we've moved!

Not into the new house. Not yet.

But here's the long-awaited big reveal that all (five) of you have been waiting on! Drumroll...


Risking civil strife, Suzy and I will be co-blogging on a new blog! Of course, that also means that our individual blogs shall be no more (sad emoticon face). I guess that's what the minister at our wedding meant when he said, "And the two shall become one."

In any case, I won't be posting here anymore, but I will be a regular contributor at our new location. And I'm sure that many of those posts will be about food and faith, in addition to our family, home, and work adventures. Oh yeah...and lots of pictures of the baby.

Check us out!

theDovers

whet the appetite

...or this post could be titled, "back from the brink of starvation."

If blog posts were food, I'd be dead by now. Again, sorry for the delay, but we've been busy little bees. So to keep you all up-to-date on the goings on, here is a quick post to let you know what we've been doing (and will be doing):

- I got accepted into the Doctor of Ministry: Global Online Concentration at Drew University! So maybe some of my academic work will revolve around table fellowship, theology of food, etc., which I will gladly post.

Go Rangers!

- Suzy and I also got the house we were trying to buy, so now we are starting our renovations. I'll especially be writing more about the kitchen remodel, since that will be where we make our food and is "the heart of the home." I'll have plenty of pictures, too!

At some point, this will be a "before" picture

- Since we are moving to a new place, I decided that I'd try to make a natural wood slab table. So far, I've only gotten as far as to locate someone who can cut the slab for me, but I'll definitely update y'all along the way, especially since this will be a place around which we gather to eat as a family.

- And finally, there's a change on the horizon... (and no, Mom, we're not pregnant). Stay tuned for more!

back at the table

Been a while, huh?

We've been crazy busy with new house excitement and old house responsibilities, applications for loans and D.Min. programs, not to mention work, baby, etc. So my apologies to my devoted followers. I know you've missed me. I've missed you, too...all four of you.

My mom, our (good) friend Amy, Suzy's cousin Jenny, and Suzy, who won't even show her face on my blog.

That being said, I'm on vacation this week and really looking forward to some do-nothing-related-to-anything-I-would-normally-be-doing. That means, no deeply poetic insights on the blogosphere about food theology or delicious eats.

I will throw you a bone, though. As I was going through files on the computer, I came across a sermon-ette I preached five years ago at my home church, way back in the mid-2000s, when I was but a mere intern at United Ministries (which has previously featured on this blog here).

Suzy will hate that I'm posting this, because she says it is pretentious and nobody cares about reading an old sermon. Well, yes and no. Yes, I am very pretentious, but I'm under no illusions that this seven-minute reflection I wrote half-a-decade ago is any good. But no, there might be at least four people may want to read it...right?

Anyway, here it is. The text was Luke's feeding of the five thousand (9:10-17):

A pot-luck dinner with a pot-luck family.  We call it our Sunday Night Family Dinner, and we have it every week.  We rotate who hosts, but everyone brings something to contribute to the meal.  If Emily makes lasagna, then Shawn brings the bread, Bekah brings the salad, and Seth brings dessert.  We’re not technically a “family,” but that’s what we call ourselves.  It’s just our close group of friends at Wake Forest Divinity School.  It began as a way for us to get a home-cooked meal once a week, but it quickly became a time of retreat and fellowship in the midst of our hectic schedules.  It’s interesting:  no matter where people are or in what situation, we create a sense of family with those closest to us.  Like I said, a pot-luck dinner with our pot-luck family. 

But this type of fellowship around a meal is unusual in our society.  Rarely do families sit down to eat dinner together.  Instead, meals often consist of fast food in the car, a protein shake on the way out the door, or a nutrition bar at the office.  And rarely are these meals eaten with others.  We are a “take out” culture, and a square meal is not the only thing that we are losing because of this trend.

Our gospel lesson for today is just one of many instances in the gospel narrative and in the parables of Jesus in which meals are the focus.  In fact, one New Testament scholar wrote that at any given point in Luke’s narrative, “Jesus is either going to a meal, at a meal, or coming from a meal.”  And the feeding of the 5000, found in today’s text, is one of the most prominent of these stories.  It is the only one of Jesus’ miracles that is found in all four gospels—and it centers around a meal.  Clearly it is important, but why?

