Earlier this year I promised the kids that we would have all of their friends over for a donut decorating party. Things got busy and I kept postponing putting together a plan for it. Then we found ourselves quarantined. We have not had donuts for 9+ weeks. What? Maybe it's not that crazy for some people, but under normal circumstances, we eat a lot of donuts so it’s pretty crazy for us. When we go on vacation, we definitely hit up the local donut shop. We have a few around the country that we make sure not to miss when we are in the area. There’s something so comforting about a freshly fried and glazed donut. Or the cinnamon and sugar ones you get at the apple orchard? Those are amazing. After 9 long weeks of donut deprivation, I finally caved and decided to make some for Paul’s birthday. Like most people, deep frying at home is not my favorite pastime. I hate using so much oil in one go and, it just seems sort of unsafe to have a big pot of bubbling oil on the stove.

But once in a while…even I will deep fry. And you know what? In this case, it wasn’t messy or scary at all. It was easy. Probably too easy, because now I’m thinking about fried chicken, fried pickles, and all kinds of other things I want to deep fry. I can tell you right now, it was a LOT easier to make donuts than to make a birthday cake (and I did not endeavor to make both - #sorrynotsorry). And they were really good, despite my inexperience (if I do say so myself). Yay!!!

The birthday boy requested old fashioned donuts with maple glaze. The recipes are here and here. I made chocolate glaze too, because the kids always choose chocolate glazed, but we all liked the maple ones best. And truly, there is nothing like a super fresh donut. It was such a treat and somehow I felt less guilty eating them because they were not just donuts, but also “a project”. I love the feeling of trying something new and having it be a success, or just not a total failure. That works too. The downside of this donut success was that we were the only ones around to enjoy them. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that it made me think about how much I miss gathering with family and friends, cooking for other people.

The smell of the oil brought me straight back to my grandma’s kitchen in Japan. And let me just say, she LOVED feeding others and NEVER shied away from frying. There are so many smells and tastes that bring her back to me. Isn’t it amazing how smells and tastes carry with them such strong memories? How we remember exactly where we were and who we were with when we smell or taste something? There are also times when I taste something and my first thought is that my best friend or my brother or my dad would love this, and I need to remember to make it for them. That has definitely happened a few times since we’ve been quarantined.

So, while the kids are bummed that they didn’t get to have a donut party, they did get donuts. Finally. I wonder if the taste or smell of homemade donuts will always remind them of this crazy year when we weren’t able to go out or even have our family over for dinner like we usually do. What will they remember from this unprecedented time in history? Certainly the youngest two won’t remember a thing and maybe that’s for the best but I know that Emmett will and Isla might. I hope they remember eating donuts, having a lot of extra time with their siblings and parents and enjoying the lack of structure, even as they miss their friends, extended family and normal routines. I hope the smell of bubbling oil takes them back to somewhere they don’t mind going like it does me.