Daily Archives: July 1, 2007

dill-icious

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We joined a CSA farm cooperative this year, and have been greatly enjoying our weekly bounty of fresh organic greens and veggies. This week’s share included a bunch of dill, and I’ll be honest: I don’t like dill, I’ve never cooked with it, and aside from delivering it to the open jaws of an enthusiastic rabbit, I’m not sure what to do with it.

But included in this week’s farm newsletter was a recipe for Creamy Dill Dressing; since we had most of the ingredients on hand, and figuring it wouldn’t really be a waste if it turned out bad, I mixed up a batch to go with our salads last night. It turned out to be absolutely delicious and was a huge hit. I think I have a newfound love of dill.

Creamy Dill Dressing

2 lg. garlic gloves, peeled (I used two heaping teaspoons of pre-chopped garlic)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (no parsley this week, so I substituted with scallions)
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt (we just love Stonyfield Farm’s plain whole milk yogurt)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

Combine everything but the olive oil in a blender. Blend the ingredients, and with the blender still running, carefully pour in the olive oil until it’s all mixed together. Enjoy!

[from the Beyond the Moon Cookbook by Ginny Callan]

met our new priest today

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He’s young, in his mid-thirties, and moved here from Romania ten years ago. He was ordained just five years ago, and we are the first parish he’s served as a priest. His wife is a doctor, or so I heard, and they’re living in Massachusetts (with their daughters, ages nine and three).

He also has an amazingly sweet countenance and does not stop smiling.

In his homily, he spoke of serving the parish, putting Christ at the center, and being a parish that serves one another and our community. I’m so excited to have a young, vibrant, caring priest for our little flock. I didn’t get the chance to speak with him after the Liturgy, though it might have been odd to say, “Hi, it’s nice to meet you. I won’t be here for the next three or four weeks. So, uh, see ya around!” Or perhaps, “Hey, I’ve been to your country! See you in a month.” (yeah, maybe not…)

Still…

Optimistic as I am about our new parish priest, I continue to struggle mightily with our parish. I’ve been there for a year and a half, and if I dropped off the face of the earth tomorrow I’d be able to name the three people who might inquire about me. I’m a little tired of being told that I have to try harder, because my current place in this parish is not for a lack of trying. I’m the only 20-something in the entire parish. I’m no one’s daughter, sister, cousin, or niece, and so the yia-yia’s don’t find me particularly noteworthy. Today a woman who I’ve seen nearly every Sunday for the past 18 months and spoken with on several occasions, asked me if we’d ever met.

You know, it’s not a need for attention. I don’t have any particular desire to stand out in a crowd, and I don’t aspire to be the ‘it’ gal. But there is something about the lack of fellowship that withers the soul. I feel as though I could be the only person at Liturgy week in and week out, and it really wouldn’t be that different. I’ve tried, and perhaps I’ve failed. Or perhaps it was never possible to succeed.

God is God, and I am not, and while my spirit aches in this difficult season, I still somehow know that this is where I am supposed to be. I can say that and I believe that and yet I will openly say that this inner turmoil and spiritual limbo really bites the big one. That’s just the way it is.