A small piece of light to help chase away the darkness

On any given Monday, I would be happily clicking on cheerful posts about peppery watercress recipes or the secrets to great kalbi, but not today. Before the coronavirus pandemic hit, I worked in downtown Minneapolis. For the past two months I have been working out of my home which is located 50 miles from the heart of the city, but many of my friends and coworkers live in or near the area devastated by burned businesses and looted stores. Words cannot convey the sense of loss and grief that they and I – and frankly, much of the world – share about the tragic events surrounding the unjust killing of George Floyd.

The cheerful food posts mentioned above were juxtaposed with messages about destruction in the Twin Cities: a photo of the smoldering shell of the Minnehaha post office posted by a friend who had mailed letters and picked up packages at that location for 35 years; a post from another friend about aid organizations that were seeking donations of diapers and paper towels to distribute to residents who have no nearby stores; an email expressing relief that a Molotov cocktail tossed into their business had failed to ignite.

In the midst of this, the mailman arrived and dropped off a package. I grabbed the box from my porch and saw that it was a delivery from Omnivore Books. I opened the box, not expecting to actually begin reading the cookbook, It Starts with Fruit by Jordan Champagne, thinking I would just put it on the shelf for later browsing. Of course, before that happened I had to page through the tome and found myself drawn in despite the day’s distractions.

I allowed myself to become immersed in the book and for a short while, visions of rhubarb preserves and black raspberry jam replaced the grim images swirling through my head. While the cookbook couldn’t solve any of the problems of the world, it did offer a brief respite and reminded me that although things currently seem bleak, there will be joyful moments to come. I counted my blessings – privilege, really – that I had such a reprieve available to me. If the news is overwhelming for you too, I encourage you to allow yourself an intermission with a new (or favorite) cookbook or other distraction that can provide a balm, however brief, for your soul.