God save the bean!

No Longer on the Gassy Periphery, Beans Take Center Stage 🔗 🦠 🍽 🏡 👩‍🍳 👨‍🍳

There is a pot of Christmas lima beans simmering on the stovetop. It isn’t Christmas. I am at my office, which isn’t an office. It is my kitchen. The office is mostly closed. It is one of many. This week has been scary for workers in New York, where the coronavirus pandemic has shut down workplaces, schools, colleges, and many public gatherings. At the stores, there’s been a run on disaster-time sundries. Good luck finding a bottle of Purell — a CVS staffer just laughed when I asked. The doomsdayers among us are sharing their grocery lists: all things canned, tinned, dried, non-perishable, shelf-stable. The panicky are buying toilet paper (why?). The prepared are buying beans.