A Sermon to Wake the Dead
The words, “Lazarus, come forth”, move me. There are other phrases, scents, and sounds that stir me as well but these words re-kindle a deep seated urge to stand up and demand a hearing. It has been seventeen long years since I began a self imposed exile from the pulpit; I retired. That’s not to say I have not had an occasional visit and, at the time the estrangement began, I imagined it would only be temporary. Each visit has seemed like an encounter with an old friend; a visit in which the months or years between disappear and the friendship is fresh. Alas, despite the durability of the relationship, the visits have been rare and the exile seems to be permanent. Yet, ever do I have preaching on my mind.
Why I am a Cubmaster: Reason No. 235
Do you notice that days fly by the older you get? I remember getting out of school for the summer and I believe that June to the end of August seemed as long as September to Christmas.
Not anymore! Walking through my garden yesterday morning I was acutely aware of summer… in a good way. The air was not heavy and the sky was clear. It was perfect and the scent of sage, oregano, and thyme wafted up from the garden. That’s when I realized that in not too many weeks the first frost would be here. Not what you wanted to hear? Well try this on then, some our boys will be old enough to join the army, drive away from their high school graduation, or pack for college in as many days as it has been since they were born. Weren’t they born a few weeks ago?
They are going to make more and more decisions and the time remaining for us to help them make good ones is very short. By the time they turn 11 or 12 they will already be well on their way to independence. By the time they hit high school, whether we like it or not, they are going to be making choices and living with the consequences.
It is my deepest hope that in the time left to us our boys will internalize the twelve core values of Cub Scouts so well that it will be second nature to them to try their best and stick with the effort to achieve worthy goals, respect others, speak the truth and deal honestly even when it is hard, be compassionate even to those who do not deserve it, exercise faith and have a positive attitude rooted in the belief that good can rise above any circumstance, demonstrate good citizenship and an ability to find solutions when none is obvious, and finally, to have courage that they are adequate to prevail over any obstacle that confronts them because they have within themselves the confidence that comes from a strong heart and clean mind.
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Life in Light
Sun shines over my shoulder. Cascades of light and warmth spill across me and to the north I see long shadows of myself on the floor.
I cannot look into the light but I know of Light’s embrace. I cannot see God but I accept that God is near all the same.
Winter Blah
Let me be clear, I love snow. I love seeing flakes accumulate in ominous piles foreshadowing a frozen end of days. I like huge snow-ball sized globs of it falling on balsam and fir lending an air of Christmas to the early days of Lent. I love snow. What I do not love is the deepening chill of night when the air is wet and the wind bores a hole through to my gizzard; the premature sense that this chill is of the grave.
Brine the Bird – The Biggest Secret to Moist and Delicious Turkey
Sitting at lunch on Friday a colleague remarked, “We don’t like turkey, it’s just too dry.” This reminded me of the epic “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”, “Home for the Holidays”, and all the other movies that feature infamous turkey moments of one kind or another. It always strikes me as strange. My home is more reminiscent of what we fondly call the “Shoot Your Eye Out” move, aka “A Christmas Story”, in which the patriarch famously lusts after the family turkey until deprived by a pack of dogs. In our home it is the matriarch who lusts after the bird and I am the cook and guardian of the pending feast. To summarize, we love turkey. We love it year round and at Thanksgiving we celebrate the regal fowl by roasting it with elegant simplicity.
Here, in a nutshell, is how.
- Buy a fresh, never frozen turkey. The quality of your turkey may vary significantly by vendor, whether it is a Tom or a Hen (male or female), and size. I have not had the best luck with gigantic mutant turkeys over twenty pounds. Resist the temptation and, if necessary, buy two average birds. As for gender, Toms are usually tougher and have a slightly different taste. They are also usually cheaper.
- Brine your turkey. This consists of dissolving salt in water and soaking the bird for up to but never more than eight hours. Cooks Illustrated has a great pdf explaining the technique and mechanics of brining: http://www.cooksillustrated.com/images/document/howto/ND01_ISBriningbasics.pdf I will describe how I brine in a moment. Note: Remove neck and giblets from body and neck cavities of turkey; discard or refrigerate for another use.
- Organize the kitchen to roast the turkey. Obtain kitchen twine to truss the bird, locate or fabricate a covered roasting pan and an oven safe roasting thermometer.
- Assuming you have brined your turkey you will preheat your oven to 325.
- Place turkey, breast side up, on a flat roasting rack in a shallow pan. Truss the turkey (a great YouTube video is here:
- Brush turkey lightly with melted unsalted butter (NOT margarine).
- Roast turkey according to weight and remove cover for last 1/2 hour of cooking until meat thermometer reaches 180-185°F when inserted into the deepest part of the thigh.
- Let turkey stand 15 minutes before carving.
I brine by removing gibblets, rinsing the turkey and preparing 1 quart of brine per pound of turkey (enough to cover bird in my oversized pot). The brine is 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup Diamond brand kosher salt to 1 quart of COLD water. You can use warm water to make the brine but be sure to chill the water BEFORE brining the turkey. Keep the turkey COLD while brining (refrigerate).
On a whim... 