FRIDAY FOURTEEN ISSUE 29

March 27, 2020
This week: A magic cake made with no butter, eggs or milk, stories of people still swiping on dating apps, good questions to ask yourself when everything feels awful, tips on how to stay sane in isolation from a man who spent a year in space, the first lines of classic novels rewritten for social distancing, and more.

An important PSA from the Australian government

This 20-second take-down of ScoMo doing a press conference is absolute perfection

This week we’ve been raiding our pantry and cooking… one pot cacio e pepe, spicy roasted chickpeas, Rachel Roddy’s rice and peas, one pot penne with tuna, olives and capers, Smitten Kitchen’s vegetable lasagne, laksa (you’ll have to do a lot of scrolling but it’s worth it) and this cake that doesn’t need milk, eggs or butter (aka magic).

Websites we’ve been turning to this week for fast weeknight recipes include the BBC’s huge archive of super easy recipes, the incredible Cooking on a Bootstrap site from Guardian food writer Jack Monroe (the bread category is an honest-to-god revelation) and Bon Appetit’s collection of rent-week recipes.

How some companies have been moving to offices in undisclosed locations to stay safe

Staying home is a privilege (“For me, the idea that my role in this situation largely consists of staying home as much as possible seems on its face to be egregiously fortunate. I think of the doctors and nurses and grocery store workers and delivery people and firefighters and everyone who has no choice but to put on their uniforms and get to work in this, and I’m almost embarrassed by my good fortune.”)

Love these stories of people still swiping on dating apps (“Can’t spell quarantine without u,r,a,q,t, how’s it going?”)

When everything feels awful, here’s some excellent questions to ask yourself before pulling the doona over your head (“Are you hydrated? Have you moved your body to music in the past day? If daytime: are you dressed?”)

If you’re having trouble finding specific ingredients to cook with, this list of interchangeable ingredients is a game-changer

Tips on how to stay sane during self-isolation from a man who spent a year in space (“When you are living and working in the same place for days on end, work can have a way of taking over everything if you let it. Living in space, I deliberately paced myself because I knew I was in it for the long haul — just like we all are today.”)

How the pandemic is affecting women going through fertility treatments

Vanessa’s been experimenting with different no-knead bread recipes and she reckons this one is the winner

Get your boogie on: Sydney Dance Company is running online dance classes (the jazz class is a real workout, let us tell you)

Tiny love stories

If you’re the lucky owner of a packet of pasta, may we suggest reading this guide to cooking the absolute best pot of noods? It answers some pretty vital questions about the ratio of water used vs quantity of salt

The first lines of 10 classic novels, rewritten for social distancing (“Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself. Then she remembered the florist was closed. And the party was cancelled. Finally, some time to rest and reflect on her marital choices.”)