Part of the reason for this story’s importance is that it is about meeting people’s basic human needs.  The miracle is initiated when the disciples recognize that it is late in the day and the people are hungry.  But they want the people to go into the surrounding villages to eat.  Jesus, however, takes their suggestion and turns it back on them, telling the disciples to feed the crowds.  At this point, the disciples are astonished, as I’m sure many of us would be.  How can they feed so many with so little?  Viewed in this light, the feeding is a story of abundance.  Jesus not only provides enough to feed the crowd, but enough for leftovers!  As the text says, “All ate and were filled.”  This is not “first come, first served,” but rather “all that come will be served.”  It is about abundance in meeting the needs of others.

In my time at United Ministries, I have seen examples of this type of abundance.  Often the food pantry seems extremely low, but somehow we are able to continue providing bags of food for those in need.  In fact, when I first came to United Ministries, the shelves were almost empty.  But soon we had cans arriving and the shelves were full again.  In all honesty, it probably should not work.  But it does, because the staff, the volunteers, and the donors are willing to follow Jesus’ lead.  They have seen the need and are willing to serve the way the disciples do in today’s scripture.

This story is also important because it is a prime example of fellowship around a meal as a metaphor for the commonwealth kingdom of God, a theme that permeates Luke’s gospel.  As with many other instances of Jesus at meals, cultural norms were broken.  There was no seating arrangement according to status.  There was no ritual washing before the meal.  There was no regard for who was supposed to be present and who was not.  There were no requirements, other than to be there and have a desire to hear what Jesus had to say.  That is all.  They did not have to profess a certain theology, they did not have to vote for the correct political party, they did not have to go to the right church.  They simply had to be there, wanting to hear what Jesus was saying. 

Many times in the gospels, meals are an act of community, a way to break down social barriers at the most basic of human levels.  Everybody eats, so what better way to join people from all walks of life than with a meal?  Jesus eats with sinners, tax collectors, Pharisees, the whole lot.  And it gets him in trouble.  To many folks, eating with undesirables and those on the margins of society is a dangerous practice.  It threatens the delicate balance of the status quo.  We might even say that Jesus got himself crucified because of the company he kept at meals.  But as one of my divinity school professors put it, quite bluntly, “You show your love by breaking bread together.  If you can’t do that, then your Christology remains flawed—no matter how many creeds you quote.”  When we honestly and openly share a meal of fellowship with others, we declare the power of reconciliation to our fragmented world.

An important point to recognize, though, is that this is not merely a meal of toleration.  Jesus and the disciples were trying to retreat, but the crowds followed them.  Yet Jesus did not turn them away or accept their presence begrudgingly.  He taught, healed, and welcomed them, providing for their basic needs and creating an atmosphere of community and fellowship.  In the Jewish world in which Jesus lived, to share a meal with others was to share a meal before God.  All who ate the meal partook in the blessing offered by the host.  Thus, Jesus is not merely tolerating the crowds, but welcoming them to His table with open arms, offering His blessings upon them. 

In this way, the feeding of the 5000 not only anticipates the Last Supper, but the kingdom of God.  This miracle prefigures the banquet described by Isaiah in which people from all ends of the earth will be gathered together at the return of the Messiah.  And that is what the kingdom is all about.  All are welcome at God’s table, regardless of race, social status, income, or education.  It is a kingdom and a banquet of radical equality among the human family.  And when we share the fellowship of a meal with persons different from us, we get a glimpse of what the kingdom of God is like, and understand more fully who Jesus is. 

It is no coincidence that Luke places this story where he does.  Peter’s confession immediately follows the feeding of the 5000 in the narrative.  This confession occurs when Peter, responding to Jesus’ question of who the disciples say He is, answers “The Christ.”  It is a turning point in Luke’s gospel.  The disciples are finally starting to get it!  After observing Jesus feeding the multitude, and serving alongside with him, they understand.  Serving in the presence of Jesus, following His example, has given them insight into who Jesus is.

I know that with all this talk of food and meals, you’re probably getting hungry.  But as you eat your lunch at the Country Club, or at home, or at the Ham House, remember that God is present.  God is present wherever an open invitation to the table is extended to others.  When we look past trivial differences and past the arbitrary boundaries that our culture puts between people, we fulfill our Christian calling in the extension of God’s grace and love to others.  And it is in these times that we get a glimpse of what the kingdom of God is like.  It is the pot-luck family of God.  But when, as a family, we come together in fellowship, God can do amazing things—even turn five loaves and two fish into enough for 5000. 

new house!

WE GOT IT!

We put in an offer on a foreclosure over a week ago and found out today that it was accepted! It is our dream home...or at least it will be. We'll have to do some pretty major renovations, particularly to the kitchen. So I'm excited to take you all through the process of transforming our cooking/eating space in the new house, a la Young House Love style (without the amazing DIY-ness). Stay tuned for that...

