Hopefully, by the time you read this, I will have an appointment for my first (and maybe my second) COVID-19 vaccine, although that may not be the case. My last missive from the Vaccine Administration Management System says, “Thank you for registering…. If you have not gotten that notice …. “ How in heaven’s sake would someone know that they had not gotten that note if they haven’t gotten it? In any case, everyone I know has gotten an appointment and has had their first inoculation, but not me.

I am probably fine, but I would like the vaccine. I get tested every 7-10 days, and I have been pretty isolated. I am reading two to three books a week and watch too much television (even the documentary about Tiger Woods!), and cook, cook and cook. I have been eating healthy, even though I haven’t lost much weight. I miss terribly going out to restaurants and have not gotten much take-out, either. I give myself props for that because I do know that good restaurants (and I know we have lots of good restaurants) use good ingredients, including butter, cream and sugar. I use way less of those ingredients.

My daughter Darcy cooks a lot, and we talk every day about what we ate for our meals. I like it when I have already eaten so that her dinners don’t make me hungrier. This recipe came from a friend of her, who had found it in the January/February issue of Relish. Darcy, as always, changes ingredients and amounts, too. I do not until I have made it more than once. Overall, the recipe is good, but it needed a bit of sugar, so the one you see has a tablespoon or so of sugar. I did add a bit more broccoli than it called for. Each morning I eat one, and it holds me until noon or 1 p.m.

Savory Muffins

Slightly adapted from Relish magazine

Makes 12 muffins

1 egg

1 cup milk (2 percent is fine)

¼ cup canola (or any vegetable) oil

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 to 2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon dried mustard

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup frozen or fresh broccoli florets, cooked in boiling water for three minutes, drained and chopped

2 scallions, chopped

Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin with vegetable oil spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix together egg, milk and canola oil. In a separate large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and mustard. Add the egg mixture and fold into the dried ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, mix in the cheese and broccoli.

Using a large tablespoon, fill each muffin cup with the batter; slightly flatten each muffin top. Bake about 18 to 22 minutes, until golden and toothpick comes out clean.

On the Side

Why would I have fruit flies in my kitchen when it is January and there are no overripe fruits or vegetables here?

One of my friends on Facebook (a food public relations friend) said she said she had them, too. She suggested putting a wine cork in with the fruit bowl. It turned out that I had a fairly old bottle of red in the refrigerator, so I poured out the wine and put the cork into the fruit bowl. In less than a day, there were no more fruit flies. But during the pandemic, don't pour out good wine; drink it first.

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