France Lockdown — dix-huit
3 April 2020 — Fill your time with fun stuff (Part 1)
Pace of life is slowing down. People are spending more time at home. With all the time we need to get creative.
I can’t speak for the folks with kids as I’m sure your hands are full. Do give yourself a break as well where possible. If you’re single or living with housemates here are some of my ideas. They may not be so original but do give them a go.
The Return of the Board Games
This is something I’ve not done for a long time. I was lucky to find some stacks of board games belonging to one of my housemates. The first game we played was Monopoly (Malaysian version). One game lasted for around 2 hours and it was good fun. If you can’t get your hands on board games then a deck of playing cards can open to whole world of possibilities as well. Just Google for some ideas.
The new cooking show from your kitchen
If you’ve never ventured into the kitchen before now would be a good time. Skip the frozen dinner and bottled pasta sauces. Cook from scratch, slave away in the kitchen. No one is going to complain. It can be an activity for the whole family as well. Plan a fun menu and let the magic begins. I usually watch lots of YouTube videos and read recipes online before cooking. You’ll be surprised on the dishes you can whip up with pantry essentials.
It's easy once you get started.
This will be one of the skill you’ll appreciate once the lockdown is over. You can read this article on what to buy during the lockdown and get cooking.
Bake it until you make it (no pressure)
In cooking you can eyeball that teaspoon of an ingredient. But in baking this will be a disaster, so don’t try it. This is an area that can be very scary for many people. You got the precise recipe to follow, several methods and technique, setting the oven right. Yes! all this can be very overwhelming. I started baking when I was 13 years old. My lovely mother bought me a hand mixer. That’s how my love for baking started at such a young age.
Start with something simple like a pound cake.
Keep baking and add one or two recipes to your repertoire. My two favourite recipes are Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake and Rich Christmas Fruit Cake. Both recipes came from my dear friends in Singapore — Leslie and Shawn. :-) So reach out to your friends for recipes and help.
Always remember to butter/grease your baking pan and preheat your oven.
See you with Part 2 tomorrow.
Let’s salute our brothers and sisters working on the healthcare frontline everywhere at 8pm from your balcony.
“Dix-huit” is eighteen in French. Dix is 10 and huit is 8.
