I’ve just seen the most hilarious little video on the internet, a tearful 'glamour girl’ in despair is talking straight to camera. She’s suddenly realised that:
"Men are no longer going to be interested in the women with the fake nails because we don’t have them anymore, the eye lash extensions - we can’t get them, I’m gonna run out of make-up soon…Men are going to want a woman who can catch a chicken and take the feathers off of it, or gut a fish or churn some butter or bake a loaf of bread…Can’t do any of it....
2020 is your year Farm Girls, 2020 is for you – I don’t know what I’m going to do…"
I’m not sure if it’s ‘for real’ or a clever ‘send-up’ – it certainly has a ring of truth to it.
Hasn’t this Covid-19 pandemic been quite the leveller, doesn’t matter how rich you are or how many houses you own in the Caribbean, your private jet is grounded, your house maid and cook can’t come to work. You’ve got to figure out how to work the Hoover yourself and somehow produce 21 meals a week, a nightmare for many...
Academic skills alone aren’t much use in this situation and have left many of us woefully ill equipped to cope during this unexpected crisis which let’s face it was bound to come sooner or later - unfortunately this is unlikely to be a once off...
So let’s not waste the lessons we’ve learned from this crisis, vitally important to look at how we educate our young people. Hopefully we’ll see practical cooking embedded in the national curriculum, when we reach the ‘new’ normal.
Meanwhile, it’s a question of survival. The penny has certainly dropped with many people that nourishing ourselves and our families must be a priority to boost our immune system and help to keep us strong and healthy. How fortunate that this hugely challenging pandemic is happening in Spring when some at least can get out into the fresh air, sunlight and start to sow seeds to grow some of our own organic food.
A few tips…
Start the day with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice (preferably organic, OK it’s more expensive but so are meds), it only takes a minute to make and is loaded with Vitamin C.
Porridge is unquestionably the best breakfast cereal, no need to buy any of those sugary cereals, here are a couple of simple recipes for you to make big jars of your own breakfast cereal. Everyone seems to go on about how breakfast is the most important meal of the day but apparently that ‘fact’ was dreamed up by Kellogg’s when they first launched cornflakes in 1906.
Many of us only feel like a cup of tea or coffee in the morning, particularly if one eats supper late in the evening.
Unless we are working physically, we seem to need far less food when we are on ‘lockdown’. If at all possible, it’s good to eat early so one can get a little walk in before bed and hopefully sleep well. Comforting, one-pot dishes served family-style are easy to make and save on the washing up – often a contentious issue….Good to eliminate as many potential squabble points as possible.
Finally, a couple of little thoughts that have a feel-good factor during Covid-19.
Get out of the house for a 30-minute walk, it’s a mood changer.
Dress your bed.
Put flowers on your kitchen table and beside your bed.
Count your blessings…
Light a candle…
It’s not the same lockdown for everyone…!
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| Here's to the Farm Girls! |
