Seyf's Table
It's set with lots of things I want to share with you...
Photo we took of the gorgeous Arno River at dusk (Florence, not Oreland!)
In case you haven’t noticed, I am all about sharing things I love. That’s the whole point of this newsletter! So let’s jump in!!
If you haven’t watched the wonderful Netflix series “Chef’s Table,” you must remedy that situation immediately! Seriously, each episode is a fascinating in-depth profile of a chef at work in the world, and it’s SUCH a great series. From the queen of barbacoa in South Philly, to the dessert genius behind “crack pie” in New York City, these are not just talented and dedicated cooks, but they are the very heart and soul of their food…
So of course Evan sent us his own spin on the opening credits, a lovely surprise, made the Christmas he was in Thailand…
TRAVELS WITH STEVE AND ELISE (DO THIS, NOT THAT)
DO: Dine on the local specialties whenever possible. In Florence, in 2018, we enjoyed their famous “bistecca alla Fiorentina” in a fine restaurant. We also ate humble tripe sandwiches from a street cart. Truly, I don’t know which was more delicious…
DON’T: Over-invest in a regional food item just because it tasted good abroad. In Costa Rica, the condiment Salsa Lizano appeared at every meal (it’s a spicy ketchup-like sauce). I wanted to recreate the experience, so I came home with SEVERAL bottles. Not surprisingly, it didn’t seem remotely the same in an Oreland kitchen, and the sauce eventually expired and had to be pitched. Sometimes, it really is all about the setting…
This is not Oreland either:-)
GLIMPSING THE MIND OF GOD: From special suppers, we move on to science and spirituality…here’s an essay I wrote for Living Lutheran about the amazing human being Dr. Francis Collins, former head of the National Institutes of Health and the Human Genome Project. Collins is a man of scientific discovery, but also a person of deep faith (and yes, they can co-exist)!!
BLOG PREVIEW: Remember Shazaam? That great 1990’s movie starring Sinbad? You do? Well guess what—it doesn’t exist! So why do so many people believe it’s real? Join me tomorrow over at Working Title for a look at the weird trick of memory known as “The Mandela Effect."
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
“Spirituality is the deep human longing to experience the transcendent in our ordinary life–it’s the expectation to experience the extraordinary in the ordinary, the miraculous in the mundane, and the sacred camouflaged in the profane.” – Pittman McGhee, Jungian analyst, Episcopal priest, and author
May we all see the world as a transcendent, extraordinary, miraculous, sacred place this week!
Heart in the Clouds (photo by Zoltan Tasi)