While we waited to hear back about our offer, we kept saying that if we found out we got the house, we would celebrate. Initially, we were thinking a nice dinner out, a bottle of wine...but no. Instead, we went to vacation bible school at the church and picked up our special meal on the way home.

Nothing says "celebration" like an Oreo milkshake.

It wasn't much, but we were so excited we didn't care. Food doesn't seem to matter as much when you're on cloud nine. We've been giggling all afternoon...kind of like this guy:

Maybe, eventually, we'll get to have that nice dinner out to celebrate our new house. In the meantime, we'll just keep smiling as we think about our first meal in our new home.

:)

check these out

Sometimes I feel like I have nothing new to say, and it's hard to blog more than once or twice a week. So...let me refer you to some other blogs I have come across recently that fit within the scope of this one. I'd love to hear your thoughts on these!


http://blog.christianitytoday.com/women/2012/05/the_dark_side_of_healthy_eatin_1.html

The entry above was sent to me by a friend who reads this blog (thanks, Kristen!). It is by Rachel Marie Stone from Her.Meneutics, Christianity Today's blog for women, asking the question, "Are pure diets really all that good for us?"  Stone speaks of "orthorexia" (literally, "correct appetite"), the dark side of people's obsession with righteous and healthy eating. She highlights the problems of a rule-based approach to eating, and how it can not only be detrimental to the individual, but especially to the act of sharing a meal with others.

It brings up some interesting issues, but as one of the comments suggested, "This is such a first world problem..." I agree. We are worried about what kind of food we eat and how we eat it. Much of the rest of the world worries about whether or not they will eat at all. The topic is certainly one that only middle-to-upper-class white Americans (like me) would find intriguing, and I appreciate the irony that I read it on a blog. (Blogs are definitely something white people like, but they didn't make the list. What did make the list were organic food and vegan/vegetarianism...and - ironically - irony.)



http://seeprestonblog.com/2012/06/the-eucharist-the-great-equalizer-mutuality2012/

I found this entry through Rachel Held Evans' series on mutuality, of which the post is a part. It was written by Preston Yancey, and is a beatifully written piece on the Eucharist, particularly as an equalizer of who offers and receives the Supper. I think the key line in the whole entry is when Yancey writes,

For in that moment, in the moment bread passes from hand to hand, wine from hand to hand, it is not that person who holds out salvation to me, but Christ our Lord. They are unto me, in that moment, as Christ. I receive by them from my Lord. Nail polish on fingernails or no, young or old, dark or fair: they are unto me, in that moment, as Christ.

 

Anyway, check these out and let me know what you think!

suzy's birthday

This past week we observed the national holiday that is my wife's birthday (at least, that's typically the way she thinks about out). On Thursday, we decided to celebrate said holiday by eating as much of the most delicious food we could find. So here's a quick recap of our - I mean "Suzy's" - day.

Lunch at The Lazy Goat, one of our favorite restaurants, although we had only been there for dinner. Good decision to try lunch. Suzy's parents split a kebob and Mediterranean salad; Suzy had a Muffaletta panini; but I won the day with this beauty:

This is (was?) the Lamb Burgesa, a hamburger patty of lamb tucked inside a pillowy soft warm pita, with a feta spread, a minty yogurt, lettuce, tomato, and red onion. Out.of.this.world. If you like lamb, this is about the best lunch you could hope for. It had the rich warm flavor of the lamb, cooled and muted somewhat by the yogurt and feta. 

These are pomme frites (a fancy French word meaning "freedom fries"), but The Lazy Goat has their own take on this side dish. They're thin cut and fried crispy, giving them great texture. Then they get hit with some truffle oil, giving them almost a savory but sweet-ish kind of flavor, offset by the saltiness of the finely shredded asagio cheese. They were fantastic on their own, but dip them in the chipotle ketchup? Magnifique!


Amazingly, I was able to return to work for the rest of the day, before our dinner out at American Grocery.

This is the same place we went for my birthday, which you can read about here. We ordered very similarly, but because the seasons had changed, so had the menu. Instead of apples with our pork belly appetizer, we had peaches (a great switch!). The braised beef tongue was now a braised corned beef tongue, giving it a little extra bite. The fresh fruit cobbler, instead of apple with cinnamon ice cream, was strawberry with vanilla.

