Bleu cheese and gratitude

It’s cold here.  Not the sub-zero, your breath freezes and falls to your feet, it hurts to breathe cold, but cold.  My living room windows radiate and imitate the chill of the drifting snow outside, a fierce competitor for my wood stove.  My blond child is napping, the other reading, and it’s just quiet.  Did I dare think that, let alone write it?  My, what am I asking for?!  I’ve got a bowl of left-over mashed potatoes and a glass of iced tea.  The trees are snow laden and the icicles almost touching the ground.  What amazing beauty in the midst of cold.  It has quit snowing for the moment.  Very welcome after almost eight inches fell this morning.  But what a time I had doing morning chores!  Yes, they took a bit longer than usual (my eldest claimed “Three hours!”  I think he was pretty close) but the peace in the cold quiet…  Ahhh.

 I thought, shoveling out the door to the shop to get to the plow, about our nation.  About the people frantically wondering what happened when the world didn’t end last month.  About those who are dependent upon our government for one reason or another and their frenzy over the [lack of] decision making in the legislature.  About my own family, are we raising them to see what is going on through a lens of truth?  Am I setting an example of what it means to strive for good?  To live righteously?  To serve our Holy God?  Am I setting them up for success or failure?  Where did we, as a nation go wrong?  (Please, it’s a rhetorical question, mostly.)  Why are we no longer living in the dreams that our forefathers dreamed for us?  Why did that lady at the store look at me funny when I told her ‘thank you’ when all she did was her job?  Gratitude has been lost somewhere in the hustle and bustle to get ahead, the climb up the ladder, the extra $0.50 in the paycheck, the difference between a 3.9 and 4.0 GPA.

Of all the random things that are said in my home, (and probably not yours) I hope that ‘Thank you’ isn’t one of them.  This year, my family is running an experiment in gratitude.  We have a cookie jar and a bunch of business card sized tags.  All year long, anyone in our home is encouraged to fill out a tag with their name and date and something that they are thankful for or something good that has happened to them recently.  At the end of the year, we’ll review them as a family.  But on a tough day, (I know you have them, too) anyone can wander by, grab and read one or two, and move on with some better perspective.   How might properly placed gratitude change your attitude?  How might changing yours affect your family and friends?  (That’s the one that hurts, isn’t it?)

I put another log on the fire.  My eldest is reading across the table from me.  It’s time for a cup of cocoa.  I watch my mallows swirl and dissolve in the frothy milk with melty chocolate and am reminded of people in my life.  Some of them are difficult.  To some of them I am difficult.  They need love.  Not just any love, but pure love; His love.  Something I do not rightly possess.  Can I love them with His love?  If I recognize that difficult or not they are a gift to me, and that love comes from Him, I suppose I can learn to.  But, what might it cost me?  My mallows are melted.  If I do not love, will I lose them?  A friend spoke to me, reminded me that loving others isn’t for me, it’s for them.  It doesn’t need to make me feel good; it’s to make them feel loved.  Holidays are hard for that.  A busy house full of laughter, tension, food, mess, family, friends, in-laws, outlaws….   Is there any willful social gathering harder than family?  More fragile than family?  More necessary than family?  At the end of the day, it’s not how I feel, but if they felt loved.  And I suppose, all in all, that’s worth writing down and putting into the cookie jar.

How might gratitude change our nation?  Would a heartfelt ‘thank you’ be enough to spur someone else into paying a compliment?  Would a proper view of what we have cause those who strive only for more to share what they have?  If we shared and were appropriately thankful, would our nation’s burden lighten?  Would you be willing to take a  chance at being part of the change?

Hot cocoa mix

Stir 2-3 tbs into steamed milk, to taste

2.5 C powdered milk
2 C powdered sugar
1 C cocoa powder
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
and if your feeling sassy... a dash of cayenne pepper

 

 

Bleu Mushroom Tenderloin

Marinate a beef tenderloin (or a tri tip) overnight in:

1 ½ c soy sauce

¾ c Worcestershire sauce

4 garlic cloves, obliterated

1 tbs ground pepper

Cook in shallow roasting pan with 1 can beef broth- discard marinade. 

Bake, uncovered, at 425* until desired doneness.  Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt ½ c butter.  Toss in:

1 lb. sliced mushrooms

2 garlic cloves, obliterated

2 cups (about 8 oz.)

1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

¼ tsp caraway seeds

A bunch of scallions, chopped.  (Yes, they come in bunches)

When veggies are tender, melt in about 2 cups crumbled bleu cheese (about 8 oz.)- more is better- stirring constantly.  Remove promptly when cheese is melted, overcooking it will result in an oddly dry gravy.

Serve over meat.