It was something that I probably never would have heard about had I been able to open and close my mouth.
She had recently joined a religion, it was her husband's families religion. She admitted that at first she felt a little hesitant about the strict rules of the church, women and men sit on opposite sides of the room. Women are not allowed to wear make-up. She didn't really subscribe to that strict philosophy at first, and she told the minister that she considered herself a visitor of the church the day that he handed her a book about proper attire for women. That's when the minister said that there is no joining ritual and that he already considered her to be a valuable member.
She took the book from his hands and brought it home, and has since given up her makeup, which she mostly wears to cover her imperfections and not to be glamorous or anything. Still some days she finds it hard, and she misses her cover-up and her mascara.
Of course, her daughter doesn't like the strict rules of the church, she doesn't like that the church doesn't believe in women ministers either, but she is just 16 and hasn't had her turn to try her own way yet. She is afraid that her daughter will be scared away from the message of the church because of the strict rules. She lets her wear pants to school, but still has her dress up for church on Sundays. Her son doesn't mind it so much, because the rules are more lenient for boys. His only restrictions are that he is not allowed to have piercings, and he is not allowed to listen to certain kinds of music.
Giving up alcohol was tough, even though she only drank about 6 times a month and has never been tipsy, still she used to pour herself a nice fruity drink once in awhile and sip it out of her favorite glass. Sometimes she makes herself virgin daiquiris and sips them out of that glass, just like old times, but her husband gets upset by it. He thinks she is glamorizing drinking. He used to drink more that she did, but she was the carb queen of the household.
She never realized how addicted to sugar she was until she had to give it up for the south beach diet. Of course, she wasn't really on the diet for weight loss, more for the insulin control factor. Her chiropractor pressed on this spot that represented her pancreas and her heel pain went away, which meant that her pain was related to dis-regulated sugar metabolism. She had a really difficult time giving up the sugar, but after she had tried it for awhile she was amazed by how delicious a piece of honey wheat bread tasted. She didn't reincorporate white bread back into her diet though because everything white is naughty...
"Are you getting tired dear, I have noticed that your jaw is clenching an awful lot" She removed her nylon coated fingers from between my teeth, I almost bit off a piece of her glove when she did. My mouth felt gritty from the toothpaste and I was covered in my own drool.
So many words that I had been dying to say, I felt like an overfilled balloon ready to pop. My opinions, my judgements, my desire to manipulate her to change her beliefs, feelings that she needed to be rescued by me, the arrogance. Maybe it was because at the end of an hour of forced listening I realized how much I really liked this person, or maybe it simply doesn't make sense to give advice to the woman who has just lovingly scraped all of the plaque off of my teeth, but for some reason I let the balloon go. I thanked her for her service, and I left in peace.
Shrimp cakes (serves 4)
1/2 lb shrimp, raw, de-veined, peeled
1 large clove garlic, minced
zest and juice from 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
1 egg
Pulse the above ingredients in a food processor, scrape into a bowl and add
1/2 small green pepper, diced small
the whites of 4 green onions, diced small
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)mix in more or less panko as desired, you want the mixture to come together in patties. Refrigerate while you prepare the salad and the topping.
Garlic Dijon dressing
In a large salad bowl whisk together
zest and juice from 1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
2 small or 1 large clove minced garlic
fresh ground pepper and salt.
After adding 2 tsp of the dressing to the topping (below) mix in torn baby arugula greens to the remaining dressing (about 4 cups)
Festive Salsa Topping
diced 1/2 yellow bell pepper
3 green onions, diced
1/4 cup cilantro diced
4 or 5 cherry tomatoes sliced
mix together and dress with the salad dressing (above)
Now, heat a frying pan and add 2-3 Tbsp grape seed oil. Make 4 or 5 patties with the shrimp mixture and press the outsides into panko before frying. Cook for about 4 min on each side, or until golden brown. Serve on top of the greens, with the topping. Add a little Dijon mustard if you like.
Christina's vote:"There is no other word but lovely"
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