DOWN AND OUT

Most of my life, my immune system has been pretty worthless.  I was a very sick kid, a sick teenager, who made all As in high school despite the days out and was a very sick young adult.  The problem?  My lungs, mostly.  As a teen, I became an uber-health-goddess.  I figured it couldn't hurt, and hoped it would help. 

Family members liked to tell me my organic, meatless lifestyle was why I was always sick.  My take?  It was helping and I'd be even sicker without it.

I still don't know who was right, but I feel that Dr. Oz would side with me.  And all I really know for sure is that I went through a very early menopause, at which time my immune system woke up as from a deep freeze.

I never knew I was menopauasal.  Never went through those nasty symptoms like hot flashes an\d random bitchiness.  (My bitchiness was always well calibrated!)  One day I experienced what I'd heard described as a hot flash.  It wasn't so bad, but I went to my herbalist for an herbal cocktail and never had another symptom.

At 42 ~ after a blood test ~ my doctor confirmed that I was post-menopausal.  After that, I had very little need for said-doctor.  It was as though something awoke in me ~ and that something was quite like an immune susstem.  I didn't even struggle with my asthma or allergies anymore.  My migraines were contained.  All the work I'd done for my body seemed to finally be paying off.

Why do I mention this?  This week I was knocked on my butt by something that feels like pneumonia.  Where is that lovely immune system I've been praising?

I'd begun coughing weeks ago. All my homeopathic meds seemed to be keeping things at bay.  Until Friday.  I'd been awake half the night with what doctors would call a "productive cough."

Next morning, my whole body was sore and my chest was tight.  All I wanted to do was sleep.  My boss gave me the day off ~ and was nice enough to bring me some medicine.  Real medicine, not homeopathic meds.  (Sometimes you've got to bring out the big guns!)

I slept til 5:30 p.m. ~ never changing out of my PJs. Around 11 p.m., I settled into a deep sleep again.

I wondered, "How can I write a blog when I can't even read?"   The words on the page literally swim before my eyes.

The answer is:  I can't.  Literature will have to wait.

I can, however, mention a cookbook I love for many reasons:  Healthy Eating During Menopause. by Marilyn Glenville, PhD.  This book is "over 100 really delicious recipes for healthy women." Above each recipe, Glenville explains WHY each dish is good for you.

This is one of many cookbooks I have read from cover to cover, highlighting and taking notes as though it were a beloved textbook.  Glennnville's book is not vegetarian, though all meat-included recipes are health-full.  She does have some fried dishes she recommendes you only use for the rare apecial occasion.

Though I'm not big on fried foods, they do make me think of comfort foods ~ which are what my down and out body is longing for just now. 

So . . . I give  to you a couple of my own feel-good-foods!

RECOMMENDED PURCHASES

Healthy Eating During Menopause by Marilyn Glenville ~ If you'd like to eat healthy (whether you're menopausal or not!) this is a great cookbook for you!

RECIPES

Yesterday I was so sick I couldn't even think of eating.  Then aroung 7 p.m., I realized I coudln't NOT eat!  I scrounged around and found I had one medium sweet potato.  After peeling it, I cut it into bite-sized pieces.  These went into foil with butter and coarce sea salt.  I baked them at 450 for about 45 minutes.  O ~ that hit the spot!!!

When I first wrote this, it was New Year's Eve and my daughter's 21st birthday . . .  Her entire life, Lilli has had Lit'l Smokies on her birthday.  To celebrate New Year's Eve and Lilli's special day, I made this very simple dish.

Little Smokies

2-3 pkgs. Hillshire Farms Lit'l Smokies
Lartge can tomato sauce or puree
1 cup brown sugar

Add all ingredients to a crock pot in the AM.  (Mix sugar in well.)  By evening, this sweet, savory dish wil be ready to enjoy.  The sausages will release their fats into the sauce.  See ~ COMFORT FOOD!  NOT healthy food! It's okay ~ it's a rare special occasion day!

Butterbeer and Pasties

(Disclaimer:  My camera died on Christmas Eve . . .  Well, wouldn't it?!?  I had to scan hard copies of pics.  Still not many pics today, but will buy a new camera ASAP!!!)

I am probably too old to admit this, but I adore Harry Potter.  I've read the books over a dozen times each ~ and I've seen the movies even more.

Blame my daughter.

