Cooking Remotely

Last night the forecast called for a 60% chance of a light snow/sleet/freezing rain mix starting about 6 pm. By the time Hubby Tony and I turned on the news at 9 the highways were a mess--cars sliding off the road, jackknifed trucks and multiple crashes. Because of the issues several highways were closed.

MODOT (the Missouri Department of Transportation) said this morning's rush hour would be a mess, and advised people to not drive unless they had to. That was fine by me, because I didn't have anywhere to be until after lunch, which is when I would head to the church to make supper.

When I rolled out of bed this morning the only traffic sound I heard was a salt truck driving by. I ate breakfast, leisurely read the newspaper and all of the blogs in my feeder, then checked my email and Facebook before I got up from the table. It was lovely.

Two hours later I was tired of being in the house and looking for something to do. The collector road visible from the condo window looked like it was well-cleared, and the presence of a couple of sets of tire tracks on the subdivision street led me to believe that it was safe to go out. I sent a text to both priests at the church indicating that I was planning on being there unless I heard otherwise, then made a trip to the produce market and grocery store. My drive was non-eventful.

When it was time to leave for the church I looked at my phone and discovered two texts. One was from the associate, who asked me to purchase a couple of things for him at the grocery store. The other one was from the pastor, telling me to hunker down at home, and they would be okay without me. Pastor trumps associate, so all of a sudden my day was free.

Tony and I went to the mall and walked, then I came home and took a nap.

However, there was one tiny problem. One of the things I had planned to do at the church rectory was some pre-cooking for Wednesday's staff lunch. The directions on the boxed bar cookies I was serving for dessert called for baking and completely cooling the cookies before frosting. I wouldn't have enough time to do all of that on Wednesday.

After thinking about the issue for a bit I came up with a solution. With the permission of the business manager I logged in from home home long enough to prepare and bake the cookies. I had to use my own pan, butter, and eggs. On Wednesday I will just have to make sure to bring my pan and replacement ingredients home.

Five years ago today: Isn't It Ironic?