Holy Week

It's been an interesting and busy week, but, outside of my Monday-night small group's discussion of Passover, I haven't paid much attention to the upcoming Easter celebration, much beyond buying Peeps1 for my chemistry classes' gas-laws demonstrations.   I have foregone many of the typical Eastertime traditions - nothing given up for Lent, the extent of my fasting was for a blood test one afternoon, reading things other than scripture.

In what can only be characterized as a half-assed attempt at remembrance, I started collecting some songs in a Holy Week playlist, of sorts.  I've been listening to it in the car most of the week.  A mix of praise, darkness, reinvented hymns, redemption, and, ultimately, love.

Jesus Paid It All, Mosaic Worship

...o praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead...

The Eleventh Hour, Jars of Clay

...I'll find you when I think I'm out of time...

The Wonderful Cross, Chris Tomlin (and maybe Matt Redman?)

...bids me come and die and find that I may truly live...

What Wondrous Love, Jars of Clay

...while millions join the theme...

Beautiful, Scandalous Night, Smalltown Poets

...at the wonderful, tragic, mysterious tree/ on that beautiful scandalous night you and me/ were atoned by His blood and forever washed white...

 

O Come and Mourn With Me Awhile, Jars of Clay

...and victory remains with love...

Martyrs and Thieves, Jennifer Knapp

...where there is peace and love in the light...

Everything, Lifehouse

not particularly Eastery, but it's just one of my favorites

Love Song, Third Day

This song provokes a physical response in me like none other. 

...and I know that you don't understand the fullness of my love/how I died upon the cross for your sins/and I know that you don't realize how much that I give you/ and I promise you I would do it all again...

Marvelous Light, Charlie Hall

Another one I included just because I like it.

...see the light that I have found...

Bread and Wine, Campus House

I don't even know what the real name of this song is or how to attribute it - it's ripped from a 11-year-old CD from a campus ministry - but it's lovely.  I can't quite make out all the lyrics, but here are some of them:

Eat my bread 

Drink my wine

Bitterness yields to the sweet

[? ?]

I watch you lie upon your bed 

of reminiscent regret

and I would simply like to say 

that I will not let go

Drink my wine

Eat my bread

Raise your glass of tears and laugh instead

It's funny you should pray, I must say

I was just thinking about you

thinking about the day 

when you said you will not let go

One death [debt?]

One breath [bread?]

One blood

One Father's little baby boy

One truth

One man

And [?] passion

One night

Flesh is bread

Blood is wine

Give and take if you are 

so inclined

Lose yourself in me 

and I will be the whole of you

Take your brother's hand and say 

that you will not let go

1 Side note on Easter candy: When I was growing up, my grandmother (who lived with us), always bought me a hollow chocolate bunny.  They're always dreadfully cheap and waxy chocolate, but I always looked forward to receiving that bunny!  I'd eat the ears first, and leave the sugar eyes for last.  It's been a dozen years since she passed away, and even more since she last bought me a hollow bunny, but every year since, I have bought myself one.  This year, though, I went upmarket with Lindt.  Only because Target didn't have much of the bunny species for which I was looking by the end of the week - only solid chocolate, or else abominations like Butterfinger-Bunnies.

Pasta Party

We hosted our supper club this month, which meant it was our job to decide the theme.  We'd done the same stuff, so I decided that this month's supper club was brought to you by the letter S.  Everything had to have an ingredient that began with S.  We had a spinach salad with strawberries and sunflower seeds.  San Pellegrino.  Sunflower and flax seed bread.  Blackberry cobbler (it had sugar in it. ;) )  And I made chicken and fresh pasta with fresh sage leaves harvested from my windowsill.

Semolina and all-purpose.

Kneaded dough.

Sage harvest!

Rolling it out.

Placing the sage.

Sage leaves enveloped and stretched.

Fresh Sage Pasta Squares

(from Williams-Sonoma Pasta With Sauces)

7 oz (220 g) semolina flour

4 oz (125 g) all-purpose flour

1/4 t. salt

2 eggs

1 1/2 T. water

On a clean surface, combine semolina, all-purpose flour, and salt in a mound.  Make a well in the center and break in the eggs.  Add water.  Using a fork, blend the ingredients in the well, gradually drawing in flour, until all ingredients are combined into a dough.  Dust surface with flour and knead, pushing and turning repeatedly, until the dough feels smooth - about 7-10 minutes.  Cut dough into four pieces, and use a machine to roll out pasta [on my machine, I stepped down to a "4" out of 7].  Lay pasta on work surface, very lightly moisten the top of the sheet, and place clean dry sage leaves on half.  Fold over the rest of the strip onto the sage and re-roll to desired thickness.  Sage leaves will stretch and be seen through the translucent pasta.  Cut into squares and lay on wax paper to dry briefly before cooking.  When ready to cook, boil in salted water for 2 minutes before draining.  Toss with Sage-and-Shallot Butter.

Sage-and-Shallot Butter

(can make a day in advance)

4 oz. (1/2 c.) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 T. minced shallots

1 T. minced fresh sage

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. ground pepper

In the work bowl of a food processor, combine all ingredients.  Pulse several times until mixture is smooth and well-blended.  Transfer to a piece of plastic wrap, cover, and roll into a cylinder.  Refrigerate until solid.