I was the single ~ working ~ mother of four when J. K. Rowling's first book was released.  My youngest (Lilli) was very interested, but there was a huge furor over this "evil" book.  So ~ I asked her dad (who has been reading newspapers since he was 3 and can read over 600 words per minute) to please read it and let me know if he felt it was age appropriate for our 10-year-old daughter.  That same day, he gave it the thumbs up and passed his copy on to Lilli.

I love all literature ~ even many children's books ~ but I had no desire to read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (or Harry's a Pothead and the Sorcerer's Stoned, as my son called it.)  I did, however, watch the movie.

And the rest is history!  (Mine, that is.)

I was mesmerized!  I was able to truly connect with something in Harry's character.  Perhaps it was that he was the oddball kid no one was particularly nice to ~ but who had hidden talents and depth.  (Believe me when I say I can relate to this!)

I was a cute kid with a sweet (though assertive) disposition whom most people liked ~ from a distance!  In 10^th grade, one of my high school friends (Carol) gave birth to a son.  She brought him to a basketball game one evening to show him off.  I oohed and ahhed.  Carol and her friends looked at me like I was crazy bizarre.  (I was.)  Then I said, "His fingers are so long!  Maybe he'll grow up to be a pianist!"  (What 15-year-old says that?!?)  Carol, et al, rolled their eyes and walked away from the crazy person.

I remember thinking at the time, "What did I do?"  I even annunciated this properly inside my brain!

So ~ quite a bit like Harry in that I was a bit of an outcast.  My "magic" was words and music and imagination.  I lived inside my head more than outside as a kid.  God bless her ~ my Lilli's the same way!  So ~ in our minds ~ we each became fast friends with Harry.  (And she fell in love with Dan Radcliffe.  Well, who wouldn't?)

Actor Dan Radcliffe plays Harry Potter in the 8 films ~

Soon ~ the next book was released.  Lilli and I always pre-ordered our copies.  She even competed in a midnight costume contest at Walden Books one year and won a movie ticket.  (Seven guesses which movie we spent that on!)

We've gone to midnight releases of the movie, as well as midnight releases of the book.

As a nearly 48-year-old woman, I should be embarrassed about this!  And I would be if these books weren't so incredibly well written ~ and they get better as they go along.  Stephen King once said, J. K. Rowling had "plundered the vaults of mythology" in these masterpieces.

They weren't best-sellers for nothing!

Even the food is interesting.  British with a twist:  pumpkin pasties, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor (Jelly) Bean, pumpkin juice, chocolate frogs that actually have "one good jump in them."  When Rowling introduced butterbeer, I became enamored of Butter Shots.  I told my then-husband we should market a butterbeer.  He replied, "You can't market an alcoholic beverage based on a book aimed at kids!"

He had a point.

O yum!

As far as I know, the Brits (Celts) originated in Gaul before they settled the isles. Being Celtic, I was born with a British intrigue and leaning.  I was just naturally attracted to anything British.  As a very young child, I would pretend I was in England (or Scotland or Ireland) many days.  These were some of my most exciting times as a kid.  (Let's move along now before you begin to feel sorry for me!)

I still long to be close to my Celtic roots.  For now, I can be near to the tales and the foods of Brittany.  And ~ I suppose ~ that will have to suffice!

RECOMMENDED PURCHASES

For the obscure few who have not seen or read Harry Potter, I recommend all of the books by J.K. Rowling ~ They are: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I also recommend the films of the same titles ~.  The screenplay writer did a fantastic job. I have to admit the books are better, though.

RECIPE

Butterscotch Tart

I almost always prepare this for St. Paddy's Day.  And it is always gobbled up!

Ings for tart:

Pie crust, pre-baked until slightly golden

¾ cups brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 cup milk

1 ½ oz butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 egg yolks

Meringue

2 egg whites

2 TBS powdered sugar

Place sugar and flour in a small pan.  Make a well in the center.  Add milk gradually, whisking the whole time.    This will create a smooth paste.  Whisk over low heat for 9 minutes or until mixture begins to boil and thickens.  Remove from heat; add vanilla and egg yolk.  Incorporate well.  Spread filling into your pie crust

Beat egg whites until firm peaks form, adding sugar gradually.  This will make a glossy meringue.  Spread over tart and bake for 20 minutes or until meringue is a light golden.  Serve warm or cold.

