PEACE, JOY AND LOVE AS A CURE FOR A PANDEMIC OF DARKNESS

Pandemics, I have learned, tempt us to be negative, defeatist and resigned.  Despite our best efforts sometimes things happen beyond our control that wipe out years of hard fought success in a fleeting moment.  But Christ calls us to be strong in the storm,  to look to him to calm the seas, to find peace and love in the world and to be a light in the darkness.  So as you gracefully find your way,  as you seek joy in in simplicity,  as you look into the eyes of defeat brought on by a wave of economic calamity, disease and fear of the uncertain,  remember that you are a beacon, you are a light that the darkness cannot defeat.  Use that light to fill the life of others with joy, peace and love. And in that light know that out of the challenges comes great possibility.  Below are a few words that I hope bring light and life to your world: 

Not everything that has happened this year has come up roses, (indeed very little has) nevertheless the flowers have bloomed. Despite all that we have faced and continue to face, our lives also bloom.  God calls us to be a light to this world, a beacon in an otherwise dark place, and now, in the midst of a pandemic, is a good opportunity to be that light to others.  In this time of Advent, we pray that the love, wonder and glory of Christ come into your life and replaces a pandemic of darkness with a curative balm of peace, joy and love.

French Country Cooking

I experimented with French Cooking today, September 9, 2018.  From the book French Country Cooking: Meals and Moments From a Village in the Vineyards by Mimi Thorisson, I cooked the dish Poulet Chasseur —the Hunter’s Chicken.  This is the french version of a Continental dish which has an Italian alternative that involves a tomato sauce and cheese. The French version is distinguished by a large helping of onions, shallots and garlic.  With mushrooms and a bouquet garnit the dish becomes very aromatic with fresh and uncooked tarragon served atop the dish.  The sauce was delicious, though the butter is calorious. But the butter is so tasty and makes the sauce so smooth, it becomes all worth it.  This is a dish for Autumn.  It would go well with green beens and glazed carrots. For dessert, Mimi Thorisson's Every Day Pear Cake with Royal Tokaji would be superb. While white wine is heavily used in the sauce, I believe Pinot Noir from Burgundy would be a perfect pairing for dinner. Though we didn’t have any Pinot on hand, so we simply used the left over Chablis, and that was wonderful.  This is a classic French country dish.  The kind of dish that brings to mind hearth and home and the love of family and friends.  When serving though, I recommend reducing the serving size  because the sauce is so very filling.  Perhaps 4 oz of chicken breast would be ideal with the sauce. The recipe calls for dark meat, which would probably be delicious but paired with this sauce would be too heavy for my tastes.  How to get the taste without the waddle is the key to this dish. My answer is to go light on the sauce and light on the chicken.

The sauce was deliciously aromatic and buttery smooth. The flavors combined well.  The wife and I shared one large chicken breast and both now feel very full. 

What is it that captures the heart of the French and their love of food and wine?  This dish demonstrates layers of flavor,  cognac, wine, chicken broth, butter, olive oil, thyme, bay leaves, tarragon, onions, mushrooms, shallots, garlic and parsley — all brought together as a symphony of flavors.  Cheers to the French!  It is apparent from Thorisson's excellent book that the French love of life is the key to their devotion to flavor. And for that the world’s culinary experience is so much more delightful. 

A link to this recipe is here:https://www.domino.com/content/mimi-thorisson/ 

Christmas by Anglican Poet John Betjeman

Modern Christmas with its merriment, silver bells, decorated trees and ornaments, owes a debt of gratitude to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who popularized the decorated Christmas tree. In 1848 The Illustrated London News published a drawing of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert celebrating Christmas around a decorated Christmas tree. Prior to that time Christmas trees were rare in London and practically unheard of in the United States.  Queen Victoria forever changed all that and today we owe much of our Christmas traditions to the Victorian era in England.  Below is a video of British Poet John Betjeman reading his poem "Christmas." 

The Bells of waiting Advent ring,

The Tortoise stove is lit again

And lamp-oil light across the night

Has caught the streaks of winter rain

In many a stained-glass window sheen

From Crimson Lake to Hooker's Green

The holly in the windy hedge

And round the Manor House the yew

Will soon be stripped to deck the ledge,

The altar, font and arch and pew,

So that the villagers can say

"The Church looks nice" on Christmas Day.

