I also remember my last visit to Meggisi vividly. It was one year ago today, in fact, that I scattered my fathers ashes into Meggisi as one of his last requests before heading home. I had written the following to my mother after the Meggisi 2011 trip concluded describing the day:

Sunday proved to be perfect. Cloudless sky. Calm to light wind from the northeast. Warm. A day that Dad would have not stopped talking about had he been in the boat fishing himself. I explained to Josh that Dad never specified to me how or where he wanted to be buried. The only cue I had was when I asked him in his last days he was able to communicate with us, “Dad, do you want to go back to Meggisi?” He said yes and nodded.  From there it was a lot of prayer and careful consideration on the details. I thought of just doing it near the cabin. Or perhaps on the shore of the Big Island where we always had shore lunch? Maybe Trout Bay, which was Dad’s favorite bay to fish? None of the ideas seemed right until I thought of eagles.

Sighting Bald Eagles is a rare and wonderful opportunity. There is no doubt in my mind why the nation’s forefathers chose it as a symbol of the country. The power and majesty of the raptor is incredible – at once ferocious and comforting with a somehow inherent “I am here to protect you” look about it. We saw eagles at Meggisi at least once each time we were up there. For several years there was a large eagles nest up in a pine tree at the apex of a point on the northeastern shore of the lake which Dad, Harold, and Jim all used as a landmark (which we still call “Eagles Nest”). Appropriately, in my research I found out that “Meggisi” is a transliteration of the Ojibwe word “mi-gi-zi” – eagle. Even more appropriately, whenever Dad saw an eagle up at Meggisi, or whenever we trolled past the Eagle’s Nest, he commented on it by remembering Uncle Dick. Eagles undoubtedly reminded him of his brother – the Eagle Scout, the pilot. So when this Eagle Scout and pilot had to think of the right place to pay final respects to his Dad, the answer was so obvious. I told Josh we would do it at the Eagles Nest.

That Sunday morning I quietly loaded the box into the bow of my boat, so as to avoid any anxious ramp up from Josh as we prepared for the day. He saw the box as he boarded and simply asked, “Are we going to do that today?” I said yes, and we headed out ahead of Jonathan and Charlie. Up until this point of the trip, we had yet to spot any eagles around the lake. As we headed across the western half of the lake (we always fish on the eastern half) I caught a glimpse of something overhead. I looked up and saw a large bald eagle, circling us. Following us. I knew Dad was with us. This was no mere coincidence, in my mind. We have never seen eagles on the west side of the lake. And when we have seen them, they were over shorelines, not the lake. This eagle was about 100 feet overhead, and tracked us across the west lake and as we passed through “The Narrows” which connects the east and west halves of Meggisi. Tears streamed down my face as I smiled from ear to ear, and tried to concentrate on navigating the boat with one eye on the eagle.

As we approached the Eagles Nest, the waters became calm. Near shore, where the tree line sheltered the lake from the breeze, it was mirror like. Josh headed up to the bow and pulled the boat up onto the rocky shoreline. I got out too, taking the unremarkable cardboard box with me. We walked up onto the small point, not unlike any other piece of shore on Meggisi – rocky and moss-covered. Pines and aspen sprouting from rocks and fallen timber all around.

Eagles Nest Point

I looked around a bit for remnants of the actual eagles’ nest that had once crowned the highest limbs on that point, but it has been at least 8 years since we last saw it even laying on the ground. With that, Josh and I looked out over the lake. It was peaceful. Beautiful. I said a prayer, thanking God for Dad. And thanking Dad for our family, for sharing Meggisi, for teaching us how to fish, and how to take care of each other. I asked Josh if he had anything he wanted to say, and he didn’t other than to say, “We miss you Dad.”