Venison Pudding Pastie

1# venison, cut into thin 4 inch disks

flour

butter

2 tsp basil

salt

pepper

Stout beer (like Guiness)

Puff pastry

Melt butter in a pan, then slightly sear both sides of the lightly battered venison.  (You only want to sear it.  Venison is very tough unless cooked only slightly or for a very long time.  Anything between is like shoe leather.)  Remove from pan and place in a casserole or soup pot.  Add salt, pepper, basil and beer.  Cover with pastry and bake just until the pastry is cooked (about 15 minutes).  This is a very old British recipe that I have only slightly tweaked.

Pumpkin Muffins

                                                                  

Around Halloween 2003, my teen-aged kids carved a pumpkin on my front porch.  They got into a seed throwing contest, which resulted in about half a dozen magnificent pumpkin plants the next summer.  We harvested so many pumpkins from these volunteers that I started giving them away.  With packs and packs of frozen pumpkin, I needed some recipes.

After about 4 pies, I was ready to try something new. I came up with this recipe. My friend, Theodoria, (who hates pumpkin) loves these.

Ings:

1 cup shortening

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 cup nuts (optional)

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Approximately 2 cups pumpkin puree

1 tsp. lemon flavoring

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup self-rising flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

Cream shortening and sugars. Add eggs, vanilla, lemon flavoring and pumpkin. Combine dry ingredients and mix together with shortening mixture. Pour into greased muffin pans and bake at 350° for approximately 25 minutes.

This can also be baked as a loaf or a cake.

AND . . . NON-RECIPES

Everyone is entitled to an "off" day now and then.  Since I'm known for my cooking, I've always hated the thought of an "off" day cooking.  As an adult, I've really only had the rare "almost-off" days.

Christmas was the exception.  That was the worst meal I have ever served to guests!  Even my morning coffee was far too weak.  I couldn't seem to make anything work.

When my blender blew up and caught fire (yes, you read that right) I should have taken that as the bad omen it was and ordered out for pizza!  Instead, I borrowed my neighbor's blender.

My menu included 2 appetizers:

Sweet Potato Strips with Soy Sauce and Sesame Seeds ~ These I burned!

Cranberry/Pumpkin Dip with Pistachios Served on Crackers ~ This was the only thing edible on the entire table.

Salad and entrée:

Mother's Fresh Garlic and Romaine Salad ~ Half my guests liked this ~ as did I.  The other half felt I'd been far too liberal with the salt.

Smooth Chick Pea Soup ~ This was supposed to be a soup form of Hummus.  (I'd thought going Middle Eastern was appropriate for a day celebrated as the birth of a Jewish Messiah.)  I'd put the chick peas in the crock-pot on Friday because I knew they'd take a long time to cook.  By Sunday, they were still al dente.  But I had to go with it.  After adding garlic, water, lemon juice, basil, tahini, almond butter (all blended smoothly, thanks to my neighbor), I ended up with what tasted like a sandy pot of dirty water.

Frustrated, I pulled out the dessert course, my Tres Leches.  There is no way to mess this recipe up unless you burn the cake.

Which I did.

So ~ my dear readers ~ I admit defeat and carry my human flaws just as surely as I was meant to.  It's better to laugh at oneself and admit failures than to hide one's head in embarrassment.  Perhaps I could do a little of both!

What Would Dan Brown Do?





Holy wars.  Hassassins. Antimatter.  The Vatican.  Murder.  Mystery.  I don't know how he does it, but Dan Brown writes some of the absolute best books on my shelves.

Angels and Demons was written before The DaVinci Code, but I'd never given it any notice.  Had never even heard of it until ~ after that first Tom Hanks film ~ I began scouring thrift shops for anything with Dan Brown's name on it.

I'd already read The DaVinci Code ~ which was a true page turner.  I loved it!  I loved Angels and Demons even more! Brown's books read like episodes of Nova Science bathed in John Grisham and Ken Follett novels.  His writing is impeccable ~ and his ability to create intrigue and capture the reader's interest is epic!

I recently watched the 9-part mini-series Pillars of the Earth based on Ken Follett's book.  In many ways, it reminded me of Dan Brown's three most popular novels (Angels and Demons, The DaVinci Code and Lost Symbol) because it told a story of the politics of religion, unholy holy wars, treachery, murder.  The only thing missing was Brown's Über dose of scientific intrigue.  (However, Follett does give a shout out to geometry.  Bless him!)

