Ginger Chocolate Understated Feel-Good
Stewart and I were feeling low today, Providence’s been hollowed out by this snow storm; we walked a friend to the train station and walked back to the apartment and it wore us out, the sidewalks are unplowed and my socks got wet from the holes in my boot heels. I napped and we baked bread and made plantains and finally resolved to bike, despite the slush, to the supermarket for butter and eggs and ginger (Stewart’s idea) to make cookies. Cookies would cheer us up. But my back tire was flat and it was too late to walk and La Perla market down the street only had margarine and eggs in Styrofoam cartons. Defeated, we returned home, but seeing our upstairs neighbor’s light on, we decided to knock on her door to beg her help. She gave us a stick of butter and an egg and a wizened ginger nubbin. But first, she invited us in and listened to our troubles. It is getting near the end of the lease and Stewart especially is sad to say goodbye to this place. It has been a good clubhouse, at its best when it is full of people and we are baking. I need to make a change too but I am not sure I have the wherewithal. It helped to be above ground for an hour in a well-lighted place. We returned to the basement, Stewart diced the ginger and we threw it into a half batch with oats and semisweet chocolate chips (Stewart’s idea). They puffed up, maybe because I worked the dough so much, to “release” the flavor of the ginger (a trick I boosted from the cornmeal lime recipe). There wasn’t much ginger so the flavor was subtle and Stewart remarked that the smooth look of the cookies did not give away that there were unusual flavors inside. We are tired now, Stewart is washing the dishes, I may watch a “indie drama” that Netflix describes as “romantic, understated, feel-good,” that’s what I need.
UPDATE: The Exploding Girl is a horrible movie (no offense Zoe). We left a bag of cookies outside our neighbor’s door.