Provincial public houses blaze

And Corporation tramcars clang,

On lighted tenements I gaze

Where paper decorations hang,

And bunting in the red Town Hall

Says "Merry Christmas" to you all.

And London shops on Christmas Eve

Are strung with silver balls and flowers

As hurrying clerks the City leave

To pigeon-haunted classic towers,

And marbled clouds go scudding by

The many-steepled London sky.

And girls in slacks remember Dad,

And oafish louts remember Mum,

And sleepless children's hearts are glad

And Chrismas morning bells say "Come!"  

Even to shining ones who dwell

Safe in the Dorchester Hotel.

And is it true? And is it true,

This most tremendous tale of all

Seen in a stained-glass window's hue

A Baby in an ox's stall?

The Maker of the stars and sea

Become a Child on earth for me?

And is it true? For if it is,

No loving fingers tying strings

Around those tissued fripperies,

The sweet and silly Christmas things,

Bath salts and inexpensive scent

And hideous tie so kindly meant

No love that in a family dwells

No carolling, in frosty air,

Nor all the steeple-shaking bells

Can with this single Truth compare - 

That God was Man in Palestine

And lives to-day in Bread and Wine.               

TAGLIATELLE OF WILD MUSHROOMS

Have you ever had a hobby that you are into but then drift away from due to life's constraints on your time and energy.  Such is the case with me and cooking.  Years ago I decided to really learn how to cook.  You know, reading books about chefs and learning about techniques taught in cooking schools.  I also started collecting high end cooking tools, knives, pots and pans.  Then life got very busy,  a move ensued, a down turn in the energy markets struck and the cooking hobby was put on the back burner (pun intended). 

I find myself though now yearning for a return to my old hobby.  I have noticed that with time my tastes have changed slightly.  Previously, I was determined to cook ambitious dishes that displayed complexity. These dishes at the time presented as complex on the plate as well and I was typically happy that I was able to achieve and produce such a dish.  

But with change comes a shift in taste and a greater appreciation for the sublime.  I was recently in London dining at Jean Georges new outpost there in the Connaught Hotel in Mayfair.  While there I had the Mushroom Tagliatelle.  It was a fantastic dish that bought with it an experience which called to mind a warm hearth with warm company.  Great comfort food on a chilly and rainy fall evening.  I loved the dish but noted that, while it requires high cooking skills to get it right, the dish presents as elegantly refined and not overdone.  It was a creme based sauce but it didn't leave me feeling heavy. 

In my return to my old hobby I tried making a version of this dish for Thanksgiving. It came out well but I have a ways to go before it achieves the texture and flavors of Jean Georges's version.  But what strikes me is that my ambition is to increase my cooking skill level so that I can make a dish that presents as simple with divine flavors.   

Another step in the evolution of my tastes toward elegant simplicity.  

ELEGANT SIMPLICITY

The phrase "elegant simplicity" seems to appear over and over again.  It shows up in fashion: "her dress had an elegant simplicity"; in architecture: "the design had a modern elegant simplicity to it";   in science "Elegantly simple organizing principles seen in ribosomes"; in math: "the solution to the formula was elegantly simple"; and in life "Human happiness, true prosperity and joyful living can only emerge from a life of elegant simplicity."

But what is elegant simplicity.  Put another way how is it recognized. How do we achieve elegant simplicity. Stated succinctly, elegant simplicity presents itself to us in the form of solutions that  cut through the complexities and messiness that plague us and present in our mind's eye as a remarkably simple yet elegant solution.  The solution becomes so simple, so obvious,  that it makes elegant sense.  It is perhaps an "aha" moment in which we see something clearly where before it was an inconceivable jumble.  Sometimes, it represents a mastery over an objective problem, but more often it refers to our lives in that it represents a mastery over the problem of ourselves.  A life of elegant simplicity is one in which we have finally seen ourselves, in a true light,  a light that allows us to understand and see clearly our true person.  This understanding leads to an expression of ourselves through our actions, our words, our clothing, our love, our service, our careers, our religion -- in fact every aspect of our lives.

