Items

• 
  2020-06-01

  Tastes like Home

  The pandemic changed so many things about everyday life, and even our food wasn't spared. Not only did the effects of COVID-19 attack our sense of taste, but it even affected those who hadn't contracted it. Going out to restaurants was completely out of the question, and to avoid spending too much money on take-out, my family continued to brave the grocery stores. There was a silver lining, though, because it started to change the way we felt about meals. I spent more time cooking with them back home in Vienna, VA, and now that I live here in Tempe I find a lot of those habits have stuck with me. I'm especially glad that I started baking more before I left home. Baking was a way to get the whole family together and give each of us something to look forward to that day, in a time when days kind of blended together and none of us knew what to expect. What's more, we'd all heard stories about how early COVID symptoms included loss of smell and taste, so I think there was a small part of me that was reassured by actually being able to taste what we'd all worked on together. I included a brownie recipe that I use a lot with this post, so you can try it if you like and get a taste for how it still offers me some comfort.
• 
  2020-04-20

  Parc de la Distance

  Tom Ravenscroft for Dezeen: "Austria-based studio Precht has designed a maze-like park divided by high hedges that would allow people to be outdoors while maintaining social distance during the coronavirus pandemic. The park would have numerous routes divided by 90-centimetre-wide hedges to maintain a safe physical distance between its visitors. Arranging the paths in a finger print-shaped swirl pattern creates many routes that can be used simultaneously. Each of the red-granite gravel paths through the park would be around 600 metres long and circulate visitors from the edge of the park to the centre, where fountains would be located, and back round. Gates on the entrances and exits to each of the routes, which would take around 20 minutes to walk, would indicate if a route is occupied. The park is proposed for a vacant plot in Vienna, where the famous Schönbrunn and Belvedere parks are currently closed."