A mess of contradictions

The easing of restrictions and greater freedoms are very welcome and it seems somewhat ungracious to be in any way negative, but these days do bring with them a variety of challenges and decisions.

There's the regular testing and planning, considering which social contacts are the 'riskiest' and scheduling them as far as possible from the most vulnerable contacts, and there are a number inherent contradictions and logistical issues. 

I returned to dancing a couple of weeks ago (I do a form of partner dancing called Ceroc, and I highly recommend it).  I was a little unsure of returning it but was so much fun - exercise endorphins, social contact, and something which feels very much like normality. However in Confined Kitchen terms it has bought up a few considerations. My class night is Thursdays, which is also one of my office days (Friday being the other one). This means that I need to be realistic about how much cooking I will be doing when I do the food shop. I don't get home until late after dancing, so I am now preparing lunches for Thursday AND Friday on a Wednesday evening, and factoring what makes the most sense to carry space and weight wise, on which day. This week I prepared simple cheese and pickle sandwiches, and a broccoli and pasta salad. As I have to carry all my work equipment on Thursdays, and walk the 3 miles from the office to Victoria I decided that sandwiches would be easiest on Thursday. I took the somewhat brave (or foolish) decision to leave my laptop at the office on Thursday, given I would be in again Friday, so had more capacity for the heavier pasta salad. 

The pasta salad involves roasting broccoli with olive and sun dried tomoto for 15 minutes, adding pine nuts for a further 10 minutes. Mix with pasta and stir basil, lemon, and olive oil through.

Going out straight from work on a Thursday also means that I have to remember to actually eat lunch - even if I have a webinar in 15 minutes. As mentioned I don't get home from dancing until late, so dinner is usually toast while I attempt to unwind slightly before bed.

While I was busy preparing lunches Wednesday evening I also had to cook dinner. As this was a work from home day and I had more time I made a Sweet Potato Thai curry. Slice the sweet potatoes and place in a deep roasting tin with coconut milk, garlic, chilli, ginger, vegetable stock, and lemongrass. Cook for 45 minutes. Add cooked noodles and leave for 5 minutes to heat through. I didn't have quite enough sweet potato, so supplemented with some baby potatoes which worked. This is a tasty dish, but as with anything involving noodles it is tricky to serve and eat without making a mess!

Saturday I went dancing again. This was my first freestyle since dancing at the O2 in December 2019. I had dinner earlier than I usually would. This was Aubergine, Tomato and harissa with flaked almonds and served with cous cous. Slice the aubergine and rub with harissa and olive oil. I've found that brushing with a pastry brush is easier and less messy than rubbing. Half the tomatoes and place in the tin with the aubergines and cook for half an hour before adding the almonds for a further 10 minutes. 

So the title....I am a mess of internal contradictions. While dancing is fine and isn't stressing me out too much despite all the risk factors (indoors, maskless, multiple dance partners) I still get stressed about the prospect of someone sitting next to me on public transport, even with masks factored in. I think this is largely about wanting to make my own decisions about which risks to take and be able to factor them into my planning. 

The final challenge is a regular late summer one, but is compounded this year by the pandemic. The sense of wanting to do all the the things, and the longer days which are quickly slipping through my fingers, while trying not to exhaust myself and crash.

Whatever these times are they certainly aren't simple!