An amazing day of eating at (arguably...and I'll defend this) the two best restaurants in Greenville.

But one of the best parts of the day was getting to feed our almost-eight-month-old. He takes after his daddy in that he LOVES to eat. He goes zero-to-screaming-hungry in 6.3 seconds. He makes "mmmmmm..." noises when he takes a spoonful of baby food. And he can put away some food. This was his lunch (probably not as good as ours):

Stage three macaroni with butternut squash. Yum!

I really enjoy getting to feed him, not only for the entertainment value, but because it seems like we're connecting in some way. It's like table fellowship with any adult - I get to watch his reactions, "talk" with him, and share a bit of life together. All in all, it makes me really happy...and apparently him, too.

nj & nyc

As I mentioned in the last post, we spent several days last week visiting Suzy's sister, Jessie, who lives in Montclair, NJ. During our time in Montclair and our day trip to NYC, we ate out what seemed like every meal to try all the places Jessie recommended. So here's an overview of our gastronomic adventures up north:

After we arrived, we picked up dinner from a Middle Eastern hole-in-the-wall restaurant around the block from Jessie's apartment.

This is the entire storefront, including the restaurant's ONE table.

Suzy had the falafel pita sandwich, I got the Philly cheesesteak, and we split some grape leaves and baklava. The grape leaves were different than any I had previously had, but were very good. The baklava was a little dry (I would've liked more honey). The falafel was really tasty, especially in the pita with lettuce and tomato. The Philly cheesesteak had a slightly sweet taste (maybe from the roasted peppers?) and was super juicy, almost like a French dip. One meal down...

When we went into NYC, our first food stop was Ess-a-Bagel on 3rd Avenue between 50th and 51st Street. 

The have 15 different kinds of bagels, and about a bajillion different types of cream cheese. Here is just a small sample (what would fit in the camera shot) of their selection:

Suzy and I split two bagels - an everything bagel with veggie cream cheese and a sesame seed bagel with chocolate chip cream cheese. The everything bagel was the best I've every had...no lie. I tried a bite of Jessie's boyfriend's, too (an everything bagel with jalapeno cream cheese), which was equally delicious. I was wary of Suzy's chocolatey bagel, but it was almost like a dessert (think: chocolate chip dessert pizza-ish), and was nice when paired with some black coffee.

After walking around, seeing Sesame Street being filmed on location in Central Park, and taking some uber-cute pictures of our baby boy in the big city, we finished our day in the city with dinner at the Shake Shack on East 86th Street. I had the Shackburger with the signature Shacksauce (some version of a mayo-based sauce), paired with their house-made ShackMeister Ale on draught. The burger was a juicy medium-rare, and the beer was a slightly hoppy but refreshing pairing to the burger.

It was a great trip with some great food...but it wasn't over yet. When finally returned to Greenville the next day, we drove straight to Suzy's parents' house to enjoy a good, old-fashioned, home-cooked southern meal. Ahhh...home, sweet home.

And yes, that is fried chicken...

three years

On Wednesday, Suzy and I celebrated our third anniversary. And if you could see me right now, celebrated would be in air quotes.

The day started early. After a night of little sleep (thanks, baby-crying-for-what-seems-like-no-reason), Suzy was trying to clean our house for an appraisal and finish packing, while I was squeezing in a half-day at work that would end by 11:00 a.m. (and therefore begin at 7:00 a.m.). Even our seven-month-old needed some coffee...

When I got home it was a mad scramble to load the car and get to the airport. Once there, we had to stuff down a "fresh made" microwave pizza and a "chargrilled" microwave burger in the terminal before our plane boarded. (I really wish I had been able to take pictures of these things. They looked horrible. But better than the e-coli-laced chicken salad sandwiches, I suppose...)

We landed in Charlotte for an hour and a half layover, and as we walked to the gate for our connecting flight, I saw this heavenly beacon:

I went to the original Bad Daddy's Burger Bar a couple of years ago, and I still talk about the burger I ate there. In fact, as we came upon it in the airport concourse, I said to Suzy, "I think that's the place I had the burger." Not only did she know what I was talking about, she described it almost verbatim...

Sam I Am (get it..."green eggs and ham"?)

I won't even try to begin to describe it. You really just have to taste one. So the next time you're in Charlotte (or in Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, concourse C), check it out. You can just thank me now.

But here's the tragedy in all of this - I was still full from the nuked burger at the Greenville airport! So we passed on Bad Daddy's and instead ended up sitting in an airport with a fussy seven-month-old, tired, gassy (the microwave burger/pizza didn't sit too well), sharing a Cinnabon, eating off the top of our luggage. Pretty classy, huh?

