Today we were supposed to leave for a much needed, and long awaited, week-long vacation to Lake Powell with a group of friends. This was to be our first vacation since the Fall of 2019. One of these friends has battled cancer for a long time, and is currently in remission, however his immune system is compromised due to all his cancer treatments. In order to ensure everyone would be safe and well, we all went and got a Covid test last Friday.

Ron and I have both been immunized and also been so very careful, as we are both in the high risk group for Covid as well. And we spend a lot of time with Ron’s 93 year old mother. We basically thought the Covid test for us would be a formality, and we both felt just fine. Saturday morning Ron’s phone started dinging like crazy . . . mine however did not. Needless to say we were both shocked to find out that Ron’s test came back positive. How could that be? Who knows how long he’s had it, or where he contracted it from? And basically it doesn’t really matter. I can’t express how grateful I am that he has so far been symptom free! What a blessing in light of so many others who have not been so lucky.

Because I’m a planner, I had already done all the preparations for Lake Powell, and that included A LOT of food, treats and drinks! So now that we will spend our next ten days in quarantine instead of lounging in the sun at Lake Powell, I’ve been thinking about the silver lining in all this. I know the immunization is controversial to some, and I don’t wish to tell people what to do. But for us, we feel blessed to have already had both of our immunizations, which have kept us safe. My test came back negative, so Ron is now camped out down the basement, and I’m upstairs. I’ve been able to have wonderful food for him to eat, lots of things to drink, and yummy treats I had pre-cooked and frozen for the trip. Thank goodness for paper plates and plastic utensils! I fix his meals, set them on a tray, and he retrieves them from there. Then he just tosses everything in the garbage can outside.

He called and talked to his doctor first thing Monday morning and was told to quarantine for ten days, then go and be re-tested. So until this coming Sunday this is how we are living . . . in the same home, but living separate lives. We text each other, and talk from the stairway. I can’t help but feel blessed that he appears to be asymptomatic, when so many others are facing such different circumstances. Especially because Ron doesn’t have a spleen, which makes it so that his immunity is not as strong as it should be. I feel blessed that he didn’t catch this dreaded disease prior to being immunized. It’s puzzling how it affects people so differently?!!!

One of his favorite things through all this has been the homemade cookies I made last week to take on our trip. I made them early, and froze them in baggies in the freezer. Who knew then, that it would be such a blessing to have everything we would need to get us through this quarantine period.

I wanted to share the yummy cookie recipe that is quick and easy! My daughter Steph shared it with me a couple years ago, and one of the things I love the most about it, is that you can make so many different kinds of cookies by just changing one or two ingredients! I also want to share a couple baking items I’ve discovered that make a big difference in the outcome of my baking. Because we have a few lactose intolerant people in our family I use “Smart Balance – original flavor” buttery spread instead of butter or margarine.

I also use “Silk - Original Flavor Soy Milk” instead of regular milk. These two ingredients are great to bake with, and even the family members who can tolerate milk products prefer them in our favorite family recipes.

This cookie recipe is NOT lactose free because of the pudding mix in it, but it does have less lactose than if I use real butter and milk chocolate chips. The recipe is for basic chocolate chip cookies, but last year I discovered “Jell-o Pumpkin Flavor Pudding Mix”, and these are one of the two flavors I made this time. I also had some “Jell-o Chocolate Flavor Pudding Mix” in our food storage as well as some “Guittard Mint Green Baking Chips” I picked up from “Orson Gygi” in Salt Lake last week.

I decided to try some mint chocolate cookies with these ingredients along with adding a little extra Hershey’s cocoa, and they too are delicious! I do find it interesting how adding the extra cocoa made the cookie thicker and fuller, in comparison to the flatter and softer pumpkin chocolate chips ones. We also prefer “semi-sweet chocolate chips” instead of “milk chocolate chips”, but most of us like dark chocolate.

I mixed them up in my favorite batter bowl from “World Market”, spooned them onto the cookie sheets, and baked them in the oven. I let them cool on cooling racks, then placed them in freezer baggies in the freezer.

What seemed like a simple treat for a fun relaxing vacation, turned out to bring some light and joy into an unexpected turn of events. I don’t believe in coincidence. We didn’t know Ron would be the only one who would test positive, but Heavenly Father knew. And He knew the preparations being made for the trip would actually be preparations for quarantine instead. I hope and pray Ron will recover quickly with no lasting side effects. As we wait for him to have that second test, we will enjoy some yummy cookies, because cookies have the ability to make any bad day brighter. What a blessing it is to live in a time and place where we have the blessings of modern medicine . . . and cookies. Even in the midst of a global pandemic we can find light if we look for it. Stay safe out there!

Love Ya, Les

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Stephanie Tanzie

*Makes two dozen cookies

1 C. butter (I only use Smart Balance original)

¼ C. white sugar (I only use C & H Brand)

¾ C brown sugar (I only use C & H Brand)

1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding (can also use pumpkin pudding or chocolate pudding).

Mix these 4 ingredients well with a mixer, then add:

1 tsp. vanilla (I like the Watkins brand)

2 extra-large eggs

Mix well. Then add:

2 ¼ C. un-sifted flour (I only use Gold Medal)

1 tsp. baking soda

Semi Sweet - Chocolate chips (I only use Hershey’s or Guittard brand)

Spoon onto cookie sheets

Bake 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees

*For chocolate cookies, add ¼ cocoa and substitute chocolate pudding for the vanilla pudding.

Life

Covid and Cookies