April on Planet Byn {2020}

Easter Treats

Well, we did it. A full month in quarantine. Time has no meaning anymore, so it’s hard to say whether it went by fast or slow, it just kind of went. Here’s a recap of what I was up to at home:

The best Easter Bunny (my friend Sarah) dropped off some treats for me: a lovely bottle of wine she had shipped back from South Africa (where she was travelling before having to come home) and a Kinder egg. Loved it!
I wanted to continue my YEASTER tradition of working on a baking project with yeast over Easter weekend, but after a couple of years of amazing babkas, my choice this year was a bust. I tried to make Chocolate Hot Cross Buns, and the flavour was just off and they weren’t cute at all.
Alright, now let’s take a look at what I was cooking this month, broken down into three categories:
Stuff I made from the archives: Falafel + Tahini Garlic Sauce, My Favourite Buttermilk Pancakes, Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos (made into a bowl with a package of Cilantro Lime Rice)
Some of my favourite go-to dishes: Crispy Tilapia & Broccoli Crack, Shutterbean Breakfast Sammie (a great way to use up a lot of spinach), Soy-Ginger Egg Scramble with Pickled Cucumbers (sounds weird, but it SO good), Essential Stove-Top Mac & Cheese, Tahini Sesame Noodles
New things that I tried and liked: Cacio e Pepe Risotto
I feel a bit weird about ordering take-out, even though there’s contactless delivery for most things now, so I cooked everything at home this month (although there were a few frozen pizzas in the mix). I’ll aim to get over that for next month and treat myself to something good.

Other non-foodie things I was obsessed with this month:

Two shows are giving me absolute joy during quarantine. My #1 fave show is back for Season 4: INSECURE! The best part is that Danielle is watching it too, so I finally have someone to talk to about it. The other one is The Last Dance, the Michael Jordan documentary about the Bulls ’97/’98 season (but so much more). I am OBSESSED with it, it’s incredible. I started paying attention to the NBA in 1995 when the Raptors came to Toronto, so this is just pure nostalgia for me. I don’t want it to end.
Other stuff I watched this month: still working on Parenthood, Season 5 of Better Call Saul, Too Hot to Handle, Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart.
I started doing live Zumba classes on Zoom a few times a week, which is saving both my physical and mental health right now. Who knew Zumba was still a thing? It totally is, and it’s so fun. Thank you Matt!
My reading has really come to a crashing halt in quarantine (I normally read on my commute to work), but I read Miss You this month, and started All This Could Be Yours (both just okay). A bunch of my favourite authors (Jennifer Weiner, Curtis Sittenfeld, J. Courtney Sullivan, Kevin Kwan) all have books coming out over the next few months, so I’m excited to order those and have some fantastic summer reads.

Flashback!