The Wall Street Journal - 04.04.2020 - 05.04.2020

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. **** Saturday/Sunday, April 4 - 5, 2020 |D1

OFF DUTY

Camera Ready

A big, botanical

backdrop to tape

up next time

you Zoom

D6-D7

Be Prepared

From a flat tire

to a health crisis,

these gear kits

can help

D12

FASHION|FOOD|DESIGN|TRAVEL|GEAR

Shira Gabriel, a social psychologist and associate

professor at SUNY, University at Buffalo. She was

among the panel of scholars and cooks I asked to

consider this question: How do we define comfort

food now?

Dr. Gabriel’s research focuses on social connec-

tion. In one experiment, she had participants eat

chicken noodle soup. Her lab found that familiarity

can play a strong role in evoking comfort and

safety and keeping feelings of loneliness at bay.

Subjects were more likely to feel comforted if they

had eaten chicken noodle soup as a child.

Dr. Gabriel noted that while we’re self-isolating,

social media can provide a safe and healthy way to

maintain connections. She’s not overly concerned

with how much time we’re spending on our

screens so long as it’s in an active, engaged way, as

opposed to passive scrolling. “This is not the time

to feel guilty about these behaviors,” said Dr. Ga-

briel. “This is the time to take care of yourself.”

Her work also suggests that cooking can be a

cathartic activity. “If baking is something that

you’ve done and associate with caring for other

Please turn to page D8

I

S IT APPROPRIATEto feel any kind of good

right now? In isolation, missing the rou-

tines that ordinarily give shape to our days,

it’s easy to question everything. I know

this: We have to eat. And the act of cooking

has brought me as close to a feeling of normalcy as

I’ve gotten in the past few weeks.

If ever there were a moment for comfort foods,

this is it. “They make us feel safe because they re-

mind us of a time when we felt taken care of,” said

BYELEANOREPARK

GRAYDON HERRIOTT FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

JUST RIGHTThis soothing porridge includes a rejuvenating ginger-scallion sauce. But feelfree to add eggs, herbs, radishes or anything else that makes you feelhealthy and happy.

Sequestered in our kitchens, we’re turning to food

for solace as well as survival. Here, pros weigh in on recipes

to put us at ease, why cooking is uplifting and how

a simple takeout order can foster a feeling of community

Comfort

Food Now

BAD FADS

Interior-design pros reveal the

trends they most regretD11

GREAT ESCAPES

Introducing our new ‘Comfort Reads’

series. Up first: E.M. Forster’s classicD4

Inside

GAIN THE UPPER HAND

If ardent scrubbing has parched your

skin, try these lush remediesD2

THE ROADS WE NO LONGER TAKE

Veteran travel writer Paul Theroux on

suppressed wanderlustD5

JOAN BERKOWITZ,a real estate portfolio

manager in Manhattan, said she woke up

one recent morning, rubbed her eyes and

realized the ironing board stored next to

her bed could be reborn as an adjustable-

height desk. “It’s wobbly, but it works per-

fectly,” she said.

For those of us like Ms. Berkowitz, with-

out an office in the house, the new work-

from-home reality can necessitate a jury-

rigged desk. Lately, my Instagram feed has

been loaded with pictures of ersatz work-

spaces: a cat’s scratching post as a stand-

ing desk, a breakfast tray as an in-bed lap-

top stand, a kitchen table divided into two

cubicles by a hedge of potted plants.

As we settle into a stretch of WFH with

no end in sight, our collective urge to set up

a more solid, less impromptu workstation

has grown. “We’ve definitely seen an uptick

in office furniture sales over the last few

weeks, with the category more than dou-

bling compared with similar time frames for

us,” said Ryan Turf, president of home-fur-

Please turn to page D10

BYLEXIMAINLAND

DIMS
VANITY, THY NAME IS DUTYWhen
normalcy returns, this makeup-station-cum-
desk can be reclaimed for primping.

These quick-fix workstations can stylishly evolve to serve other

purposes in the post-quarantine future

Need a Double-Duty Desk?