It was a sad week for Minneapolis and the rest of the world. On June 7, as much of America knows, the week ended with a peaceful march. Mine ended in Groton, Connecticut, as around 1,000 Fitch High School student-led citizens walked from one of our parks to the City of Groton Municipal Building. We Board of Education members met at the former Fitch Middle School and gave bottles of water to marchers.

And, of course, there is the pandemic. Here it began on March 13, the day our school (and most others) decided that our students would not be coming back to their teachers and their classrooms. Except for two doctors’ appointments, I’ve had no one in my home, hadn’t shared a meal with friends or family until the end of last month, hadn’t hugged anyone or shook anyone’s hand. My heart is sad for those who have lost friends and family.

Last week I made gallons of pasta sauce for my neighbors and to take to East Bloomfield, N.Y., south of Rochester. My niece and her daughter will fly there to pick up my sister-in-law and drive them all to their home in New Mexico. It may be the last time I see my husband’s sister, whose dementia has progressed to the point where she can no longer live in her mid-1800s house, a place where I met my soon-to-be husband and, a year later, she began as the sister I had never had before.

Recently I thought about making pad Thai. My friend Chris Prosperi, whose parents are Austrian and French, learned to make pad Thai from a Thai friend years before he opened his incredible restaurant, Metro Bis, in Simsbury. He has as much Asian blood as I do, but this is just a piece of the circle that becomes our family, too.

Pad Thai Sauce

Makes 1 gallon

1 bottle (32 Ounces) Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce

2½ cups sugar

3 cups water

½ cup fish sauce

3 cups rice vinegar

In a sauce pot on medium high heat, combine all ingredients. Simmer for 2 minutes until all sugar is dissolved. Cool and set aside. The sauce may be used as a dipping sauce for spring rolls, marinade for chicken, or dressing for salad greens when mixed with oil. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for two months.

Pad Thai Noodles

Serves 2

1 package medium rice noodles

1 to 3 tablespoon vegetable oil

½ pound chicken, thinly sliced

4 eggs

¾ cup pad Thai sauce or more if you like

1 12-ounce package mung bean sprouts (but any sprouts will do)

½ cup scallions, chopped

½ cup chopped dry roasted peanuts

1 lime, quartered

In a large mixing bowl, soak the noodles in warm water until pliable, approximately 20 minutes. Drain and set aside. On high heat in a hot wok or large sauté pan heat oil and add chicken. Stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Crack the eggs into the pan and stir fry until the eggs are cooked and scrambled. Add pad Thai sauce and reduce the mixture.

Place a good handful of noodles in the pan (approximately 2 cups or so) and cook for an additional 3 to 4 minutes until the liquid starts to dry. Fold in 1 cup of sprouts and the scallions.

Remove from the heat and serve with sliced lime, chopped peanuts and the remaining bean sprouts. Top with optional chili garlic sauce for more spice. Extra noodles may be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

On the Side

Last week I made a triple-batch of red sauce, with three 28-ounce cans of Muir Glen tomatoes, meatballs, sweet and hot sausage, and pork chops. Most of this will go in a big cooler to East Bloomfield, N.Y.

When I went to the store to get fresh herbs, I found the same lack of herbs I have had since the pandemic hit. Then I remember what I have in my own refrigerator: four-ounce squeeze bottles of organic herbs.

For years I have used squeezed tomato paste when I run out of cans and anchovy paste for Caesar salads. So I used four squirts of basil, and the kitchen smelled like the basil leaves from the garden. Make sure you have some in your fridge until your own are ready to pick.

Gourmet Garden

In the produce aisles of most good supermarkets

Lee White lives in Groton. She can be reached at leeawhite@aol.com.