A Sabbath Poem by Wendell Berry

Wendell Berry’s collection of Sabbath Poems, found in A Timbered Choir is a treasure. My sister gave me the book back when she first started working at The Academy. They had read The Farm, one of Berry’s poems in a staff meeting and she knew I needed to own the book. Over the last 4 years since she gave it to me, I have slowly read a few at a time. I think poetry should be read slowly and thoughtfully, so I have savored a few every once-in-a-while. Below is one I fell in love with.

Sabbath Poem year 1983, number I

In a crease of the hill

under the light,

out of the wind,

as warmth, bloom, and song

return, lady, I think of you,

and of myself with you.

What are we but forms

of the self-acknowledging

light that brings us

warmth and song from time

to time? Lip and flower,

hand and leaf, tongue

and song, what are we but welcomers

of that ancient joy, always

coming, always passing?

Mayapples rising

out of old time, leaves

folded down around

the stems, as if for flight,

flower bud folded in

unfolding leaves, what

are we but hosts

of times, of all

the Sabbath morning shows,

the light that finds it good.

The Dean’s Watch by Elizabeth Goudge

On my birthday, one of my friends gave me a copy of The Dean’s Watch by Elizabeth Goudge. Elizabeth Goudge is one of my favorite authors to read. Her descriptive prose and human characters make her a delight. And at least somewhere in each book of hers is a beautiful description of the gospel. Sometimes it is in a conversion story, as in The Scent of Water, sometimes it is in the telling of the goodness of God’s providence, as in Green Dolphin Street, and sometimes it is in the small-turned-large ways God’s redemption changes a person, as in The Dean’s Watch. I thought I wouldn’t get around to Dean’s Watch until the summer, but picked it up one Sunday and finished it within a month.

Something magical happens every time I pick up an Elizabeth Goudge book. Every time I have ever read one, it is as though the book is perfect for exactly what I am going through at the time. I am not sure if that is just her magic as a writer – to draw the reader in and bring connections to all who read her work – or if it is God’s grace, or, more likely, a combination of the two. Goudge writes with love and grace, with gravitas and sincerity, with hope and suffering.

The Dean’s Watch is about a watchmaker and a Dean (an Anglican version of a bishop) and their unlikely friendship. I’ll leave you to try to find a copy of the book and read it yourself. I personally dislike synopses of books, so I will simply give you some of my favorite quotes, though sparing ones that give away too much.

A quote that reminded me of myself:

“The Dean’s thoughts were always inclined toward anxiety and gloom, and never more so than when he had a cold.”

A quote that awakened compassion in my heart:

“All of them, and especially the terrible Dean, has seemed to live in a  world where compassion was not necessary. He saw now that it was the very first necessity, always and everywhere, and should flow between all men, always and everywhere. Men lived with their nearest and dearest and knew little of them, and strangers passing by in the street were as impersonal as trees walking, and all the while there was this deep affinity, for all men suffered.”

A quote that describes the dark night of the soul:

“The living light that had made love possible had seemed too glorious ever to go out, yet now it had gone and left her in darkness, and the loneliness of life without love was to her a horror quite indescribable.”

A quote that challenges the way I love my students:

“Each one of them was quite sure that she loved him as she loved no one else; which was true, for seeing as she did the love of God perfectly in each creature of His creation and care she could love the creatures s though it were all that existed, and she loved almost without favoritism.”

A quote on children that made me smile:

“Children, he had always thought, were little angels, and had not Bella laid her hand upon his knee he might have continued in this misconception until the end of his days.”

And, lastly, I leave you with Goudge’s words,

“Be at peace now and let the tide carry you into calm water. That is all you have to do for the moment. God bless you.”

Recipe: Grilled Lamb and Turkey Kebabs

A few days ago I was flipping through a Martha Stewart Living magazine. I found some very fun recipes that excited me. First, I found a recipe for Pita Bread. I love recipes for homemade things that you usually just buy because it’s much easier. Mom made the Pita Bread recipe, and it turned out wonderfully. The bread is delicious! You can go to the recipe by clicking on this sentence. 

Mom making the pita bread

Mom with the finished pitas

Second, I found a recipe for Grilled Kofta Kebabs. I made a few changes, so if you would like to just go to the recipe with my adaptations, click anywhere on this sentence. 

All the ingredients (minus two eggs)

Mom got both turkey and lamb and I combined them together for our version of this recipe. Gather all the supplies you will need to make the recipe (or just get things out as you go, whatever your style is).

All the herbs in a heap

Finely chop the onion and throw it in a big bowl. Finely chop the herbs. You do not need to chop them separately. Just put them all in a pile together,

And chop away!

The herbs finely chopped!

Throw the rest of the ingredients into the bowl, and mix it all up together.

Next, take about 1/4 cup of the mixture and form it into ovals. Place them on a large cookie sheet. The recipe will make 18 kebabs. Brush them with olive oil, cover, and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour. We found that the longer they are refrigerated, the better. They could be made a day ahead of time and refrigerated or made and frozen, then thawed before grilling.

Mom was the grillmaster. The original recipe called for the kebabs to be put on skewers and cooked. Mom found that they would be easier to turn if they were just in their ovals and placed on the grill. They are big enough that they won’t fall through. So, the next time we make this recipe, that is what we will do – and how I wrote directions in my google docs recipe- (the link is up there somewhere).

They were delicious served inside a pita with all the fixins’ on top. I did end up chopping mine into smaller bits to put inside the pita.

Grilled Kebabs

We served this with a greek style salad (romaine and arugula, kalamata olives, tomatoes, red onion, feta, and red wine vinaigrette).

A time for feasting: part 3

It’s been a month now (to the day, actually), since my Valentine’s Party, but I had a few more photos to post of the actual courses. I’ll link to the recipe for the Zinfandel Short Ribs I used for the main course, but since I didn’t change the recipe much, I didn’t want to post my own recipe.

Appetizer: Shrimp tortellini with capers and lemon cream sauce.

I’m in love with lemon cream sauce. I first had it over in Tulsa while having a grand time with girl friends during their yearly shopping spree trip – in which we do more talking and eating out than hard-core shopping. Since then, I’ve been on a quest to re-create my own lemon cream sauce. Down in my apartment for dinner one day, I managed to create a pretty good lemon cream sauce, though it was more of a Sherry lemon cream sauce. I attempted to re-create my creation for the Valentine’s Meal….It turned out well, but not as amazingly good at my first time.

Shrimp Tortellini Appetizer

The second course was the soup course. I made a Roasted Garlic Soup for this course. I love roasted garlic soup. There is something so wondrous to me about taking sharp garlic and turning it into creamy soup.

Garlic Soup

After the soup came the salad. My friend Elizabeth actually put the whole salad together. I loved the look of this course – the green of the arugula, the red of the blood orange, and the white of the goat cheese croutons. Oh my! We topped it off with some pine nuts and a simple Cider Vinaigrette for a light finish.

The main

Arugula, Blood Orange Salad

The main course was Zinfandel Short Ribs over Polenta. I put some ricotta in the polenta for creaminess.

Zinfandel Short Ribs

By then we were pretty full on food, but we also had a cheese plate. For dessert we had chocolate mousse with chocolate covered strawberries. I ate my chocolate mousse before I snapped a picture of it. 

So, there you have my pictures of our lovely time. Hope you enjoyed!