The third anniversary is the "pastry" anniversary, right?

I was reminded, however, that it doesn't really matter as much what you're eating as it does with whom you are eating. Near the beginning of our relationship, Suzy and I used to eat Chinese takeout on the floor of my apartment bedroom (because the only other place to sit was my one desk chair). Now, that's one of my favorite memories of us. Here's hoping that our third anniversary will be another of those memories.

We did finally make it to NJ, and had a great three days eating our way through north Jersey and NYC. More about that soon...

What about y'all? Do you have any memorable anniversary meals (good or bad)?

nose dive

Not O. Something Else.

A dive.

Nose Dive is the newest offering from the Table 301 restaurant group. This gastropub (a pub serving high quality food in addition to their drink menu) is in the heart of downtown Greenville, in a Main Street location once occupied by the former high-end Restaurant O. But this is not a special-occasion-dinner kind of place...at least not like it's predecessor. Neither is it a watering hole, despite its impressive beer and wine lists and rotating taps of each.

It is, however, one of my favorite lunch spots for one reason and one reason alone: the sweet potato fries.

I've sampled just about every lunch item Nose Dive offers - the Nicoise salad with delicious candied pecans, the basil/tomato/mozzarella chicken sandwich, the humongous and delicious beer-battered fish and chips. But always, no matter what, the must-have-'em-on-my-plate are the sweet potato fries.

I really need to inquire of the chef and get the recipe, if possible. I do know that they are fried in duck fat, giving them just a hint of the rich fatty flavor of dark meat poultry, and finished with sea salt. And They. Are. Divine.

These crispy rust-colored delights are worth their weight in gold. If you've had 'em, I'd love to hear your impressions. If you haven't, you should. Or if you know of some sweet potato fries that you think could rival Nose Dive's (*harumph*), let me know and I'll put them to the test and write about it later.

practice makes perfect

"My generation is a practical generation, and I am challenged by my faith to be a practical person. Don't get me wrong: I love all verbal and theological things: story, theology, politics, and history, perhaps even inordinately.

But I believe in places. I believe that relationships, rooted in love, transform us. And it just so happens that most lasting human relationships are formed around the table." 

This is how Jeremy John begins his guest post on Tony Campolo's blog, Red Letter Christians. Jeremy writes on The Table is the Microcosm of a Practical Faith. After reading it, I realized it might as well have been written by me on this blog (although it might not have been as well-written). So, I'm sharing (stealing?) it.

Jeremy expands the theology of Eucharist beyond...well...theology. He calls us to see Eucharist in times when "the ordinary is made sacred." It is an embodied meal in more ways than one.

"The Eucharist gathers us at particular place, with a particular people, to eat particular food(s) together. While we believe theologically that Christ is present at the table with us, the Eucharist is more about what you do than what you believe...

...You may have guessed by now that I do not limit the Eucharist to Sunday morning. I believe that all of the foods we eat at our tables are sacred: not through their essential nature, but through the relationships that they represent: relationships between farmers and communities, relationships between food and bodies, food and the earth, and farms and our ecosystem."

And here's the kicker:

"Our tables are a microcosm of the way we live out our faith."

I love what Jeremy does by tying in not only the table fellowship, but the practical nature of meals: how we produce, harvest, distribute, buy, and consume food, as well as the relationships between all of the different parties involved (including creation).

And if the table is the primary place of practice for our faith, then we must ask: What does how we eat, including all of those practical concerns I just mentioned, say about our faith? It might be easier for us to determine how our faith would/could/should impact our lives, but what does our practice say about our faith? What does it say about my faith that I rarely eat with someone of a different cultural or ethnic identity? What does it mean that I view food as a commodity rather than a necessity? What does it say about my faith that I get buy what I want rather than what was fairly traded or organically grown or whatever...

So the next time you sit down at a table, ask yourself (as I will ask myself): Where did this food come from? Were those involved in its production and preparation fairly compensated? Am I willing to "bless the hands that prepared it"...and mean it? Who am I eating with? Who am I not eating with? Is my eating this meal actually taking opportunity for food away from others?
And - ultimately - what does how I practice a meal of the embodied Christ say about me as a person of faith, and my embodiment of Christ in my life?

a delicacy of despair...

...that's what PETA calls it. But it's proper name is foie gras, French for "fatty liver." It's a pate made from the fatty livers of geese or ducks.