I opened the box, in which was a clear plastic bag in which the remains were. It was secured with a twist tie and a metal ID tag. I removed the bag from the box and stepped down onto the rip-rap of rocks at the waterline. Saying again to Dad, “I love you!”, I poured out the ashes into the water. As they entered, they plumed and swirled through the clear waters of Meggisi, smothering the rocks below the surface in a brilliant gray-white color. Stepping back onto shore, I looked at Josh who was now crying hard. We stood there and held each other – both in fishing gear, bulky life jackets and all, completely surrounded by peace and quiet –  for a long time.

That day was perhaps the best day of fishing I can remember for a long time. I myself caught 9 lake trout, Josh had 2. But it wasn’t the quantity or size that mattered to me. It was the day itself. The weather only improved. We were able to work a lot of the lake we hadn’t seen yet. And we had good “brother time” day. After about an hour silence following our time at the Eagles Nest, Josh had the first fish of the morning. From that point on things were just as normal as they could be.

As I re-read the email and the account above, I wonder how the fishing has been for Dad this last year. I have no doubt he has been able to catch more than his limit. Eternal catch and release, however, and the grace of it all…well, I knew that when he trolled over to the western shore he would be satisfied, complete, and finding shalom  forever.

There are many things I encounter day-to-day that remind me of him, but the memories I made with him at Meggisi will be my most cherished. Every time we left Meggisi after a week of fishing nirvana, somewhere along Hwy 53 between International Falls and Cook on the drive home, he would break the silence with three simple words:

“I miss it.”

I know exactly how he felt.

I just finished reading a nice little eBook entitled “Genesis for Normal People” by Peter Enns and Jared Byas. Published through Patheos Press, and dropping just about a week ago, the short book has garnered some immediate attention across the blogosphere. I figured I would jump in as well.

A quick read (I finished it in two days), Enns and Byas’ work is enlightening for people who have studied the Bible (or the Torah) for years, and for folks who have just heard a few snippets in their lifetimes. Most people are familiar with Adam and Eve, Noah, and thanks to Hollywood and Broadway, to some extent they also know who Joseph is. The problem is that many of the stories through Genesis involving these characters have been taught to us so literally, we are hard pressed to seek out alternative understandings of what the ancient writings of Genesis were intended to do. This problem is tackled head on by the authors, and they tell us up-front that Genesis was written in ancient times for an ancient people (the Israelites) at a time (when they were exiled to Babylon) when they needed to be reminded why they follow God’s law. The underpinning message – “We follow and worship God, because no matter how far we may stray, God remains true to his promises, and faithful to us.” (My words, paraphrasing the author’s assertions).

It is through that message that the book covers some very thoughtful arguments for the very reasonable thesis that Genesis is, overall, a collection of stories about the beginning of the nation of Israel. The entire book of Genesis sets the stage for the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible), and reminds God’s people through several anecdotal testimonies that men fail and God redeems. Yes, this book tackles the creation story, and why it doesn’t “add up” to modern scientific theory (Hint: ancient writers thought the world was a flat disk with a dome of sky that was made of water…). Yes, it talks about why it’s weird that Cain (Adam and Eve’s son), after killing his brother Abel, heads off to marry some woman we never have heard of and build a city. (Hint: the authors suggest that perhaps there weren’t just four humans on the planet when the event occurs. Duh!) And, for certain, this book addresses the fact that Genesis is not the only account of the “Great Flood” survived by Noah and his family. Pointing out the similarities with the accounts of the   Sumarians, Assyrians, and Babylonians, the authors remind us that the flood story isn’t a nice children’s story, but a rather “a horrific moment in Genesis. The human experiment has failed, and apparently the only possible solution open to God was to kill every living thing, by drowning all things, save for one family and a limited number of animals.” This sets the background for the major question of  ”Why?” instead how “How?” the flood happened…which they answer.

These are just bits and pieces of a good read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has wondered the following:

• Why were Adam and Eve forbidden to eat specifically from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and not some other tree?
• What is the deal with God’s obsession with firstborns…especially when he seems to favor the runts of the litter (like Jacob, Joseph, David)?
• How come the people in Genesis are always headed to Egypt in “exile”?
• Did God really go walking around on earth among men in ancient times?
• What is up with the all the genealogy and lists of names in the Bible. Seriously, who cares?