Rufus Sewell plays Tom Builder in the mini-series.
He's yum-yums!

Watching this series left me hungry for more.  So I picked Angels and Demons back up.  Brown is more interested in intrigue than what main character, Robert Langdon, eats.  And that's just fine with me. I WANT to read about conspiracy theory, about bad guys in disguise, about antimatter and its uses (or misuses).  I can always IMAGINE what Langdon must be eating while in Rome . . .



I could base these imaginings on an experience of my own.  A couple of years ago, I went on sabbatical to Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia.  I wasn't sure how I'd fit in . . . me: a spiritual wanderer amidst monks who had settled into one space of faith.  I was as welcome as I've ever felt anywhere.  ("Not all who wander are lost." ~ J.R.R. Tolkien)

I was free to walk the grounds, meditate, dance, enjoy vespers, hang out at the book store reading for hours at a time, even drink a beer if I liked.  It was quiet in a deeply peaceful way ~ not at all depressing or somber.

Inside the gorgeous chapel ~

The courtyard where I did most of my reading, journaling and meditating ~

While at the monastery, I attended a few classes called The Spirituality of Imperfection.  (Now THERE'S a concept!!!)  The Abbot taught this.  He was young-ish and handsome and quite casual, down-to-earth.  He said that all monks ~ by definition ~ are mystics.  "But I'm not," he admitted.

After morning class, I would trudge to the dining room.  This was, indeed, simple fare ~ but sometimes that's all you need.  I learned that most of the food served to monks and guests is grown on the property. There were a lot of soups.  (As a young mother of 4, I quickly realized that adding rice, noodles or water to any meal could stretch it and stretch it!)

At meals, all of us on retreat walked up to the simple buffet and silently took our food.  There was no talking in the dining area.  The only sounds were that of silverware clinking and the CD of Gregorian chants playing.

Besides the soups, there were muffins.  And fresh fruit.  Also bagels, which seemed strangely out of place at a Messianic monastery (until I read that Rome is heavily influenced by Jewish food traditions.)  One night, chicken was served.  I asked a nun if there was anything vegetarian.  She found a lone veggie burger, prepared it and brought it to me.  Later, I walked into the back of the kitchen and helped her clean up after that evening meal.  We did not speak, but our hands worked together under the water flowing in the sink.

I have this image of the reality of religious piety as being just like what I experienced at that monastery.  But I've always doubted the Pope ~ in his walled city ~ eats so simply.  Those visiting Rome can get their fill of decadence all over the city.  But the Pope?  Story has it that Romans believe their food is the best in the world, and Pope John Paul II caused quite a stir when he requested a Polish meal!

The Fountain of the Four Rivers in Rome ~

About three decades ago, a friend of mine married a first generation American of Italian descent.  Her mother-in-law taught her how to cook Americanized Italian food based on old family recipes.  My friend, in turn, taught me.  When she and I made eggplant parmesan together that first time, I thought I was eating something exactly like what they were eating in Italy.

Walk into any Italian restaurant in America ~ and you'll be treated to our common idea of Italian cuisine:  pizza, pastas, marinara sauces, lasagna.  Anthony Bourdain once mentioned that many ethnic restaurants have "secret menus" for people who are from other countries.  I doubt that applies to most Italian restaurants ~ but if it did, you're more likely to be served oxtail, conch, calamari, stuffed zucchini blossoms or lamb than our American idea of Italian foods.  They do, however, serve pasta as much as our mamas told us.

No doubt Robert Langdon was well-fed as he helped solve the atrocities against holy men at the Vatican in Angels and Demons.  This book begins with a nightmare and ends in resolution.  Brown is extremely efficient at tying up all loose end.  Between beginning and end ~ while Langdon is most assuredly enjoying some wonderful meals ~ there is enough science and intrigue to keep you up all night reading.

Dan Brown is brilliant!

(But . . . can he cook?)

RECOMMENDED PURCHASES

I own all of Dan Brown's novels, but my favorites are those which mix religion, mystery and science.  They are Angels and Demon, The DaVinci Code and Lost Symbol.  I highly recommend them all!

The Spirituality of Imperfection by Ernest Kurtz and Katherine Ketchum ~ I'd been gifted with this book about 10 years ago, but never read it until I was at the monastery.  It is a wonderful message of grace ~ and a lesson in acceptance of the flaws of others, as well as our own.