When we live a life of elegant simplicity we find a way to gracefully be in the world and with others.  As one author has noted in describing a graceful existence:

"It is made up of a poised and relaxed body, smooth and efficient motion, attentiveness, compassion. There is a contented silence to grace; it avoids what is loud and intrusive, and what offends the eye. . .Grace doesn’t make a fuss about itself, but it subtly warms and transforms the atmosphere. At its essence, grace is the transference of well-being from one who is calm and comfortable to those around them."

 Kaufman, Sarah L.  The Art of Grace: On Moving Well Through Life . W. W. Norton & Company. Kindle Edition.

The shoe and clothing company Cole Haan just released a video of New York City Ballet dancers elegantly dancing through pedestrians in the World Trade Center Transportation Hub.  You can see the video by clicking on the video link at the top of this post.  The video does a great job of artistically reminding us that as we move through life on an everyday basis we are expressing ourselves,  be that expression elegant or inelegant, our lives for better or for worse are expressions of ourselves.  To live a truly sterling life I hope to unlock elegantly simple solutions. Those solutions provide a key to knowing who I really am, so that I can gracefully present that person to the world.

SUMMER GETAWAY

Where do you like to vacation? If you are like me you like to move around from place to place each year seeing different parts of the country.  It lets me put a bit of adventure and exploration into my vacation.  Others however like to go back to the same place, a place they like and love every summer; an annual pilgrimage if you will to the land of rest and relaxation.  

I just returned from a vacation to the lake regions of Northern Minnesota.  The kids got to see the headwaters of the Mississippi, a spot where you can walk across stepping stones of the Mississippi where it is just a small shallow stream.  We spent time with family, fished the local lakes, went for bike rides and greatly enjoyed the beauty and people of the region. 

Having been on several vacations I am starting to form a concept of what I call a sterling vacation.  Some of the elements include: 

1. Natural beauty of place; 

2. Authenticity of accommodations; 

3. Community interaction that brings a feeling of belonging; and 

4. A sense of escape as though you are a universe away from the toils of daily life.  

How do you get that feeling and come back refreshed.  I am not totally certain but will be modifying this post as I ponder and research that topic.  I will say its not the number of stars on the resort, but the quality and character of the people with whom you travel as well as the new people you meet that seem to make the most impact.  

May your summer vacations bring you peace and rest.  

Holy Week: Love and Sacrifice

Love and Sacrifice

This is Holy Week, a time when we conclude Lent and focus on Christ's sacrifice.  Before Christ was crucified he had one final meal with his disciples.  He washed their feet and instructed them that they should serve each other as he has served them.  He left them with a strong mandate to love each other as he has loved.  And in case anyone misunderstood what he meant by "love" he made it painfully obvious:"Greater love has no one other than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

With that mandate we as humans have our work cut out for us.  We are to forgive each other when we wrong each other, treat others better than we treat ourselves, accept others without judging, not lie to each other, encourage each other, not slander each other and live in harmony with each other.  To accomplish all this we have been given lives, personalities and souls so that each of us in our own unique way can serve others in love.

Christ's commandment puts forth a universal truth which is beyond debate -- if we love each other as Christ loved then our joy will be complete. A study was performed looking at the lives of Harvard Students over a period of decades which demonstrates the importance of love. Begun in 1938, the Grant Study of Adult Development charted the physical and emotional health of over 200 Harvard students, starting with their undergraduate days. It followed them from 1938 until the present.  In 2012 Harvard Professor George Valiant published his findings from the study in a book titled Triumphs of Experience:  The Men of the Harvard Grant Study. What it found was that over the course of 80 years of study the key to happiness was strong loving relationships with others.  Such things as money, genetics, social status, education and work did not matter anywhere near as much as good loving relationships.  

But as Christ shows us loving each other is frequently easier said than done.  The sacrifices we must make -- the offenses from others that we must both endure and forgive -- while at the same time placing others ahead of ourselves is not an easy task for anyone. But if we are to achieve a truly sterling life, one in which we end our lives polished with a patina of weathered happiness there is one ingredient that must be present -- love.  

I hope you enjoy your Easter and find the joy of Christ.