Genesis for Normal People: A Guide to the Most Controversial, Misunderstood, and Abused Book of the Bible

Seven years ago today, I married the woman I thought for so long I would never find. Many of our friends know that Sarah and I met through an online dating service. Each of our recollections seem to focus on the fact that our encounter (our “match”, so to speak) was way more providential than just happenstance. I had almost given up the online dating game, and Sarah had just arrived on the scene on a whim and after being prodded to by a friend. She made the first move, reaching out to me with the following email:

Good Morning!
So I’ve come upon your profile a few times, and decided to say “Hi”. Maybe it’s the whole Eagle Scout thing. I was a Girl Scout. I, too, can say that I received the highest honor – my Gold Award. A girl can’t really find too many Eagle Scouts around these days. In addition to that, I liked what you had to say in your profile. AND… I love to cuddle. Check me out. I hope to hear from you soon!

Sarah

P.S. You have a great smile!

I can’t tell you how nice it was to get this message. But at the same time, I have to admit I was skeptical. After an overall crappy experience with online dating, how could I be sure that her compliments were true? I thought, “She only read my profile and liked my picture.” And it dawned on me when I perused her profile – she did not have a picture posted. Thinking that if I was going to give this person any consideration before quitting altogether, the least I could ask for was a picture, I emailed back:

Dear Sarah,

Thank you for the extremely flattering email!! It is nice to meet someone who appreciates the whole Scouting thing, and even better to meet one who is a scout…girl or boy. I have a creed: “Once a scout, always a scout!” I can understand the frustration in not finding any Eagle Scouts around these days – there are not many Gold Awards around either. Trust me, you got the real deal with me…I even have pictures to prove it!

Speaking of pictures, I don’t suppose you have one you could share with me, do you? At the risk of sounding shallow – which I am NOT – I would really like to see what you look like. I think you can tell a lot about someone from their photogentics – you said it yourself…you liked my smile! (Thanks by the way…that made my day!)

Sarah was glad to oblige, and lucky for me she didn’t post up a fake. Actually, she scanned three pictures in. Viewing all of them I thought, “Man…she is cute!” Even from those low-res pics (they were from film and scanned), I noticed how her eyes get “sparkly” when she smiles — something I still enjoy to this day. We had a few more emails and phone conversations, and then slated our first date. We found immediate “chemistry” – but as Sarah recalls, “Kris says it was love at first sight.” And although we wouldn’t exchange those three important words for several months, I knew it was true. About 2 1/2 years later, we vowed to never forget our true love, how we found it, and through God’s love the enduring power of our love in marriage.

Happy Anniversary, darling! The last (almost 10) years having you in my life has been amazing to say the least. The last seven years of marriage have been so rewarding. I love you!

Evelyn is in the back row against the calendar. Click on the picture for a larger version!

My daughter, Evelyn, has been attending her first year of preschool at the “Small Wonders” program offered by Lakeville ISD#194. She has loved every minute of it and we, as parents, couldn’t be more pleased or proud of her. Below is a video of the first song they performed today at a concert they performed today for the parents. I think it is called “Hello Neighbor.”

The Small Wonders program is pretty great, and next year they get to move (along with all of Lakeville’s early childhood programming) into the former Crystal Lake Elementary School facility. That facility was re-purposed this year, and is getting a bit of an overhaul in preparation for all preschool, ECFE, ECSE, and some professional development programs to be housed there starting in the fall. This coming fall my son, Oliver, will be joining his sister in Small Wonders (Evie is 4 but misses the cutoff for kindergarten this fall with a late September birthday, and Ollie is 3). After the concert, we had lunch and then headed over to Crystal Lake Education Center to check out the new digs. The progress has been impressive, and the rooms are large, well equipped, and comfy. If you have kids in the Lakeville area, and are interested, learn more about ISD#194′s EC programming here:

Lakeville Early Childhood

As much as I would like to go on and on and on about yesterday’s storm and its awesome complexity, I would like instead to focus on something that should be nagging every last one of us. What is going on with our weather? We had a 40 degree drop in temperature over 15 hours (our high was 75 at 5:30pm yesterday, and it dropped to 35 at 8:30 this morning), and statistically that is impressive. However, looking back on March, and what has already been a tumultuous April, things are a bit…um…atypical.