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett ~ This is one of those novels that sticks to your ribs!  For days after I'd finished it, I longed to have more chapters!  I also want to check out Follett's Fall of Giants.  Though I haven't read this one yet, I am interested because it examines the 20^th century leaders and tyrants.

General Foods International Coffees® ~ In Rome, strong coffees and espressos are a very important part of the diet.  These coffees are probably not close to what the Pope drinks, but I got hooked on them when I was a single working mother.  (Otherwise, I drink my brewed coffee black.)  My favorite flavor is Café Vienna. 

Chant: The Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos ~ The Monastery of the Holy Spirit is a Trappist monastery.  This CD, however, is the only one I own and, therefore, the only one I can truly vouch for.  There is something so comforting to me in the sounds of literagy and meditation.

RECIPE

Darlene's Eggplant Parmesan

Ings:

1 medium to large eggplant

Marinara sauce

½ cup Parmesan Cheese  (NOT the powdered stuff; the real stuff!), shredded

1 ½ cup medium to sharp cheddar, shredded

1# bag noodles (any type), cooked and drained

Salt, to taste

½ cup+ corn meal

½ cup+ flour

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

Canola Oil

Cube eggplant into bite-sized pieces.  In a separate bowl, mix egg and buttermilk well.  Dredge eggplant pieces in egg mixture, then batter with a mixture of the flour and cornmeal.  Heat oil, drop eggplant into hot oil.  As they become golden brown, place on a paper towel (to drain oil) and salt to taste.  At this point, my kids used to beg for pieces of the fried veggie.  Frying it loses the strange eggplant texture and makes it a nice snack all on its own.

Pour prepared noodles into a casserole dish.  Cover with eggplant, then follow with marinara. (You may also alternate layers of eggplant and noodles.) The marinara sauce should permeate eggplant and noodles. Parmesan cheese next, then the cheddar.  Bake on 425° until cheese is melted and bubbling.

It tastes WAY better than it looks!  :-)

Darlene's Marinara

Ings:

1 onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 carrots, julienned

5 tomatoes, cubed

1 can tomato sauce

Canola or olive oil

Heat oil, then add veggies:  carrots first, then onion, then garlic.  Once the onion is translucent, add your tomatoes.  Stir for another 5-9 minutes.  Add tomato sauce and heat thoroughly and let moisture reduce slightly.

Last night, I attended another holiday dinner with friends.  This has nothing to do with Rome, but I served a lovely Mexican Milk Cake (Tres Leches) which was wonderful!  I'd like to share it with you!

The buffet!

Good times with great friends ~

Well, somebody's being shy!

Add caption

My Mexican Milk Cake

For cake:

1 yellow cake mix

3 eggs (I use about 11 quail eggs)

2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup water

For milk sauce:

1 can coconut milk

1 can milk

½ cup powdered sugar

Water

For topping:

½ pint whipping cream, whipped to form stiff peeks

DO NOT PREPARE CAKE MIX AS PER BOX INSTRUCTIONS!  Mix all cake ingredients (above) together well.  Pour into a 9 x 13 dish that has been coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 350° for 25 minutes ~ or until center is firm and springy.  Remove from oven and immediately poke holes all over the top with a fork.

Mix all sauce ingredients together ~ adding enough water to make 3 ½ - 4 cups of liquid. 

Leave cake in the pan.  Pour sauce over the cake. 

Cake will probably float on top of the sauce at first. 

Chill in fridge at least 2 hours; the juice will be totally incorporated into the cake.

Once the cake has cooled, add the whipped cream.

This is a cool, not overly sweet, refreshing dessert.

GOOD OLD PLASTIC JESUS

My boss (and one of my best friends) is a Lutheran pastor.  Though he is part of the conservative Missouri Synod, his congregation is far more liberal than the Southern Baptist teachings I was surrounded with in childhood and young adulthood.  Ron, too, is out of any box created by religion.

Like me (when I was much younger), Ron used to be an idealist who thought he could (would!) change the world.  He was straight out of seminary, so the afterglow of spiritual love was still upon him.

I can attest that he has changed over the decades, but has not become bitter and has not lost his faith.  He tells me, simply, "Religion is messy.  There are no easy answers."

When I first went to work for him 7 years ago, I was guarded:  1) he was a straight man and 2) a preacher, for god's sake!

