“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?”
― Henry David Thoreau
Christmas Day, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCf2PoTuh4Q
Another year and it doesn’t seem like Christmas Day – I’m not with family or friends – just me and my lonesome self, I’ve eaten entirely too many chocolates, I am working . . . always working – hell, I got’s to work if I’m yet to achieve another comeback tour to this seemingly endless novel of struggles and persecution. At least I’ve discovered such solace from the lessons to be learned within the turning of each page, the conclusion to by hypothesized with each chapter shedding a touch more light.
Yesterday, I shared my gifts created for my reclusive Aussie lover it’s only fair that now on Christmas Day, I properly acknowledge those gifts revealed from our spontaneous starburst of romanticism:
he recalibrated my understanding of love and in less than seven magical days he has now set the bar for any other suitor to uphold. I will honor myself in accepting nothing less than that to which I deserve . . with definite finality issued to our relationship, today I seal the envelope and set aside with my past due bills. The knowing & the unknown are now officially in the same basket.
he kindled a fire of passion that burned away a lot of baggage which has transpired into new creativity in writing, cooking, painting, thinking, creating . . . too many opportunities before me, it’s up to me and me alone to make the right choices if I am to reach the desired outcome.
he put a pause to our budding love, our companionship of limitless potential which has afforded both of us time to contemplate the next course of action – this has allowed me an opportunity to refocus on the most immediately pressing priorities of work development, stabilized finances & the final chapter of my ChileCo & Eden legal affair.
he reinforced my awareness of just how strong and I am . . it’s been a year where I’ve had friends willing to compromise integrity & loyalty for the sake of personal gain at my expense. My belief in humanity slightly tilted, but not exactly chucked into the garbage disposal either.
Mirror Mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all . . . .
I add these experiences today to my past history of adventures in dating and a rather limited selection of lovers. Not exactly a lot to report, I’ve never cleared a year with anyone (priority 1 = success), just your usual collection of ankle biting, unappreciating, dog-eat-dog cheating types with a few good ones thrown in the mix (which I successfully managed to sabotage).
I really don’t think “dating” is a proper name for this entire companionship interviewing process. Maybe they should rename it “battling.” Its seems our harsh world is quite accomplished in breeding doubt, jealousy, anger & hunger – love, gratitude, balance & harmony not exactly great assets to bring to the table of war. With no crown to conquer, I’ll suit up again, ready for the fight . . . strong enough to take a bullet, smart enough to have a plan of attack, intuitive enough to see a punch coming, and god-willing . . . lucky enough to get air-lifted out when it’s hopeless, rescued with the incoming instruction “mission aborted” or saved by the hand of another soldier . . hopefully he has topaz blue eyes too!
Merry Christmas,
Chef Scotty
Crown Roast of Pork Recipe with Pumpernickel-Crancider Stuffing
Whilst we give “love” a badly needed break, let’s give that damn turkey a rest for once,hook-it up with some beloved Piggly-Wiggly. If not, this playful twist on traditional stuffing will work on any victim of your choosing on any given day. Live with passion, love unconditionally & don’t cook like a Whitney.
Ingredients
• 7 pounds crown pork roast
• 2 cups chopped cranberries
• 1 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 cups chopped fennel
• 1 cup cooked, chopped parsnips
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
• 8 cups pumpernickel or rye bread cubes
• 2 apples – cored and chopped
• 1 cup – toasted walnut
• 1/2 cup spiced apple cider
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning (option to add fresh thyme a big +++++)
• 1 tablespoon rasta rub (sub: garam masala spice blend)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Season pork roast with salt and pepper to taste, then place on a rack in an open roasting pan, rib ends down.
3. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 2 hours. Roast will be only partially cooked.
4. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine cranberries, red wine and sugar and mix well; set aside. Melt butter or margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, celery, fennel and cooked parsnips, sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add cranberry mixture and cook for another 3 minutes on high heat. Turn off heat and add salt, black pepper, bread cubes, apples, walnut, apple cider, egg, poultry seasoning & rasta rub. Toss well.
5. After the two hours, remove roast from oven. Turn rib ends up and fill cavity with cranberry/apple stuffing. Insert meat thermometer between two ribs in the thickest part of the meat, making sure that end of thermometer does not touch any bone.
6. Return stuffed roast to oven and continue roasting at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 1 1/2 hours, or until internal temperature of meat reaches 175 degrees F (80 degrees C). (Note: If stuffing becomes too brown, cover it with aluminum foil.)
7. To Serve: Place roast on warm platter and let stand for 15 minutes for easier carving. Slice between ribs to carve, and serve with stuffing.
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