March saw its overall average temperature (as recorded at lakevilleweather.com) depart 20 degrees from normal. That’s 20 degrees warmer. With several record setting days well into the upper 70′s, record-setting ice out dates were recorded at area lakes. As a matter of fact, Minnesota’s northernmost lake, Lake of the Woods, set a new record, becoming ice free on April 8th, a full month earlier than the median date for ice out there since 1985.

Now that Minnesota has seen a few tornadoes this early season, we should be taking heed to the experiences of the rest of the country. The United States has now seen 544 tornadoes in 2012. The country has seen two single-event outbreaks in excess of 100 tornadoes. Over 60 people have lost their lives to a tornado (and on a side-note, the majority were in mobile homes). Last year was amazing statistically, and devastating in terms of lives lost, when you review the tornado count: 1691 tornadoes, 550 dead. The most deadly month, over the last three years of tornado data? April.

So, what does this all mean to you and me? First, let’s agree that the wrath of nature is in God’s hands on the day-to-day. Second, we should be absolutely prepared for a worst-case weather scenario. As I mentioned earlier, Severe Weather Awareness Week is underway. Get some great info from the MN-HSEM here. Third, talk to your kids about the weather, and what to do when the weather gets bad outdoors (Hint: first flash of lightning, or roll of thunder, they need to get inside).

Finally, let me end the post with a bit on climatology. Remember that nagging question I mentioned earlier? For some of you, perhaps the question is more about what has been happening the last few years. Let me suggest that perhaps all that “global warming” stuff may not be far off the mark? The scientists studying atmospheric change and resultant climate impact – in the 1970′s and 1980′s – are seeing their predictions come true. Except one thing they didn’t necessarily anticipate in their prognosis: the huge uptick in severe weather events.

Here is a great video with some big names talking about our wild weather, and the relationship to climate change. Give it a watch and tell me what you think.

Photo credit – stormchasermovies.com

Hinrichs and others all point out the coziness of La Grolla, and that the decor and setting does indeed make you feel placed in an actual Italian cafe, rather than somewhere in St. Paul. With a table of four, hopefully we aren’t too tight, but my instinct is that that critics the like of Andrew Zimmern and Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl would have nailed them for it…particularly the latter (and my most enjoyed) critic. (See Dara’s 2004 review here.)

A review of their menu gives me hunger pangs I haven’t had for sometime…probably because it has been an eternity since I have been to a restaurant that makes Italian food well. Truly, how many joints have you been to that aren’t line cook driven, with predictable recipes? Buca? Biaggis? They are big chain restaurants, so they get disqualified at the starting block. You may ask, “What about Campiello?” Disqualified…and don’t get me wrong here, I think the D’Amico’s have some awesome food in all of their establishments. But they have become an empire almost. And Campiello is just a huge bar with a huge wine list with a kitchen in back…so folks in E.P.MN seem to say. Other choices seem to dwindle away…Il Gato won gushing praise from Citypages last year before closing, and their 2010 winner, Bar LaGrassa in downtown Minnie has the traditional stuff, but seems to cater to diversity more than down-home Italian staples.

I am attracted to the website-posted menu due to the simple fact that I can skim it and see these “staples”: all kinds of pasta, all kinds of sauces (vodka, alfredo, bolognese, garlic cream, tomato “pink” sauce, champange sauce, etc.), seafood, veal, chicken, fresh salads, antipasti…the list goes on and on, but I am not finding the distraction of the trendy “wood fired,” or “flat bread pizzas,” or some other kind of “hey, we aren’t some boring pasta house” gimmick. I don’t want that…if I did, we would be visiting one of the other standard places listed above.

