long mane of hair will explode out of control. He has the most well-tamed mane in America. While most Americans were busy stockpiling toilet paper and Clorox Wipes, he must have been saving jars and jars of Dippity-do hair gel. And if you are too young to remember Dippity-do hair gel, click here and see #14, along with a list of other drug store classics that last forever and will get your through any pandemic.

So what is your daily routine like? Are you waking up at 9am and then rolling over and snoozing until noon? Please say yes and let me live vicariously through you. What are you watching? Please do not say Tiger King. What are you cooking? Please, tell me. Share with me. Love me. Tell me in the comments below.

Here is my routine:

• 6:00am – wake up, brush teeth, wear favorite jeans and tee shirt
• 6:30am – commute from bedroom to home office, turn on CNN, sigh
• 6:55am – dial-in to daily call at work
• 7:00am – 5:30pm – perform my day job all alone, but together with my colleagues using Microsoft Teams, Bloomberg chats and GoTo Meeting while juggling a desktop, laptop, iPad and iPhone to make it all work smoothly like an IT rockstar
• 5:00pm – start feelings of outrage as White House press briefings begin
• 5:10pm – watch Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx re-examine their life and career choices as they listen to incoherent absurdities. I see you Doctors! I feel your pain.
• 5:20pm – watch Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx try to course correct diplomatically. Come on Doctors! You know you want to throw your hands up and storm out! I won’t hold it against you. The fact that you don’t, means you are true patriots and love your fellow man.
• 5:30pm – watch David Muir and ABC’s World New Tonight, think about Peter Jennings and what he would say to us
• 6:00pm – commute to kitchen, cook dinner and clean up while looking out the window longingly
• 8:00pm – watch cute Anderson Cooper and even hotter Chris Cuomo be outraged on CNN, sigh
• 10:00pm – watch local news, weather and Jimmy Kimmel while scrolling through Twitter because, comedy
• 11:00p – watch my girl Juju Chang tell me incredible human interest stories on Nightline, think about Ted Koppel and what he would say
• Repeat

I need some new shows to watch. Currently I am watching Homeland (love Claire Danes), This is Us and Grey’s Anatomy, because I am a creature of habit and annually forgive Shona Rhimes for killing off my favorite characters. I am also watching every single episode of Ina Garten’s cooking show. You know, I love Martha Stewart very much, but Ina just has that little bit of extra edge about her. You never hear Ina tell us to make a cocktail by asking us to “pour 2 shots of vodka in a martini shaker…”, she is always telling us to “pour out 2 cups of vodka and 1/2 cup of Cointreau in a huge pitcher” like the boss that she really is. If you haven’t seen her make her Cosmopolitan recipe, watch here. How easy is that? Indeed Ina, indeed.

So, I don’t know what you are cooking these days, but I have been baking a lot of bread. Today, I discovered this overnight, refrigerator focaccia recipe from Alexandra Stafford’s blog “Alexandra’s Kitchen”. I have never seen an easier, more passive bread recipe in my life. After you mix up the ingredients you let it sit covered in your refrigerator for 12-18 hours. And then, you put in a pan and let it sit there for 4 more hours. And then you bake it. You barely touch the thing and it becomes magic. A crispy, chewy, olive oily, salty, piece of heaven. So here it is:

Shelter in Place Focaccia (adapted from Alexandra’s Kitchen)

• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2 cups (455 g) lukewarm water, about 110 degrees F.
• 4 cups (512 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons (10 g) kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• flaky sea salt, such as Maldon brand

Begin by mixing the yeast, salt, flour and warm water in a bowl and mix together until you have something that looks like a wet, shaggy ball. You know, shaggy, kind of like how our hair looks these days.

Place the dough ball a bowl you have coated with olive oil, cover with a tea towel and put in your refrigerator for 12-18 hours. Yes, you read that right, let sit for 12-18 hours. Perform your daily routine of work, news updates and television show watching.

After the allotted time has elapsed, place a couple tablespoons of olive oil in the pan you plan on baking your focaccia in. I used a 9×13 inch pan. Place your dough from the bowl onto the pan and do not touch it for another 2-4 hours. Wash hand for at least 20 seconds. Dry. Go take a nap.

After 2-4 hours, cover your hands in olive oil and with your fingers, press dimples into the dough to give it that characteristic focaccia look. Top your focaccia with sea salt and rosemary if you like, then bake in 425 degree F oven for 25-30 minutes until it becomes a beautiful golden brown.

Eat and enjoy, alone, but together with me.

Yours in isolation,

Kallie =)