Then I began to see he was just a man who desperately wanted to be allowed his humanity and flaws.  He doesn't like to be called "preacher" (except by those who affectionately call him "Preacher Man") and he deplores the title of "Reverend."  He's a pastor:  like the shepherd, he is one who cares for his "flock" and stands among them rather than over them.

I can open up to a man like that ~ and am ever so glad I finally did.

When my own faith ~ which had been a rock and a life-jacket all at the same time (good combo?  I think not!) ~ began to slip and dissolve, I was able to talk candidly with this man of God without fear of condemnation or judgment or even evangelism.

Me with Ron (Father/Daughter picture)  :-)

He has never shunned me for anything I've done or neglected to do.  (Is this what unconditional love feels like?  Hmmm . . .) The truth is:  my faith always begged questions; I'd just been afraid to ask them.  But I came to a point where I decided I could no longer live with a limited ~ and limiting ~ god.

So ~ I asked away.  I studied other faiths, philosophies, disciplines ~ and, sometimes, no faith nor philosophies nor disciplines.  I read Buddhist texts and found them to bring peace.  (Buddhism is not technically ~ by strict definition ~ a religion.  Buddha is not ~ and never has been ~ worshipped as a god.  This is a common fallacy.)  He simply taught in the ways of Jesus.  Jesus:  a man who was wise beyond his times and is worshipped by many as a god.

The more I drifted in questions, the more questions I had.  I saw that the concept of "god" or "spirit" or whatever term you like was getting WAY too big for any box I could put her/him/it into.  (Scientists are currently exploring what they call the "god particle," which is an as yet unexplained subatomic entity.)

Though I've left the firm (and, often, erroneous) beliefs of the past and embraced the mystery of spirit, I still love to raid Ron's fat Christian bookshelf from time to time.

Good Old Plastic Jesus is one of Ron's books.  (I couldn't think of a more clever title for this blog, so I used the book's title.)  Ron let me borrow it just days before his 65^th birthday.  It was written by Earnest Larsen, published by The Redemptorist Fathers at the Catholic Ligorian Press when I was barely out of diapers.  It is very 60s hip ~ and full of grace, grace, grace!  Ron has numerous out-of-print books from that era.  They are so groovy, Man!  (Insert hippie-handshake here.)

(Though there's nothing "hippie" about Ron, he has a poet's soul.  Close enough!)

I loved this book!  It took me about 35 minutes to read it.  It is all about the plastic Jesus we put in a box and try to control.  Larsen's idea is to let Jesus out, let him breathe, let him be real.  How do we do that?  Let go of bad theology and stop being so scared to question!  Accept and welcome all others ~ regardless ~ period!  Turn from spiritual narcissism to other-ism.

In all my spiritual grasping, seeking, questioning ~ my respect for Jesus has grown beyond what it was when I was a confirmed (and confined!), solid, sealed-in-the-box Christian.  I am able to separate the god-complex and all the magical thinking to see a man who was truly a visionary.  We don't have to follow theology blindly ~ though that's exactly what religion prescribes.

Jesus stood up for what he believed despite threats or consequences.  He was called a glutton and a drunkard by the religious elite, because he hung out with all the Thugs and Hos!  ("I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.  The sinners are much more fun!" ~ Billy Joel)  He labeled religion a blight and sought to free people from prejudices and injustices and the boxes of religion.  (Remember:  it was the "religious" who ordered the murder of Jesus of Nazareth.)

Over the centuries, religion has put this man ~ who eschewed boxes ~ in a box.  This is an injustice to this man who changed history.  Whether he was "god" or not, we defame Jesus by keeping him plastic.

Perhaps Jesus set the bar a tad bit high by allowing people to believe he was god.  Is that any reason to deify and worship him while simultaneously categorizing him in a card file much like the Dewey Decimal System I grew up with?

Gandhi was a great activist and spiritual leader.  He is revered for the good he did without making him be simply what we want him to be (like religion does with Jesus ~ putting words in his mouth, twisting his message, etc.)  Buddha is only defamed by those who do not understand his ideas.  He never pretended to be a god.  He is merely an archetype with some damn good ideas about peace, love and rock-n-roll.  (Okay ~ I fudged a little there.)