And it is delicious. Fatty. Creamy. Salty. Succulent. Delicious.

There are lots of different ways to serve foie gras, but this is the way I first tried it (and, I think, one of the best ways): with some sea salt, a little leafy greens or some fruit compote, and a crusty piece of bread.

The first time I tasted it was last May, when I performed a destination wedding in Paris for two friends. They were married in a small garden outside of an art gallery, which afterward held the "reception" - a private meal of French cuisine. Here are some pictures from the wedding and dinner:

This should be on a postcard

Me looking very pastoral

The "reception"

Our menu for the dinner

There is no doubt that foie gras is one of the finest foods I've ever eaten (at one of the finest meals I've ever had). But there has always been a debate over how this delicacy is produced. As recently as last week, I heard a story on NPR about the controversy, rekindled by the approaching effective date of a ban on foie gras in California.

Culinary critics and animal rights activists have squared off, and both the foodies and the vegans spit some pretty nasty rhetoric towards each other. Meanwhile, I feel assaulted from both sides.

I'm conflicted.

On the one hand, foie gras is so ridiculously delicious. Sure, it's a gamble to eat it. You never know whether or not you'll clog that last 74% of open artery when you eat it. But even if you did keel over in a cholesterol-induced cardiac arrest, it would be worth it. Foie gras is that good. Plus, in the end, it's just food.

On the other hand, I think that animals should be treated humanely. Unnecessary suffering should not be inflicted on any being, human or otherwise. But I'm not one of those people who curls up in a ball on the floor and sobs uncontrollably anytime I hear Sarah McLachlan's Angel from the ASPCA commercial.

























I love the food, but I hate what happens in the production.

But why is it this issue that bothers me? There are a myriad of ways that I enjoy the benefits produced through the suffering of others, and many of those relate specifically to the production of food (non-fair trade foods, for instance).

I suppose this just exposes my larger hypocrisy. I affirm the sacred nature of Creation, and yet I enjoy this food which is produced through unjust, irresponsible, and cruel means. As much as I claim that food is a justice issue, I still want inexpensive tomatoes from Publix (harvested by unfairly-paid exploited farmworkers), just like I want to be able to eat foie gras.

In the end, I don't know if legislation is the answer. Neither do I know if it will be enough for those of us who feel strongly about food justice to (not) put our money where our mouth is(n't) - that is, to let our buying habits reflect our values.

Because ultimately, it's not just food...at least not until we consider food production as an issue of justice. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be filled." (Matt 5:6)

mother's milk

Being a new dad, I can't avoid breastfeeding. I've learned more about the topic than I ever thought I would - a proper latch, clogged ducts, foremilk, hindmilk, you name it. Breastfeeding is a regular part of Suzy and the baby's daily schedules - and a part of all three of our nightly schedules - and Suzy has nursed our baby just about everywhere. She's tried to avoid having to breastfeed in Target (it seems they don't take to kindly to it)...

...but she has never nursed on the cover of TIME magazine.

Jamie Lynn Grumet and her 3-year-old son
May 21, 2012, vol. 179, no. 20

There's been quite a hubbub about this cover and the related story on attachment parenting. Pundits, bloggers, and comedians have jumped all over it, including SNL's Weekend Update. You can read about the sketch and watch the video clip here.

But no matter who is doing the talking, people are voicing their opinions. And they're not pulling any punches. 

The Christian Science Monitor asked, Did TIME sexualize breastfeeding with its cover?

This morning, an older gentleman asked Suzy if she had seen the cover, commenting that "it's inappropriate" and that TIME shouldn't have put something like that on the cover because "it's a choice" (to breastfeed? to watch someone breastfeed? i don't know...).

I realize (a) I'm a man, (b) I've never breastfed, and (c) I have nothing to gain from jumping into this discussion...

...but I will anyway, because ignorance and apathy have never stopped me before.

International symbol for breastfeeding

To me, it seems like most of these commentators are just (...wait for it...) "milking it." They are jumping all over this magazine cover because they know that it will increase their readership/viewership, the same way TIME knew that putting a model-esque 26-year-old blond breastfeeding her 3-year-old would sell magazines. 

TIME magazine cover
Third full moon, 2012 B.C., vol. 1, no. 1

And while I definitely have an opinion on breastfeeding, I would never tell someone else whether or not to breastfeed their child, and definitely not how/where/when to do it. If I've learned nothing else in my very short time as a parent, I am convinced that each mother has to do what is best for her baby and herself. If that means nursing the kid until he's 4, fine. If that means not breastfeeding at all, fine. But I know that breastfeeding is what is best for our family, and for that - like Jamie Lynn Grumet - I will not apologize.

