Cooking

Okay, I admit it. I’ve fallen in love… with. . . . Cooking. Never thought that would happen. The unfortunate part is that I spend 40 hours at work each week. Meaning, that by the time I get home at night, there is a severe damper on my culinary creativity because I usually just want to relax. However, I have found so much pleasure in my newly discovered love for this art that I make time to be in the kitchen, either in the morning before work or sometimes working until nearly bedtime. My food is not gourmet, mind you, but it is yummy and satisfying. Oh, and it’s usually healthy, except when I have moments of weakness and pull out cream cheese, ranch dressing, or other tempting ingredients like that. I make to-die-for green beans, 101 different chicken dishes, great fruit smoothies, tempting desserts, and admittedly add pecans to any recipe where I can get away with it. There are few things that are "signature" dishes for me, simply because I like to try a little bit of everything. Every once in awhile there is a meal that ends up being a total bomb (like my oozy strawberry pancakes, which my darling husband graciously tried to eat so as not to hurt my feelings...) but for the most part I've learned to make things work, even if they don't end up quite like the recipe intended. Recently I have discovered that I cook by Smell, not by Taste (like normal people do). I will prepare an entire meal (never sticking completely to the recipe, of course!), and season it by smell. I never realized this until I would place dinner on the table and say to my husband, “Well, I hope it’s good.” He always looked at me with a quizzical expression and say “You didn’t try it? How did you season it?” Busted. It wasn’t until that conversation was repeated several nights in a row that I realized I seasoned by how something smelled. If it smelled like it needed a bit more basil or garlic, then I would add more until the aroma seemed right. This unconventional method isn’t failed me yet, but on the day it does, I’m sure it’ll be a memorable disaster. Creating mouth-watering-goodness takes work and preparation; culinary masterpieces don’t happen by random chance. But with the right recipes, a dash of sugar and a pinch of salt, you can temp the palate of even the finickiest of eaters. What are some of your signature dishes?

Coffee Tirade

For me, going to a coffee shop is supposed to be somewhat of an ‘experience.’ Sure, I go because I genuinely love coffee, but it’s more than that. It’s the soothing aroma of unique blends, the variety of tantalizing flavors and the quick-wit of perky baristas who like nothing more than handing their customers a pick-me-up-in-a-cup which occurs with the first sip of their java delight. Today was cold, dreary, rainy, and my mood (unfortunately) had many similarities. Ah, a stop at my favorite coffee shop seemed like the perfect addition to my otherwise dreary and mundane afternoon. I pulled into the parking lot, already imagining the smells, smiles, and overall coziness that always await me just through the door. Over the past three years I have spent countless hours in that coffee shop. Business meetings, chats with friends, mother/daughter talks, even quiet dates with my husband. It has ambiance, and that is the number one reason I go to a coffee shop. As I pushed open the door of this coffee haven, I was met with an ambiance I had never experienced there before. No perky “hello” welcomed me from behind the counter, the baristas were more concerned with chatting amongst themselves than with their customers, no smiling faces anywhere. Was I in the right place? The rowdy group ahead of me in line, although giving me time to make my drink selection, made it loud and distracting, a far cry from the usual calm that invaded the store on most occasions. I finally had a chance to order, and when I went to pay I handed over my $1-off coupon, which indeed had expired two weeks ago. I looked at the barista and said “You’re still taking these, right?” [the background on the fact I was giving them an expired coupon is that in the past, the employees & managers there have encouraged this, not caring if they were expired or not, because at least people were in there buying coffee. Because seriously, a mere dollar off a $5 beverage is hardly to be considered a bargain. In the past, I even had a manager there tell me to print off several coupons and keep them in my wallet to use them whenever I came in because management never cared if they were expired or not. ] To which the barista replied (let’s not forget the evil-eye that accompanied these words), “Well, I’ll make an exception this time but never do it again. We’re NOT supposed to take them.” I went on to ask if something had changed because it had always been encouraged in the past. To which the snooty reply came “Yes, but we’re getting much meaner about it now.” I’ll say you are. But at least today I got my $1 off, so there was nothing else to be said. Or was there? I laid my frequency card on the counter and pulled out some cash. She just stared at the card and rolled her eyes as she said “We don’t take those now if we use a coupon.” Wait a minute, it’s a “frequency” card -- ten drinks (“stamps”) and you get one free. But now if you use a coupon for your purchase it doesn’t count towards one of your ten drinks, even though I’m still frequenting their shop. She babbled something about the fact they used to be paper cards that got stamped by hand, but now they’re electronic ones that get swiped, and the machine won’t let them swipe it once a coupon has been entered into the system. Ok, so it’s a glitch in the computer system, not just a problem with the barista. But seriously, since I only buy coffee there if I have a coupon, that means I’ll never get my card swiped, meaning I’ll never reach my ten drinks, which means I’ll never get a free one. Policies change, I understand that. Companies hire new employees who perhaps have a less-than-pleasant-personality, I understand that too. But really, that was the worst experience I’ve had in my 3+ years of dedicated Biggby coffee drinking. I have always preferred their drinks over Starbucks, they offer coupons which make drinking specialty drinks slightly more affordable, and they’ve always been staffed with perky personalities who exude customers-first attitudes. Instead of the warm, friendly, sunshiny ambiance I was looking forward to on this dreary day, I ended up with lots of attitude, annoyed looks, an expensive cup of coffee, and no swipe on my frequency card. Did I mention that when she was almost finished making my drink, I said a simple “No whip, please”, to which her response was slopping a little extra milk in my cup to make it look fuller before sliding it across the counter. Today, I am sad to say, I took my coffee to go.

Bloom

I will never pretend to be a fluent or prolific writer. I have friends who make words flow together as gracefully as a water fall, but as much as I have yearned in times past to be a weaver of words and teller of tales, I have accepted that God has given me a limitation in that regard. I must be content and ‘bloom where I am planted’, being okay with the fact my words will never be read by more than a dozen people, at best. And in all honesty, I’m fine with that.

My life is a small one, but I absolutely love where God has called me to be. I spent much of my younger years wishing for the days that were yet to come, dreaming away the present and hoping the future would be bigger and more exciting than the here-and-now. But the ‘present’ is now, and the ‘someday’ that seemed so far away is now my daily existence. And it’s wonderful. Each day is filled with something different; some with joys, some with hardships, but each brimming with the marvelous grace of God, and a peace and joy in my heart that is deeper and dearer than anything imaginable. My past is forgiven, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.

I feel like I am truly blooming where I’m planted. I am no longer looking for something bigger and better, wishing ‘tomorrow’ would come a little sooner. I am content. Yes, there are questions I wish I had answers for, and there are always ‘uncertainties’ that arise in life, but these do not rule my world. God does, and His promises are my hope.

My little corner of Michigan might not be anything spectacular, but it’s where I’m blooming because this is where God has me at present. And I couldn’t be happier.