I feel ~ as long as a spiritual leader isn't Jim Jones or Charles Manson ~ we could embrace the good in their messages more fully with a sense of mystery.  I've settled into life as a mystic with a sense of great joy and wonder.  I would love to see the Church ~ as a whole ~ open to the mysteries of individual human beings, of spirit and let that plastic Jesus out of the box so he can inhale slowly.  Exhale.  Inhale.  Exhale.  Earnest Larsen says, "A closed mind is a closed heart."  If we can't let go of old worn-out beliefs that are not relevant (nor are they truth), then we pack our plastic selves away alongside the Buddy Jesus.

RECOMMENDED PURCHASES

Cool Hand Luke ~ This 1967 film starring Paul Newman gives us the song:       "I don't care if it rains or freezes

                        As long as I've got my plastic Jesus,

                        Everything will be fine . . ."

Jesus Christ Superstar ~ This is a 1973 film adaptation of Frank Lloyd Webber's Broadway musical of the same name.  One of my favorite musicals of all times!  This film makes Jesus seem . . . HUMAN!  You know ~ real feelings, struggles, desires.

Dogma ~ I love this film, despite its seeming irreverence.  I think it's one of the funniest films I've ever seen ~ except the poop-monster-part, which grosses me out.  I mention this 1) because that's where we get the Buddy Jesus, 2) George Carlin is the Bishop, 3) Chris Rock is the 13^th disciple, 4) Ben Affleck is an angel and 5) Alannis Morissette is god.  Can't beat that!

Facelift by Alice in Chains ~ I recommend this CD because it includes the song Man in the Box.  Wonderful lyrics about how it feels to be IN the box.

Smart Ground® ~ This is a meatless product with the texture of ground beef.  I raised my kids on this stuff ~ and have fooled numerous people with it.  They thought it was real meat!

RECIPES

My daughter Lilli with her daughter, Fiona ~

O ~ you know she's cool!

Ron recently turned 65; I threw him his first ever surprise party.  I served my meaty-meatless chili and jasmine rice. Once again, my daughter (Lilli's) cake balls were a much loved dessert!

All us wild partiers!  Ha!

CHILI

Ings:

1 # dry beans (any type, but I prefer pintos), soaked and cooked until done

1 can corn, drained

1-2 onions, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

Large can tomato sauce

Large can crushed tomatoes

1 pack of Smart Ground®  (You may use original, but I prefer the Mexican flavored)

Up to 5 TBS chili powder (according to taste)

Up to 3 tsp cayenne pepper (according to taste)

Hearty and meatless!

Mix all ingredients into a crock-pot and cook on high for at least 4 hours.  Serve over jasmine rice.  (This is one of the most aromatic rices.  Just delicious!)  You may add Sriracha, cheese or sour cream and avocado slices.  It also goes nicely with my horseradish/ranch cream.



This Asian hot sauce (Sriracha) is not vinegar-y ~ Very hot, but just PERFECT!
Thanks to my dear friend, Leon, for introducing me to it!



There are numerous brands of Jasmine rice; these are two of my favorites.

HORSERADISH/RANCH CREAM

Ings:

½ cup fine horseradish (I've never prepared this with dollar store horseradish, so I'm not sure how that would work out.)

½ cup buttermilk or regular Ranch dressing.

Mix together well.  Chill and serve.

Horseradish/Ranch Cream: A dollop of heaven!

LILLI'S YUMMILICIOUS CAKE BALLS

This simple recipe can be altered to include different flavors. Lilli has made these tiramisu flavored, red velvet, chocolate mocha . . . Feel free to experiment with this basic recipe to come up with your own flavor combos!

Ings:

1 cake mix, prepared according to instructions

½ can prepared cake frosting

1# melt-able white chocolate disks (usually found in cake decorating sections ~ or you can use candy bars ~ though these disks work better and won't seize up.)

Sprinkles

Cut the crusts off the prepared cake and mix the soft, inner part with the frosting.  This will make a gooey paste.  To form into balls, flour hands and make balls approximately 2 inches in circumference.  Place on cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  Once the balls are all prepared, place in a freezer for at least 15-20 minutes.  (This will firm them up.)  Melt white chocolate.  In a large spoon, dunk each ball individually into the melted candy coating.  Place back on the cookie sheet.  Sprinkle each individual one immediately before the coating sets.  When all balls have been covered and sprinkled, place cookie sheet in the fridge until ready to serve.

Lilli has also made cake pops with this recipe ~

For a taste of food from Jesus' ancestral land, try my hummus recipe (in blog post PRIDE.)