Before I get too snobby (I think I already have) with this preview, let me suffice it to say that I want to be surprised a bit tonight. I want to experience something I haven’t had before, and I want it to be somewhat different from what I conjure up in my head that it might be like. The cartoccio may do the trick. The menu describes, “Linguine pasta tossed with sauté shrimps, calamari, scallops, Mediterranean mussels, Clams, Garlic, fresh tomato, basil, oregano, wrapped in parchment paper, baked and served steaming hot.” Grumdahl  described it in 2004, that when “… the darling bundle is opened at the table a cloud of perfumed steam poofs! out of the bowl, giving you the rich essence of American Italian restaurants, both real and beloved and imagined and beloved, or as seen in Lady and the Tramp.” Doesn’t that make you smile to read that? It makes me smile…and makes me really hungry!

Full review forthcoming!

Holy Saturday is the day following “Good Friday” and preceding “Resurrection Sunday” – also called “Easter” but, the emergence of springtime is not why we celebrate a special day at church tomorrow. So, I think I am good with calling tomorrow Sunday, with the prefixing word that defines something we celebrate every Sunday at church…but just a little more fervently tomorrow. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

So much has been written and contemplated about Good Friday (rememberence of Jesus’ crucifixion) and the Resurrection, it got me to thinking about what has been contemplated about the intervening day – Holy Saturday. A cursory Google search will point us directly to some scripture about what happened just before Holy Saturday. Since Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath (actually, Shabbot, from sunset on Friday evening to just after sunset on Saturday evening), and because Jesus was crucified just prior to Shabbot, his followers had to hustle and get him buried. Now, put yourself into Jerusalem, over two thousand years ago:

–You are living under the rule (dictatorship) of Caesar, Emperor of the Roman Empire. Your nationality (the Children of Israel) recognize King Herod as their cultural leader, and their faith leaders are politically involved. In other words, what they say at temple gets pleaded to Herod, and appeased somewhat by the local governor (Pontius Pilate) in order to keep you and your fellow countrymen from starting an uprising. The whole city is watched over by hundreds of Roman soldiers. Martial law and Temple law are constantly keeping people in check – but when there is a conflict, martial law is carried out by the Roman centurions. Due to Caesar’s taxes and rule of oppression, you are dirt poor.–

Who would have the ability and “privilege” to take Jesus off the cross he was hung on and bury him?

Jesus disciples, fearful for their own persecution, scatter. And certainly they, having been marked as rebels along with Jesus, would have zero ability to take care of Jesus after death. Clearly only the wealthy and privileged members of the community would have the gnat’s chance. Joseph of Arimethea and Niccodemus, both recognized as religious leaders and ‘members’ of the ruling council(s) of priests, ask Pilate for Jesus’ body. Joseph uses a tomb that belongs to his family for Jesus’, and Niccodemus brings the traditional myrrh and aloes to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. Reflected in all four gospels, Jesus gets a traditional Jewish burial prior to Shabbot.

OK, on Saturday (during Shabbot), in Matthew’s recollection of events (Matt. 27:62-66) the chief priests go to Pilate with the concern that someone will carry out the prophecies, including Jesus own words, “After three days I will rise again,” and that Jesus body will be removed from from the tomb. They plead that the tomb be secured, and Pilate tells them to use their own (Temple) guards to watch over the tomb.

From  that point on, the Gospels tell us nothing about what happens on Saturday. Zero. In fact, in Luke 23:56b, they “…rested according to the commandment.” Far be it from the (by-in-large) authors of the Gospels to relate that the sabbath was not honored…according to tradition, not observing Shobbot was punishable by stoning. So, the lack of testimony seems reasonable.

