What could be better than biting into a big, ripe, juicy, heirloom tomato? Well maybe not much. But here are two close contenders.
For many it’s back-to-school sandwich time. It’s also ripe tomato time. Combine both in a toasted tomato, mayo, cracked pepper sandwich.
Here’s an alternate, instead of mayo, add fresh basil leaves, sliced baby mozzarella and drizzle olive oil for a caprese twist. Add a green salad, white wine and le diner est servi!
Here’s another gourmet version of my all-time favorite, grilled cheese –
These electric orange sandwiches elevate the traditional grilled cheese by way of a new take on an old Southern favorite: pimento cheese. Savour calls for sharp cheddar to counterbalance the sweetness of the roasted peppers and the punch of raw garlic. She also has you grill both sides of the bread, which keeps it crisp rather than soggy. Combined with a glass of dry white wine and a green salad, this is real home alone comfort food. – A&M (Shine, Yahoo, July 10, 2011)
Have you ever been to a picnic operetta? I hadn’t until today. What a great idea. On a late summer afternoon – gather actors, musicians, chefs and spectators together in a ready-to-harvest community garden. Provide picnic blankets for seating. Perform the operetta and pass delicious tidbits to enjoy while viewing the performance.
Photo MixedPrecipitation.org
The costumes and props were colorful, dynamic and creative as was the talent. Here’s the write-up from their website, Mixed Precipitation:
Alcina’s Island:
A Picnic Operetta
August 20 – October 1, 2011
This Alcina is rowdy and delicious!
In our colorful re-imagining of George Frideric Handel’s 1735 opera Alcina, the garden becomes a truck stop on the American highway. Scheming sorceresses Alcina and Morgana become truck stop waitresses, luring brave truckers astray. We combine Handel’s early baroque with outlaw country, trucker songs and classic old-time music.
Handel’s opera — based on Ariosto’s epic poem Orlando furious — features monsters, magic spells, rings of invisibility and a flying hippogriff. And, of course, the glory of love and music conquers all!
The magic of this island will be all the more savory, with Chef Nick Schneider’s five course sampling menu of locally sourced treats created especially for this performance.
The chefs’ tidbits were pretty amazing too. We sampled pickled ramps, skewered zucchini jerky and juicy watermelon cubes with salty/spicy centers, among other things. Everything was created from local, in season, ingredients.
Check their website for a schedule of Twin Cities performances and treat yourself! Do plan to contribute a well-deserved donation after the performance.
This is the time of year to try quick and easy fruit salads. They’re fast and in season. If it’s hot outside serve chilled. Otherwise serve at room temperature.
Try this savory one: cut up ripe watermelon and toss with cherry tomato halves. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar to enhance the melon and tomato flavor. Sprinkle with chopped mint and crumbled feta. Serve alone or with sliced chicken breast and artisan bread. Add chilled white wine.
Photo Flickr
Here’s another easy salad with melon. Cube cantaloupe (or use a melon baller), add bocconcini or fresh mozzarella cheese pieces, mint and thin slices of ham. You could sprinkle with fresh chopped basil and sunflower seeds as another option. Optional: add dollop of Greek yogurt (make your own Greek Yogurt here) and ripe blueberries or raspberries. Serve with warm, buttery croissants and iced tea.
We often hear the term “live large.” But what does it mean to “live small”?
Professor Reginald Ray offers a good description in his book Indestructible Truth. In writing about motivation or the intention with which we pursue various activities in life he says:
“The small level of ordinary motivation refers to beings whose focus in life is on being happy and content within their one lifetime, trying to make themselves secure and comfortable. They seek a good family situation, health, an ample income, a fine dwelling, social status, and so on. They . . . are not concerned with what happened before . . . or what will happen later.” (Ray, 314)
It seems to me that to live a middle class lifestyle without any concern about how that lifestyle exploits or impoverishes others is truly a very small life. It is difficult to learn how many ordinary things we do affect others around the globe. But it is necessary in living an examined life.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
My one life is a very valuable gift. Living small devalues that gift.
Imagine taking a walk with God. This presentation will inspire and uplift you. God lives in the deepest part of our being. We can walk with God anytime we connect with our true self.
If you are interested in different ways of imagining God watch the film Quantum Activist with physicist Amit Goswami (Netflix Play Instantly), read John Haught’s 101 Questions On God and Evolution, the best selling novel The Shack or simply read the bible.
In the bible, God is portrayed as an architect and potter in Genesis, a cloud of smoke and a pillar of fire in Exodus, even a burning bush. In the gospels, Jesus uses over 39 images for God including God as a woman with a lost coin, God as water that sustains us, and God as a vine.
In her book Models of God, theologian Sallie McFague presents us with the rich images of God as a mother, a lover and a friend. These images place God directly into the deepest and most intimate relationships we will ever have. While these images may be new for some, they are actually quite old. She has pulled these images directly from the bible. In the Book of Hosea, God is described as our mother and as Job’s friend in the Book of Job. An entire book of the bible is devoted to describing God as a lover – the Song of Songs.
What are your images of God? What new ones could you add?
