Friends,
Within the first week of landing on the Emerald Isle, I discovered that I would need to be cooking once a week for my fellow housemates. For most, this would not be a problem. For me, I was terrified.
When I was living in an apartment during my senior year at Marquette University, my diet consisted of sandwiches, cereal, frozen pizza, and ramen. Tasting my food was never much of a concern, it was mostly about which meal I could make in the least amount of time possible so that I wouldn’t have to run as fast to the 126th thing I needed to do that day. Cooking for other people was not something that college had prepared me for.
For my first month making dinner, I clung to my old ways and decided to make frozen pizzas for two of the weeks. But then, I decided to get creative. I had vaguely remembered watching my father make stir fries back home, and I decided that some fried rice and veggies would be my first venture outside of my culinary comfort zone. The result: the vegetables and chicken were edible, flavours were present, and we had enough rice to last us for the next two weeks. Yep, I made waaayyyy too much rice. BUT, I had gotten through the first week. The next week, I found a recipe for Guinness Chilli online and the result was actually pretty delicious.
As the time has gone on, the kitchen and I have gotten to be far friendlier. Some of my most intriguing recipes have consisted of coconut breaded chicken, honey brussel sprouts, brown-sugar coated carrots, coconut-carrot pretzel puffs, sweet and sour chicken, and an avocado/dill/cream cheese spread. Mistakes still happen quite frequently, but I chalk them up to growing pains and every time I cook I get a little bit closer to being able to consistently serve up delicious dishes.
As I continue to challenge myself in the kitchen, Clonard Church of the Annunciation is also having their own venture out of its comfort zone. The community is welcoming three missionaries for a Parish Mission, which only happens once every five years. Every morning the missionaries hold mass and every night there is a service with a different theme each day. Yesterday, for example, was a healing service coupled with adoration, at which people were allowed to lay down stones at the foot of the monstrance in order to represent giving up one’s brokenness in the sight of The Lord.
Thus far, both the evening and morning services have attracted large crowds each day for a chance to try something new in their personal prayer kitchens. Despite the added workload associated with the week, it has also served as a rejuvenating experience for us at the House as we continue to strive to consistently serve up a pleasing offering to God.
Cheers,
Ben