So here's my reflection that has come out of all of this:

In a way, breastfeeding is our first communion. We are nurtured in a relationship with One who loves us through nourishment. By consuming life-giving food, we commune with the One who first gave us life. 

"A mother can give her child milk to suck, but our precious mother, Jesus, can feed us with himself. He does so most courteously and most tenderly, with the Blessed Sacrament, which is the precious food of true life. With all the sweet sacraments he sustains us most mercifully and graciously." - Julian of Norwich

Thanks to all the moms who offer the sacrament of mother's milk, the precious food of true life; all the mothers who, breastfeeding or not, care for their children mercifully and graciously...especially our Heavenly Father, who loves us like a mother.

Happy Mother's Day!

sauces and sautes

After my last cooking class experience (flying solo at the "Tuscan Romance" class), I decided to take Suzy with me this time.

We returned to The Cook's Station for another hands-on class taught by Chef Corie Martin of The Pink Lady Catering. This class' theme was using citrus in sauces and sautes, perfect for a warm late spring evening. There was an orange or a lime or some lemon juice in everything. (I just knew I would get a small cut at the beginning of the class and be in constant pain for the rest of the time. Instead, I just didn't cut anything the entire time...never picked up a knife.)

We made a citrus vinaigrette for a spinach salad, bruschetta with ricotta and citrus salsa, lemon chicken with capers, and bananas foster with orange liqueur. Sadly, I didn't remember to take any pictures, but here are the recipes:

We broke into three groups of four, and our group assembled the bruschetta, and everyone did the bananas foster - a rich, buttery, caramelized fruit, drenched in rum, set on fire, and poured over ice cream... What's not to love?! Now that I know how to make it, I'm worried I'm going to keep bananas, dark rum, and vanilla ice cream always on hand at my house...and gain 200 pounds...and burn down my house.

This is how I like to imagine I looked as I made Bananas Foster...
(and if you sprinkle cinnamon over the flame, it sparkles!)

...but this is probably a more accurate depiction.

One of the nicest parts of the entire evening was chatting with the other two ladies at our table. One was a professor at a nearby college; the other was a mother of two who runs an investment company with her husband. We shared great conversation around the table, talking travel, food, careers, kids...

But one comment stuck with me. At one point, the professor said, "It is so nice to just be able to sit together with other people and talk and get to know them."

Indeed. It's sad that we need a cooking class to force us to sit together (and cook together) before that actually happens. It's easy to strike up a conversation over food. But we would have to be willing to sit down at a table with people different than us and spend the length of a meal making "small talk," which is no small task.

Our chef told us that all of these sauces and salsas are even better if you let them sit for a while. It allows the flavors to blend together. The longer you do allow it to sit, the more the sauce "comes together," with the different flavors adding complexity and deliciousness to the sauce, making each individual flavor more tasty because of it's relationship to the other flavors, and making the sauce as a whole better. All it takes is time - time to just sit...together.

My guess is we'd all be better if we did that more.

pierogi

There's really no definition for it/them, whether you're talking about just one or many.

Pie.ro.gi - noun \pi-'ro-ge\
plural    pie.ro.gi


They are, simply, half-moon-shaped dough filled with some kind of savory filling (like cheese, potatoes, or sauerkraut), boiled and then pan-fried in butter. They are the ultimate comfort food. After all, what could be more comforting than anything pan-fried in butter?

In case you were wondering: Yes, that is an entire stick of butter.

Grandma Betty, my stepmom's mother, first made them for me. They have always been my favorite of her dishes, even back when I would put ketchup on them (an almost-unpardonable sin, forgivable only because of my childish naivete). When she came to see our baby for the first time, she brought two 1-gallon bags of frozen pierogi with her, and on Sunday we cooked them.

First, we diced an onion and melted a stick of butter in the pan.

Then, we sauteed the onions in the butter and put the frozen pierogi in the boiling water until they float.

Once they float, boil for a minute or two then carefully transfer them to the butter and onions to fry up.

Once they get a little cooked, take 'em out...

...and serve with pepper and sour cream (no ketchup!).

You can add even more butter if you want...just check out the half-used stick on the counter in the background.

They were buttery, cheesy, potato-y, savory...delicious. The best baby gift we could have gotten. 

Comfort food for a growing family, born out of a family's rich ethnic-cooking heritage.

