by Joyce Yao
Like our modern emails, I’ll start this by saying: I hope everyone and their loved ones are staying well and cared for, wherever y’all are. I myself have returned to what I refer to as “Home-Home”—to a full house, filled with my parents, older sister, her boyfriend, and an endless stream of food inspiration. Bon Appetit and TikTok trends have brought into our home a host of drinks (dalgona coffee), baked goods (cast iron skillet pizza and dutch baby pancake), and other new delicacies. To some degree, it’s easier to focus on how this pandemic crisis is a prime time for family and experimentation with the excess of home-boundness. But I’m also mindful of how this time exists in the context of a pandemic that is emphasizing the greatest inequalities in our society, a reality that we are being constantly inundated with on the news. That’s why I always feel waves of hope when I check in with my neighbors and friends, along with organizations like Jackson Center and CEF and IFC, who have shared stories of the resilience, creativity, and tenderness that help people to face the many trials that the pandemic has brought to our communities.
I feel incredibly blessed to have my list of complaints be entirely minor and harmless. I won’t get into them here— I will say that spending senior year in my childhood bedroom has certainly left me with a few grievances. But I will say that I deeply miss being a neighbor, especially a neighbor in the Northside Neighborhood, because it is a lifestyle that is centered on thoughtfulness, boundless expressions of care, and a sense of togetherness with neighbors you know and neighbors you don’t know but feel close to anyway. Some of our most cherished ways of expressing care have been temporarily put on hold, which is why it’s been so encouraging to hear from my neighbors about the light that they’ve conjured in these dark times, finding ways to overcome the barriers.
I called up Ms. Odessa, who I made magically comforting chicken and dumplings with last semester. [Read about Joyce’s culinary adventures in the neighborhoods in previous blog posts right here on the MCJC Freedom’s Journal blog!] She first verified that she was well, and then shared health updates only as they pertained to cooking. She said that she just returned from the hospital yesterday after a severe asthma attack 5 days ago due to terrible pollen allergies. Therefore, she was sad to report that she wasn’t cooking too much cooking lately, but she did try a burrito bowl at the hospital and was eager to bring her inspiration from that experience to her kitchen.
Like usual, she shared wisdom through the context of food. She said in these trying times, she’s slowing down, “pilling [cooking] a little bit [of food] at a time as I can, not like my usual. I’m taking things day by day and not overdoing it or else it’ll exhaust me.” This is a good reminder for all of us to slow down and not force ourselves into the expectation that we should be living a life that is to the standards of a “normal,” pre-Coronavirus time. Ms. Odessa knows the importance of respecting her limits that have been set by the boundaries of a pandemic, and does what she can which is more than good enough.
I was the latest in a long list of people checking in on her. She had family members, friends, and the Jackson Center ringing her up to see how she was doing on a daily rotation. “I feel very cared for,” she said. She told me about the time that the Jackson Center staff serenaded her from her car and the weekly Friday plate delivery. “It’s a taste that I’m not used to but it’s something I’m able to eat.” Her friends have also been returning her usual love language: dropping off home-cooked food. She’s been blessed with soups, mostly been eating light soft foods because the heavy stuff doesn’t feel very good right now. She laughed, given that the heavy food is the good food. “It’s hard to avoid.”
When I gave her my updates about moving home, I could hear her smile as she said, “So everyone is there together sharing joy, huh?” As the daughter of a farmer, she also gave me advice for my farming apprenticeship that I will be starting in a couple of weeks. “All you have to do is follow the instructions and how to grow ‘em. Make sure they’re taken care of good, and they’ll turn out nice.”
She said she was always thinking of me and had tried to call me earlier in the year but would like me to check back in soon.
I also called Ms. Jane and Mr. Clarence. Ms. Jane was gracious and up-beat, expressing thanks for checking in and sharing that she too has had many people checking in on her. She also shared her love for the Jackson Center and the joy they’ve been bringing to their house and the neighborhood, from the Friday meals to the Wednesday serenades. “It’s so wonderful to have people that care about you that way. We love y’all!” Ms. Jane has been practicing social distancing, only going out when she needs to and inviting me to drive by and call her so she can wave to me from the porch. “But if it’s bad weather, don’t even think about it!” she said with a laugh. “Let’s talk again soon. And thank you SO much again for checking in on me.”
Here’s a recipe I shared with the neighbors.
From Rasa Malaysia
1 teaspoon sugar
½ cup warm water
¼ oz active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoon)
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup plain yogurt
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil
Some oil, for greasing the skillet
3 tablespoons melted butter
Minced garlic (optional)
- In a small bowl, add the sugar, warm water, and yeast together. Stir to combine well. The yeast should be activated when it becomes foamy, about 10 minutes. Transfer the flour to a flat surface and make a well in the middle. Add the yeast mixture, yoghurt, salt and oil, knead the dough until the surface becomes smooth and shiny, about 10 minutes. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rise in a warm place (for example: beside the stovetop or warm oven). The dough should double in size, about 1 hour.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Roll the dough to a 8” circle using a rolling spin.
- Heat up a skillet (cast-iron preferred) over high heat and lightly grease the surface with some oil to avoid the dough from sticking to the skillet. Place the dough on the skillet. When it puffs up and bubbles and burnt spots appear, flip it over and cook the other side. Repeat the same until all dough are done.
- Brush the naan with the melted butter, serve warm.
(from the Rasa Malaysia website– Ms. Odessa didn’t know what naan was so I figured a photo might be a helpful reference)
Note: Joyce will soon be graduating along with the Class of 2020 from UNC-Chapel Hill, and so we want to wish her many, many blessings for the future. She will always be a Northside neighbor (and, hopefully, will continue to contribute pieces to the MCJC blog.)
Leave a Reply