Thursday, January 8, 2015

Following the Recipe


Someone has been sending me Rachel Ray cooking magazines. I am not a cook. It is not that I can't cook. It is that I don't love it. I would much rather be kayaking or skiing, or really just about anything else. Honestly, food just isn't that important to me. Nonetheless, in my opinion, anyone could cook well if they follow a recipe. For a creative spirit like me, following a recipe is counter-intuitive. So I think someone is giving me a big hint in sending me the Rachel Ray cooking magazine. They have remained anonymous. Maybe it is my husband.

Anyway, I opened it out of a very vague curiosity. And I saw a dish that looked heavenly.
My family would never eat this. But look how delicious and healthy it looks. And I love rosemary on chicken...and brussel sprouts lining the roasting pan, and thin sliced lemons in a vermouth and fresh herb sauce....oh my!

So I did something I almost never do. I wrote down the ingredients and went to the grocery store. Many of the ingredients were only vaguely familiar, but I found all of them, all by myself. Except one. Pancetta. Now what is Pancetta? It sounds like a bread. I took a chance and went to the Bakery section.
"Do you carry Pancetta?" I asked, with a show of confidence. If I looked like I was in the right place, perhaps I would be.

"Yes!" she said smiling. I exhaled.
"It's over here, I think...." She led me towards the deli. Not a bread? What was it, then?
She started rifling among things like pastrami, and prosciutto, and I saw a small container labeled Pancetta.
"Here it is!" I said, as if I knew all along what Pancetta was.
It looked like bacon. Pancetta is a fancy word for bacon. I would never have guessed that.

Anyway, then I had to go find a dry white wine, since I didn't have any at home and the recipe called for it.
I don't know what a dry white wine is. I don't drink white wine.
So I went to the wine section, and asked the saleswoman if she could direct me to a (cheap) dry white wine.
"No," she said, "I just am helping stock today...I don't know wines..."
A man leaned over. He looked French, and debonair. Just the sort who might know a dry white wine (though maybe not cheap.)
"Here," he said, handing me a bottle, "You can never go wrong with a Chardonnay."
Fine. I accepted the bottle and headed on home with my haul.

I followed the directions EXACTLY. For those of you who know me, this is as common as the earth deciding to orbit Polaris instead of the sun. It took me a full thirty minutes to prepare, slice, crush, dice, pour, measure, toss, and assemble. I called my husband and told him to be home by 6:30. He knew something was up, if dinner could not warm for whenever he showed up, give or take 3 hours.



It smelled luscious. I had a nagging suspicion my family would not eat it, but I felt hopeful anyway. It certainly looked utterly gorgeous. The prettiest meal I have ever made.

It was delicious. It tasted as delicious as it looked. Maybe there is something to this concept of following a recipe. In a way, there is a spiritual parallel. The Bible is God's recipe for a purposeful life. Most of us ignore His recipe...or substitute when we don't quite like the ingredients He suggests. Sometimes we leave whole sections of His recipe out because it is just too much trouble...or we don't see how such a seemingly insignificant ingredient could make a difference. We don't follow it exactly because we are free spirits, and frankly, we figure we know more than He gives us credit for....

I am a believer now. Follow His recipe. It is so so so much better.
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Jeremiah 29:11-14 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

Proverbs 16:9 

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

Ephesians 2:10 

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

4 comments:

  1. Good girl Vicky! It looks yummy! I get the Rachel Ray digital version(but have to tweak recipes if I can't find ingredients here). Now growing my own herbs....and grapefruit seedings starting.....

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  2. I love your analogy and the scriptures! Keep up the good work!

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