Grandma Betty's family immigrated from what is now the Czech Republic when she was a young child, and brought with them a culinary history, including pierogis. Sadly, we American's don't have this kind of heritage. Our food culture is a bastardized mongrel cuisine. (Not that it's always bad...it does provide some great combinations, though, like the Caribbean-Mexican fusion restaurant, Chicora Alley.) But we don't have any culinary tradition upon which to draw, unless you count fried-anything in the South. 

Maybe that's why Suzy and I enjoy ethnic foods so much. Thai. German. Mexican. French. We love it all. The only food we don't like as much is American. Call me un-patriotic, but most of the time I would rather have curry, rouladen, enchiladas, or duck confit than a hamburger...even with freedom fries.

gardening. gleaning. generosity.

I'm feeling very alliterative today.

I'm also feeling like I finally have time to get back to blogging. It's been a crazy couple of weeks: getting the house on the market, showings, a baby boy who is eating like a teenager and starting to teethe...

No excuses, though. I've got some ideas lined up. Here's a little preview of the coming attractions:
- Perogi: Eastern European comfort food
- Cooking class with Suzy
- Retrospective: Mustards in Napa Valley

In the midst of our busyness, I ran into an acquaintance from divinity school who now lives in Greenville. She told me she volunteers with an organization called Generous Garden. The group has a 2.5 acre garden in which they grow fresh produce for local shelters and food banks. They, too, have a blog - Garden Talk. Unfortunately, it's not updated very often (I know, I know...pot and kettle). But the group sounds great, and I'd like to check out the garden sometime.

I've also been getting a ton of emails from a national gleaning organization called the Society of Saint Andrew. I had originally gotten in touch with the local group to hopefully glean as part of our culinary care Lenten experiment. We weren't able to, but now I get emails when gleaning opportunities come up... like when unseasonably warm weather makes strawberries come in early, before the farmers are prepared to harvest them and they need to be picked before they rot in the fields. You can volunteer whenever a convenient opportunity comes along...and I hope we will.

It really amazes me that in our world of fast-food meals, canned-anything, preservatives in everything, there are still groups that help to relieve hunger by gardening and gleaning - by growing fresh fruits and vegetables, and by picking produce that would otherwise spoil before any ever had a chance to eat it. It is perhaps the best stewardship we can practice: to cultivate what we can and share it with others, and to make sure that what God grows does not go to waste.

tuscan romance

Despite the title, I was going it alone. 

When I first got the gift certificates for my birthday, it never crossed my mind that I would be going to these cooking classes by myself. But as the hour approached, I couldn't shake the mental image of me sitting at a prep counter with several other couples on date nights, engaging in awkward conversation and getting the typical pity jobs in the kitchen. "Greg, while Chris and Amanda are caramelizing the top of this creme brulee, will you hand me a spoon?"

Thank God it didn't turn out that way. There were 11 of us in the class: a few middle-aged foodie couples,  two pairs of girlfriends taking the class for fun, and me to round out the group. I talked some with the couple at my table, and the conversation came surprisingly easy. We talked about the food at first, but then branched out to hobbies, family, life, dreams...

Ultimately, though, it was about the food. Each table took a course and our chef-instructor--Corie Martin, owner and chef of Pink Lady Catering--prepared the side dishes. She was wonderful, answering all of our questions, having fun, and even offering to send some of her other recipes to us. I would highly recommend her. Four stars.

The place was great, too. The Cook's Station hosted the class, and we were able to use all of their best equipment: subzero freezers, commercial gas ranges, convection ovens. It made me want to renovate a kitchen (with someone else's money, of course). This was one of my favorite pieces, though:

Breville mixer with digital timer. It's super fast, super quiet, and about the same price as a Kitchenaid. 

So here's what we actually fixed and ate, including photos of the recipes and instructions we received as part of the class (if you can read my handwriting, I also took notes):

I forgot to take pictures until after we had already had the appetizer and I had finished the entree. But here's what's left of the steak and root vegetables.

This was our table's creation: Dome cake (zuccotto) with chocolate ganache.

The outer shell is made of brownie, and the inside is two different flavored frozen whipped creams

Plated. Beautiful!

The food itself was unreal. And it seemed so easy to prepare! I walked away thinking, "I could fix this entire meal for the family and not go crazy trying to pull it off." For me, that's success. 

I think next time, though, I'll trade in my two remaining classes and get two spots in one class so Suzy can join me. That way, we can caramelize creme brulee while somebody else gets a spoon.