The People Who Brunch

Last month, while out for dinner with a couple of friends, the topic of good brunch options came up, and one friend noted that, until he came to Seattle last year, he never heard of people "brunching". Hmm... do we Seattleites like to brunch more than the average Mid-Westerner? Is this the road to which a food-obsessed culture with access to a lot of restaurants leads?

All I know is that I really like brunch. Less formal than dinner, and with the decadent possibility of eating all of your favorite breakfast carbs and meats with alcohol before noon, what's not to like? Plus, the word "brunch" sounds pleasingly edible, like a crunchy little tidbit you could just pop in your mouth, too good to just eat one.

Today I hosted a brunch for a couple of couples (really, that's the best way I can describe them succinctly) from my church who recently had, or are soon expecting, their first child. Boysenberry coffee cake, buttery roasted potatoes, baked eggs with cheese, and homemade granola were among the dishes to make an appearance. I can't speak for anyone else, but I know I ended up eating too much. I really needed that six mile walk I took with Lucy afterwards.

But the meal made me realize there is more to brunch than food, there is also company. While I'm sure one could order off the brunch menu as a single diner anywhere, somehow a true brunch always seems to be a communal affair. After church, it's the way you celebrate a new baby's birth or baptism. It's friends getting together for a leisurely meal on a morning when, through some miracle, everyone's schedule is free. It's sleeping in late on vacation and heading down to the cafe with your partner for an 11:00 treat. It's everyone coming together to relax and unwind, knowing they still have a beautiful afternoon ahead of them to enjoy.

Ahh, brunch. No wonder we love you so.

We're Off to See the Christmas Wizard!

The children of University Lutheran Church were finally able to put on their Christmas play today, having had to postpone it due to the snow in the weeks before Christmas. Being as we are still technically in the Christmas Season, which ends on Epiphany on January 6th, it was still a fitting time. And so today, those congregants who chose to stay after the service were treated to what I believe was the world premiere - correct me if I'm wrong - of A Christmas Wizard of Oz.

You may be wondering what Christmas could possibly have to do with the Wizard of Oz, and you would not be alone. But in this version, it was a blizzard, not a tornado, that ripped Dorothy away from Auntie Em and Uncle Henry, and a snowman, tin soldier, and stuffed lion accompanied her through the ice forest to the Wizard, with Dorothy wishing nothing more than to make it back home before Christmas day so she can open her presents.

You may also wonder what this tale has to do with the story of the Nativity. After all, while Christmas may have been largely secularized in the commercial world, surely one would would still hear of the birth of Jesus in a church. There is a very simple answer to this question: the Wizard of Oz, Christmas or otherwise, has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus. But at the end of the play, with Dorothy safe home in Kansas, delighting over her gifts of a toy soldier and a stuffed lion, and the snowman Uncle Henry built outside, the narrator brought it back to Bethlehem, Charlie Brown style. With all the children gathered around, one of the youngest read the famous passage from the book of Luke, where angels announce the birth of a babe in a manger to some frightened shepherds.

"This is the reason we give gifts at Christmas," the narrator continued. "To remember the greatest Gift, the gift of Jesus."

At that, the audience broke into applause.

The Way the Marshmallow Melts

Thing I Learned Last Night: Yes, marshmallows can be too old for rice krispie treats. If you are in doubt, just throw them away. Should you decide to chance it, your first clue that the spongy sweets are, in fact, beyond hope, would be that that, rather than melting, the marshmallows first begin to turn a toasty brown, despite the low heat of the burner. At that point, cut your losses; it is only going to get worse.

Fortunately, after making this crucial discovery, our dreams of green rice crispies studded with cinnamon candies were not shattered. With a couple of bags of new marchmallows that beautifully transformed into a snow white cream, we were back in business.

The rice krispie wreaths are something of an annual tradition. Every year, members of our loosely named "young adults group" at church come over to help decorate more than hundred cookies that I bake in advace (this year, gingerbread was the cookie of the day), and maybe make a few other varieties while we're at it, which usually means rice krispie wreaths. When Amy came home that night, she was relieved to see that the green rice krispie wreaths, unappetizing as they may sound, did not look look as bad in practice as in her imagination.

The cookies were a hit at church this morning, too. It's not out of sheer madness that we make so many, but rather so that we can share them for the weekly fellowship hour following the service. And despite the snow that descended on Seattle last night, all cookies, candies, and zucchini bread made it to their final destination this morning. The kids' Christmas pageant may have been postponed due to inclement weather, but the nothing could stop the cookies from fulfilling their destiny.

You've Got to Know When to Hold 'Em

Roulette is a game of chance I was sure I would never try. Tonight, however, I hardly batted an eye when Michael informed me he decided to bet all his chips - left from the $10,000 worth he had started with - on black and lost it all. Instead, I let him convince me to dole out some of my chips on three card poker, and it turns out we have much better luck with that game. Michael even got a straight flush on one hand - odds 40 to 1! - and that's as good as it gets for three card poker.

In the end we turned in our winnings for almost 50 raffle tickets, although we still didn't end up walking away with any raffle prizes.

Obviously, this was no ordinary casino. Considering it was in a church basement, I'm sure that would hardly be legal, let alone ethical. But, for the second year in a row, our congregation, with the help of neighboring University Christian Church, who lent us use of their basement, hosted a casino night fundraiser. The funds raised went to support Elizabeth Gregory Home, the women's shelter we began a few years ago. To keep the congregation involved and drum up support, we now have the unique opportunity to see staid Lutherans gathered around little game tables, puzzling over how to place bets, and what exactly is craps anyway, and do I really want to bet all my chips even when no real money is involved? These are perplexing questions, and the average Lutheran will put more time into pondering these questions thoughtfully than actually placing any free bets. Maybe if the booze was free (as I hear it is in Vegas), people might get a little bit crazier, but I'm guessing that would also be a church basement no-no.

Still, once you loosen up a bit, it's actually pretty fun. And I'm sure I'd never run into so many people I know at any real casino even if I closed out every Saturday night with hand at poker. Tonight I spent most of my time chatting, snacking, and discussing what was up for silent auction. I even came home with a lovely original watercolor painting after my bid (the only bid, I must admit - there were so many auction items and not so many bidders) won.

And if I ever were to put down money in a real casino? You can bet I'd pick three card poker over roulette!