However, I submit to you that there was a lot going on that Saturday. I imagine that there were many people thinking about Jesus, praying…feeling utter guilt and emptiness. The only way I can possibly think this could be would be imagining the way I have felt when someone I have revered or looked up to passed away. I can think of (in chronological order) a friend who took me under his wing during my freshman year in college who was killed after only knowing him for couple months, my paternal grandmother, my father, and most recently a friend from work. From the point I learned of their deaths, to anywhere from 24 hours to several weeks, I felt complete and unrelenting denial, anger, reconciliation, depression, and eventually acceptance.

Does that sound familiar? It should, as “denial, anger, bargaining (reconciliation), depression, acceptance” are the five stages of grief as defined by psychiatrist Elizabeth Kübler-Ross. Can you identify? More importantly, can you identify as it pertains to Jesus? What were his closest followers experiencing that Shabbot, as they said their prayers and asked God for forgiveness?

Perhaps Simon Peter (St. Peter) was in denial. Having already denied his relationship with Jesus three times (you have seen it reenacted in several movies), do you think Peter was even deeper in denial after his Lord passed away? How did he spend his Shabbot? I wonder how frightened by his denial Peter was? After seeing that Jesus is missing from the tomb(John 20:3), he heads home in disbelief, and probably despair. In John 21, Peter goes fishing after the sabbath is over (he was a fisherman by trade…what else would you do after your Lord was crucified? Go back to work, right?) Jesus appears to Peter and six other disciples when they are “skunked” (i.e., haven’t caught a darn thing). How deep was Peter’s grief as he cast his nets that day? He was so overjoyed to see Jesus he jumped overboard and swam to his Lord!

Maybe John was angry? Jesus himself called John “Son of Thunder” likely due to his attitude. Ironically, John, due to his accounts of the Gospel, letters, and testimony focuses on love. He was the guy who invented, “Jesus is Love”! But what about before that? He, along with his brother James, were all about revenge and atonement for people to stood against Jesus. I wonder if he was just plain angry? Was he pacing back and forth, plotting revenge against the religious leaders and Pilate? In the end, John points out in his gospel, letters, and in Revelation, that he sees Jesus very much where he is today…and very much in the framework of love rather than anger.

Who would have reconciled or bargained over Jesus? Perhaps Mary Magdelene? After watching Joseph and Niccodemus lay him in the tomb, she returns early after Shabbot, before daybreak on Sunday to see her Lord, and attend to him (John 20:1). She sees that the “secured tomb” is open and empty and pleads with someone who she thinks is the “gardener” (read: cryptkeeper) who ends up to actually be an angel over the whereabouts of Jesus’ body.

How about which person we know from scripture was depressed? How about Mary, Jesus own mother? In John 19:26-27 Jesus tells Mary to look upon John as her son, and John to look upon Mary as his mother. John (per his testimony) takes Mary in thereafter. I wonder how that made Mary feel? Here her firstborn — who was born per divine intervention — she has raised according to the full extent of traditions and law. Her own son is an “honor student” of their faith, and she knows He is the Son of God (hello, virgin birth, remember?) and here he hangs on a cross with spikes in his hands and feet, blood trickling down his face and covering his back where fresh wounds pour out blood in the hot sun. Jesus can barely breathe without committing to excruciating pain (he would have to have pushed up with his legs on the nails in his feet to allow his lungs to expand to take a breath). And Jesus looks down on Mary and tells her…with the breath he can muster… to look upon John as her son now — rather than Him. How could any mother feel anything other than depression after watching their own child suffer, and to make a dying request like that?

Acceptance is something that I think that we can only ascribe to Thomas. In John 20:28-29 we read that Thomas is asked by Jesus if he “believes because you have seen..” Prior to that we know that Thomas is the skeptic, telling his friends who have seen Jesus resurrected that he will not believe until he can touch his wounds. Jesus reminds Thomas when he presents himself that “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” (John 20:29b) How much more accurate can one define acceptance than when one relies on faith alone?

