Online Friends Can Be Real Friends

A zoom class with friends across the globe.

Goodness knows when the internet was unleashed it was a bit like Pandora's box. Yes, it can be a dark and murky and dangerous space. But there is also much good to be found there. I have learned how to do many things, like programming the garage door opener button in my car, by watching YouTube videos. There are plenty of recipes and music for me. But the single best thing the internet has given me are the friends I've made. Friends from so many places I have never been. Let me tell you about a few. 

The first "online person" I got to know was Dr. Jim who has a ukulele site. When I was learning to play, I emailed him to ask a question about a song on his site. Little did I know then that he was a real physician who did this as a hobby and would answer my questions during his lunch time between seeing patients. He called me once because he said it would be easier to answer my question that way instead of email. When I answered his call, he paused for half a second and then sounded so surprised (he lives in New England)..."You sound southern!" Well, yes. Yes, I do.

When my ukulele skills were better, I started a ukulele band and wrote a blog about each performance. It was an easy way to keep our performance schedule public. Another ukulele player was starting SMUG (Saturday Morning Ukulele Group) a similar band and I became the one to answer his questions. Then after many, many email exchanges, daughter Jessica and I planned a vacation to Prince Edward Island, Canada where David lived. We got to meet him in person and had the loveliest dinner at his home with David and his wife. And play with his ukulele band.

Knitting Pipeline retreat in Georgia

The knitting world has a strong online presence. Like all of these people I've become friend with, it starts with an exchange of information. I "met" Mary on Ravelry, a knitting website. There were many friendly exchanges with knitters but for reasons we don't understand, Mary and I "connected." When I first learned that Mommy and J-Daddy were expecting a baby I was told "Don't tell anyone yet!" Well, to keep from exploding from excitement, I shared my news with Mary! She lives in New York and knew no one close to where I live. Thank goodness. Mary and I finally met years later at a knitting retreat in Maine.

Knitters in Ireland

Another knitter I met on Ravelry was Missy who talked me into coming to a knitting retreat with a bunch of people I didn't know and hosted by a podcaster I had never listened to. I met so many people there and we have stayed in touch for years now. I traveled to Ireland with some of those folks a few years ago. And some of them have visited with me here at the farm. And that first retreat lead to other retreats in other states. And more new friends.

And in the last few years (during the pandemic) I found online piano friends. This group, Piano With Jonny (PWJ) is the most global of all. I have not met any of these folks in person—yet— but people do get to meet in person while traveling. Like traveling from the Netherlands to Japan. We got to see videos of these pianists playing together. It's such a fun way for those of us who stay close to home to be part of the bigger world. Yesterday I was in a zoom group with a handful of people from Iran, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and several states in this country scattered from one coast to the other. 

(If you are interested in learning piano or dusting off rusty skills, it's a great platform. There are many free lessons on YouTube but to join and have full access there is a modest fee. Worth every penny!)

This all gets me back to the Christmas cookies I wrote about last time and my piano friend Joyce. (See the previous post.) She said she was happy to share her recipes. I'll share one today. More coming later.

I got these recipes in the mail—the actual mail—just before Christmas, too late to share for your holiday baking. Both cookies are equally delicious.  But the raspberry cookies especially would be a great Valentine treat.

RASPBERRY BARS

  For 1/2 sheet pan, yield up to 96 cookies (Joyce cut these into tiny bars)

3 cups all-purpose flour

2-1/2 cups quick or old fashioned oats (if old fashioned, pulse in processor about 10 times)

1 cup chopped nuts, pecans, almonds or walnuts (more fine than coarse)

2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

3 sticks butter, at room temp

1 (18-oz) jar seedless raspberry jam (not jelly)

Whisk all dry ingredients together, set aside.

Stir butter in bowl of KitchenAid mixer, using paddle attachment.

Add dry ingredients all at once, mix on low speed until texture of crumbs or pebbly sand.

(Do not mix into a cohesive mass—it needs to be loose.)

Preheat oven to 350º. Line a 1/2 sheet pan (18x13-inches) with parchment, waxed paper or foil. Spread 2/3 to 3/4 of crumb mixture into pan and pat down. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Remove from oven.

Spread jam over top, spreading to 1/4 inch from pan borders. Sprinkle remaining crumbs over top. Return to oven and bake 30 minutes more.

Cool completely, then loosen edges and turn out entire sheet onto a cutting surface. Cut into bars or triangles. DO NOT CUT BARS IN THE PAN! It mars the pan surface.

Chicken Salad, No Mayo

This is the last recipe from our knitters day at the lake. I didn't plan to be so long sharing, but other fun things popped up along the way. Better late than never.

I've enjoyed a few lovely "thank you" emails from the knitters who came to lunch at the lake. They did most of the work since everyone brought something to add to the table. It was fun for me to get the tables ready. We are lucky that the extra serving tables and beverage containers are stored just steps away from the porch. That makes it easy when I'm not having to haul them up from the basement or in from the barn. 

Because this was a ladies lunch, I bought flowers at the grocery store and cut the stems to put into some Mason jar cups that we had at the lake. That's a fancy as I got. But the flowers paired with bright napkins made a pretty table. 

Yes, we really did knit. It's fun to have a gathering of knitters because there is always a knitter with a problem. And there is always another knitter with a solution. That's how we've all learned to be better knitters.

I promised to share the recipes from our day. Here is another new one. (New to me, at least.) I made my usual chicken salad that we love, and then remembered that one knitter has a serious allergy to eggs—which means no mayonnaise for her. So I found a simple mayo-free recipe and whipped up a second batch of chicken salad so that she could have some. And everyone loved this one, too.

Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

This one was different from my standard but just as delicious! And I don't say that lightly. We Southerners are serious about our chicken salad. It didn't have the yogurt taste that I thought it might. I think the honey and the sweetness of the grapes balanced the tartness of the yogurt. And the almonds, celery and grapes gsve a nice mix of textures. I'll be making this one again for sure.

GREEK YOGURT CHICKEN SALAD

3 cups diced cooked chicken breast (about 3 medium boneless, skinless breasts)

1-1/2 cups red seedless grapes, halved

3 medium celery stalks, diced

3 or 4 green onions, thinly sliced 

1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted

1 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons fat-free milk

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon Kosher salt*

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Put chicken, grapes, celery, green onions, and almonds in a large bowl. 

In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, milk, honey, salt and pepper. Taste and add more salt or pepper if needed. Pour dressing over chicken and toss to coat. Refrigerate from 2 hours to overnight to let flavors blend.

Makes about 5-1/2 cups

I made this because it was egg free. But as I was mixing it, I realized that most of the ingredients are zero points on the new Weight Watchers plan. I plugged everything in to the recipe creator on Weight Watchers and if you use this recipe to serve five or six people, each serving has 2 Smart Points. For 8 servings from this recipe,  it's 1 Smart Point. That's kind of amazing.

Shortcut: I had a bag of toasted almond salad topping in my pantry. Just thinly sliced toasted almonds. No seasoning beyond salt. I used that instead of toasting slivered almonds. It was a good substitute. 

*If you use regular table salt, use less and then taste and adjust. Kosher salt measures differently than table salt (which fills a spoon more completely.) It's the shape of the salt grains that make the difference.