We
have a huge family that’s very close, so we get together a lot to celebrate. It might be a birthday, a wedding, or a holiday, but
whatever the occasion there’s always good food to be had. That’s because there
are a lot of “foodies” in our family, but unfortunately, I am not one of them.
The only thing I can cook is scrambled eggs and it took me several years to
learn how not to burn them into oblivion. So I’m often selected to help with
the appetizers, instead of the entrée, and I kind of like that role.
Last
week we celebrated my oldest son’s 34th birthday at our Beach House
and the whole family turned out. To
make it extra fun (and because my son is a huge fan of the show) we set up 3 tents
on the beach with a super long table and decorated everywhere with “Game of
Thrones” paraphernalia. A lot of people came in costume true to the show and of
course we needed food that would be true to the show as well. My job was to
barbecue a combination of mini-meats as appetizers, so I cooked up some of
those awesome little smoky sausages and miniature veal wieners and used wooden
skewers so you could easily munch “meat on a stick” and not even need a plate.
I think they were a big hit, but to be honest, they were just a small sampling of
the awesome food to come. The main course included Kibbeh, which is a classic Middle
Eastern dish made of bulgur wheat,
pine nuts, minced onions, and Levantine spices mixed into finely ground lamb (or
you can use camel meat if you really want to go uber classic). Kibbeh
is something we only make for special occasions (because it’s so labor
intensive) but it is absolutely delicious beyond description.
Creating
appetizers as a taste of something awesome to come… got me thinking. We experience a lot of “appetizers” during our
lifetime. Small moments of joy when time stops and heaven blooms right in front
of us. I’m not sure I’ve noticed all of the appetizer moments in my life, but
looking back I can see them now.
·
I remember the
smile on my Dad’s face when I was 6 years old and I peddled my bicycle in front
of our tiny little house in Memphis for the very first time.
·
I remember the
pounding of my heart as my dog and I slid together on a big piece of cardboard
down a very steep dew-covered grassy hill in the avocado groves of Southern
California when I was 10.
·
I don’t remember
the first time I ever kissed a girl, but I do remember being about 14 when a
girl kissed me for the very first time… and I thought I was going to pass out.
·
And I remember how
stunningly beautiful my wife looked as she came down the aisle at our wedding, truly
a foretaste of what angels must look like.
Appetizer moments happen all the time and they don’t
always come from the kitchen. Sometimes they come from heaven!
I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person.
There was such a
glory over everything.
The sun came up like gold through the trees,
and I felt
like I was in heaven.
~ Harriet Tubman
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