So, how did Peter, John, Mary Magdelene, Mary mother of Jesus, and Thomas spend Shabbot? In pain: Bitter. Unending. Lonely. Empty.

Pain.

That is what it feels like to lose someone you love. Someone you know meant more to you than you realized when he was alive. A person who ends up to be everything they said they were — and more. Someone like Jesus.

Tomorrow we celebrate the fact that Jesus LIVES! Not only does Jesus live, but so does any person who has put their own lives aside to live for Jesus. The five stages of grief are over. Jesus has triumphed over death. Nothing on this planet, or any planet for that matter, can rise up to deny His place in our lives. Jesus is Love; Jesus is Lord; Jesus is God!

Can I get an Amen?!?!

The “Tour of the Mediterranean” menu I created not only was gluten free – it was also palette expanding. Not many blue blooded Minnesotans have even tried  true food from that region of the world. So, this was a big opportunity. Here is how it went:

First Courses

Baby potatoes with garlic sauce and chili sauce for dipping
Bacon wrapped dates
Grape leaves stuffed with rice and beef
Chorizo fried with fresh herbs, served with seasoned sour cream

Main Courses

Greek salad with balsamic vinagrette
Beef Shawarma served with  flat bread, veggies, and tzatziki sauce (to make a “gyro” if one wanted)
Shish Tawook (not to be confused with chicken shish kabobs, but a close cousin to them)
Saffron Rice

Dessert Courses

Lemon Meringue Pie (in gluten free and regular crusts)
Chocolate Cake

OK, so the dessert menu was not very Mediterranean, but they were fan favorites nonetheless. The first courses started us on the tour in Spain and Greece. The baby potatoes are a very common tapas dish from Spain, as is the chorizo.  Dates are very prevalent across the region…but bacon not so much. So the bacon wrapped dates were a western spin on a simple treat. Stuffed grape leaves are more common in Greece, but I understand they can be found all over the region.It is a labor-intensive dish, but it pays off. They are delicious.

The main courses reflected the Eastern-Med and Middle-East parts of the culinary tour. For those of you not familiar with “shawarma”, it is what the Greeks call “gyro”, but the origins of the dish are in western Turkey. Typically, you marinate the meat and mold it onto a vertical spit that is heated/cooked by a gas burner. The juices run down the meat, which keeps it basted and moist. The meat gets carved off the spit for serving. Pop it into a flat bread or into a pita, top with garlic sauce or cucumber (tzatziki) sauce, some veggies, and you have the gyro sandwich that has become the westernized popularization of this dish. Now, I didn’t go out and get a big roasting spit, but instead I used a great recipe that has been used traditionally by families who don’t have access to such equipment. The meat is marinated overnight and then baked. It’s fantastic!

Shish Tawook is another traditional dish that has been morphed and copycatted by other “kabob” recipes over the years. But what sets it apart from the others is the unique flavor and color created by the marinade. I was skeptical about a yogurt-based marinade, but man does this stuff taste good. I added a bit of the Lebanese seven-spice powder to the marinade to give it an extra flavor punch. It was decimated by my guests….more so than the steak shawarma!

The recipes for the grape leaves, shawarma, shish tawook, garlic sauce, and tzatziki sauce all were from dedemed.com. Denise Hazime (“Dede”) has a fantastic website, geared especially to mid-east and med ex-pats who can’t find good, authentic food from back home here on US soil. My inspiration (and cravings) for such food were spurned on by visits to the Mediterranean Cruise Cafe (run by long-time Minnesotan dynasty of Lebanese cooking, the Ansari’s). If anybody would like the recipes for the other items on the menu, I can write them up…just leave a comment!

It has been vacation/staycation week here for the Pierson’s, and the majority of my time has been consumed with painting our living room, upstairs hallway, stairway, and front entry. Food has been simple and nothing worthy of “Foodie Friday” treatment. So, instead, I wanted to just send up a simple post about my kids, Evelyn and Oliver.

