Month: January 2010 (Page 4 of 5)

from my recent read, a tree grows in brooklyn, by betty smith:
“Mother, I know there are no ghosts or fairies. I would be teaching the child foolish lies.”
Mary spoke sharply. “You do not know whether there are not ghosts on earth or angels in heaven.”
“I know there is no Santa Claus.”
“Yet you must teach the child that these things are so.”
“Why? When I, myself, do not believe?”
“Because,” explained Mary Rommely simply, “the child must have a valuable thing which is called imagination. The child must have a secret world in which live things that never were. It is necessary that she believe. She must start out by believing in things not of this world. Then when the world becomes too ugly for living in, the child can reach back and live in her imagination. I, myself, even in this day and at my age, have great need of recalling the miraculous lives of the Saints and the great miracles that have come to pass on earth. Only by having these things in my mind can I live beyond what I have to live for.”

[you miss a bit of the depth by lacking the backdrop of story in which this lies, but it’s good nonetheless]

we had dinner tonight with 2 people who i think possess some of the most imagination i’ve encountered. i’m lucky enough to be related to them and have been known to try to steal some creativity-by-association (can you say “international copyright law”?), but tonight, especially after my bathtime reading fun, the value of imagination and creativity really lept out at me.

LBW has an amazing gift of seeing something beautiful and arranging things so that beauty is enhanced. you can see it from her dwellings… she loves beautiful things, but the way she is able to gather and display them, either in simplicity or in complex arrangments, brings the beauty into 3D. sure, that’s a nice picture. but put it with this fabric or stack it on that table and suddenly it just pops. i think that’s why i don’t own a lot of pretty things…i just don’t know how to help them live to their full, beautiful, potential. not only can she see beauty, she knows what to do with it.

BRW also has a knack of seeing something where there’s nothing, but rather than beauty it’s the $$ that motivates. however, you can’t argue that there must be an ounce of imagination and creativity (not to mention a whole lot of cahones) to make some of the crazy ideas come together in a way that works – and not just for him, but for many of the people he has surrounded himself with in ventures to try and make a buck. i admire that there are people out there with a passion for things and he takes that and says (in typical wingfield fashion) “what if we…” and “a guy could…” and then suddently some sort of hairbrained scheme is born. and works.

i love the artistic skill of KLM. i had a friend in seminary who was similarly artistic and could draw and write and produce music in a way that creates something from little. but tonight i could see the true value in an imagination that is outside of art. LBW and BRW have a creativity that does, as “mary” says above, inspires hope. and that’s what it’s about, right? not who can draw the prettiest picture, but what that pretty picture inspires us to believe, and then do. and there are so many ways to inspire hope… it just takes a little imagination to see it.

it’s not so much a block of writing, or blogging, but just a general lack of anything interesting, which is a shame. i’m pretty sure that until this morning i hadn’t left the house since thursday night. really. at least 2 of those days, i never got dressed.

in some ways, i revel in the the nothingness. jj and i played some wii, i did a lot of catching up with facebook, and had some nap therapy. cooked a little bit, read a little bit, and drank more coffee than i probably should have. but those are all good things.

typically, such slowing down actually incites random thoughts of the blogworthy sort, but not really recently. i think the lack of interaction and meaningful discussion with friends or the like has kind of dulled my brain. that, or the lack of KLM couch & wine time. when you spend your days concerned over incoming teeth or nap schedules, you kind of forget to ponder the world’s perils. i really do miss having a job that requires thinking about “bigger things”. today my biggest thought was an annoyance at a guy trying to pass a drug screen who turned in a cold sample. seriously. you couldn’t even heat it up first?

i have been reading a bit more of Anne Lamott. i’ve developed a firm conviction that everyone should read at least one author that they don’t always agree with but can respect. Lamott is that to me. I love her style, her honesty, and many of the times, her views on the world. Sure, there’s lots of the practical side of her theology that i don’t get behind, but her heart is pure and i’m developing an appreciation for hearing a different type of story.

so, that’s the explanation for the dull posts as of late. if you’d like to contribute to the cure, you’ll just have to invite me for coffee and see where the conversation goes. then maybe i’ll be on a creative streak again.

i don’t know how i ever lucked out to get such a fab husband. i know, there’s been a lot of hubby bragging as of late, but it’s just going to continue on. tonight the honors are bestowed because of a delish dish he *insisted* upon trying from our exceptionally old issue of bon appetit. he loves himself a steak and will find any excuse to consume one… he happened upon a recipe and “needed” to try it. i was slightly less than excited.

but, when i’m wrong i’ll say it – and i was wrong. it was mostly a fear about so many strong flavors coming together on a singular slab of meat. i’m a person who likes to let one thing shine. jj, on the other hand, firmly believes that if you have 2 good things, if you add them both, it equals “better.” it’s good to know that neither of us is correct 100% of the time.

so our dish: steak with parmesan butter, balsamic glaze and arugula (we served it sans arugula).
“simple and sophisiticated” BA says (october, 2008 issue, page 53)
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese (if you use it from a green can and then claim this recipe sucks, i’ll personally slice off your 4th toe)
1.5 tbsp butter
1 12-oz rib eye steak (we did 2 steaks that equaled 16 oz)
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots (thanks to google, i found that you can do a 2-part onion // 1 part garlic substitute because we do not possess a shallot)
1/2 tsp brown sugar

Mix grated cheese and butter i small owl. Season generously with salt and pepper; set aside. Sprinkle steak generously with salt and pepper. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add steak; cook to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Transfer to plate. Add vinegar, shallots and sugar to skillet; boil until reduced to glaze, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. [the directions say to plate your 4 cups arugula and squeeze a lemon wedge over each plate. we omitted.] Top steak with parmesean butter. Drizzle slightly with glaze.

We served with my classy contribution of a twice baked potatoes. clearly arugula would be the bon appetit vegetable of choice.

what i loved was that the steak took no more than 20 minutes to prepare, and other than the shallots, which we substituted, we had everything on hand. we scratched the arugula because we’re newer to the good food thing and just can’t handle steak on a salad yet. someday… maybe that will make The List for 2011.

this evening’s dinner prompted me to consider to ponder the idea that good stuff is made of good stuff. i’m positive parm cheese from a green can would ruin the dish. i read a wonderful book, a homemade life (previously mentioned) and i frequently read her suggestions of best products to use in particular recipes. she always went for a real chocolate – not nestles. her husband was a connesseaur of vingear. vinegar!?! who knew there were people who had vinegarian preferences? but when they wanted something to be a class act, they didn’t use the meijer generic.

now, i’m a huge proponent of generic in many different things… but i have decided that cheapest is not always best, and there may be areas of my culinary life where i can begin to upgrade. i’m going to start with cheese (thus us having real parm on hand). wizenburg (author, above) is always adding a cheese here or there and it’s rarely “mild cheddar”. so each week my eyes have grazed the cheese counter of meijer, hoping a new gouda will be on sale. then i just need to find a way to consume it… perhaps these old issues of bon appetit will come to my rescue again.