Mistaken for twins by many people (which I always think is odd), they are about 17 months apart in age (Evie now 4 and Ollie now 3). This has, I think, contributed the most to their closeness to one another. They truly have become “BFF’s” – Best Friends Forever. Don’t get me wrong, they have several other friends outside of the family. But I think these two have developed a very strong bond of friendship, rather than sibling rivalry, early on in their lives.

Their playtime at home very often is shared. They miss each other when they are apart for different activities. There are certainly times of competition, especially when it comes to things they both have to do. They have been into playing “Paper, Rock, Scissors” against each other to decide who gets the nod first for simple things, like turns at the sink for teeth brushing.

It is clear to us that Ollie looks up to Evie. He knows she has the edge on age and, therefore, development. But even more interesting to me is that Evie seems to also look admiringly towards Ollie at times. When he is playing something on his own, she often wants to get in on the action. If Ollie has done something she thinks is cool, she wants to learn how he did it. Compliments are true and frequent between the two of them. Oliver just figured out how to properly turn the water on and off in one of the bathrooms, and Evelyn was immediately complimenting him and bragging to us about her smart brother. “Mommy, Daddy! Ollie just did the water by himself, isn’t he so smart?!”

They love each other so very much. They are not afraid to give each other hugs and kisses. In public, (typically when splitting up to go off to different school or church classrooms) the P.D.A. usually elicits a collective, “Awwww!” from bystanders. We just beam with pride.

Sarah and I are truly blessed having Evie and Ollie as our children, and their kinship underscores that blessing to an immeasurable level.

Truffled Potato Squares – Courtesy of Emeril Lagasse, and modified by KP

3-4 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes, washed, and sliced 1/8″ thick slices
2 Tbsp Butter, diced into small chunks (plus some to grease baking dish)
1/2 cup grated parmesean cheese
1/4 cup  shredded parmesean cheese
1/2 cup half and half
Kosher salt (3-4 good pinches)
fresh ground black pepper
4 tsp Truffle Flavored Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 425.

Grease loaf-pan sized baking dish with some butter. Line dish with potato slices (sides and bottom). Sprinkle in a pinch of salt, a few grinds of black pepper, about 1 Tbsp of grated parm cheese, and drizzle with the oil. Toss in a few small  chunks of butter. Now add another layer of potatoes, laying them in like shingles. Repeat the salt, pepper, cheese, oil, and butter. Keep building layers until just shy of the top of the dish. Add shredded parm cheese on top of final layer. Slowly pour in half and half into the corners of the dish so it distributes evenly. Press down on gratin with your hand to make sure the layers are compacted between each other and that the half and half pushes through the layers. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until top layer of cheese is browned a bit. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 20 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.

Tilapia Loins Pan Seared in Parmesean Spice Rub – by KP

Note: I know this recipe and technique screams, “This is fried fish, not seared!” but trust me, it is so light, you won’t think it was fried. It almost seems more baked than anything!

4-6 tilapia loins
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup grated parmesean cheese
1 Tbsp Seasoned Salt (Lawry’s)
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk
1/4-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil *

Put a large frying pan or skillet on medium heat. Add oil to pan and heat (*oil should just be enough to cover surface of pan, with no depth). Combine well flour, cheese, seasoned salt, and spices and spread out on a dinner plate. Beat the egg and milk together in a bowl or container that the fish loin will fit into. Roll each tilapia loin in the flour mixture, dip in egg/milk mixture, and then roll again in flour mix, coating evenly. Fry in oil, about 4 minutes a side (each side should be golden brown). Remove and drain on paper towels.

Haricot Verts (green beans pan heated in butter) – traditional

Washed and trimmed green beans
2 Tbsp butter
Kosher salt

In a skillet on medium heat, melt butter. Toss beans into pan and turn frequently heating them through to desired doneness. Season with a pinch of salt if desired.