Gratitude for Whatever Comes

mixed media painting

The Guest House
Jelaluddin Rumi,
translation by Coleman Barks

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

To be honest I've spent the majority of my life trying to evade the majority of unexpected visitors or crowd of sorrows that have shown up on my threshold. I think it's perfectly normal to slam the door in the face of the dark thought, the shame, the malice when they arrive unbidden. It's much easier to be grateful for whatever guide arrives to fill my guest house, after its gone. My process goes something like this: first reaction - oh shit, second - get out of my house right now, you!, third - you can sit over there in the corner, but keep quiet and don't move!, fourth - um, when are you leaving?, fifth - since you're here you might as well eat something, sixth - seriously, when are you leaving?, seventh - listen, if you so much as twitch or say one word, I'm coming over there, eighth - so, why don't you tell me why you're really here , ninth - would you like a glass of wine?, tenth oh,you're leaving? nice to know you, bye now!

Like the commercial says, life comes at you fast. Although I never am happy when an unruly arrival takes up residence in my guest house, I am looking forward to welcoming family and friends, whatever mood or circumstance they're currently inhabiting, into my home this holiday season. It's a bit of a menagerie around here lately, with the addition of the new puppy and the ubiquitous pee pads and half-chewed toys in every room, so I have lots of cleaning. The puppy has a new winter sweater and coat for the occassion. I never thought I'd be one of those people who buy clothes for their animals.

Thanksgiving is just two days away and I haven't picked up the turkey or the ham, or anything else I'm planning for dinner. To be honest, this is how I roll. I'm not one of those uber organized people checking detail after detail off their lists, nor am I an adrenaline junkie waiting until the last minute to begin cooking. I'm somewhere in between.

Every year I listen to NPR holiday cooking suggestions, thumb through past Martha Stewart Living magazines, pull my recipe cookbooks out, see what looks interesting, and then two or three days before the big dinner, I head to the market. The dinner always turns out well, although one year my decision to make smashed, rather than mashed potatoes, nearly caused my husband to have an apopletic fit. He is a man who loves his potatoes pure: no peels, no horseradish, no nothing. What I know is that the dinner will turn out just fine, family and friends will leave well-fed and satisfied, the dogs and cats will have plenty of left-overs. Afterwards, I will enjoy a glass of wine all by myself.

Last year we had a group from China join us, so our Thanksgiving fare was Americana traditional: bread stuffing, basted turkey, squash, mashed potatoes and gravy, pumpkin pie. This year, I'm planning on adding a few modern takes on traditional dishes, but I am making one very traditonal dish that harks back to the nineteenth century. Mincemeat pie. Since my father won't even look at his laptop, there's no chance of his reading this post and spoiling my surprise. Years ago my father was in the middle of mincemeat mania and he literally badgered me every day to see if I had found a mincemeat pie. It's important to note that his mania began after the holidays, so if any restaurant actually served mincemeat ever, that window had closed. I tried to explain local restaurants and grocery stores didn't offer mincemeat, and probably stopped way back in the 50's. He persisted. And then, he finally gave up. So, I was over at my sister's telling her the mincemeat drama, when my father called and asked her what she was doing. Of course she told him we were just sitting there eating a piece of mincemeat pie. His gasp was audible, so was the invective and demand that she put me on the phone. It took a while to convince him we really weren't eating mincemeat pie without him.

The mincemeat pie inspiration and recipe are from this morning's program that I heard listening to NPR on the drive to work: Pass The Dessert: America's Thanksgiving Recipes I've always hated the mincemeat pies my grandmother made with raisins, but this is made with meat, so it actually sounds good. The suet gives me pause. Where does one purchase suet?

In the case you're too lazy to click on the link, here's the recipe:

Mincemeat PieIngredients
Filling:
1 pound venison or lean beef, boiled and chopped
4 ounces suet
1 pound tart apples, peeled, cored, and chopped fine
3/4 cup beef broth (or reserved cooking liquid from meat)
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup cider
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 cup golden raisins
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Juice from one lemon
Juice from one orange
1/4 cup brandy Pie:
Pastry dough for 9-inch double-crust pie
1 large egg white, lightly beaten Makes a dozen mini pies

Instructions
For the filling: In large stock pot or Dutch oven, combine all ingredients except brandy and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add brandy and cool to room temperature.
For the pies: Place oven rack in middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.
Roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness and cut into 12 4-inch circles and 12 2-inch circles.
Line standard capacity muffin tin with larger circles, pressing dough firmly into pan edges; chill for 30 minutes if dough becomes soft.
Fill each cup to the top with about 1/3 cup mincemeat, top with smaller dough circles, then cut a slit or small circle in the center of each. Brush with egg white and bake until dough is golden brown and filling is bubbling, about 30 minutes.
Cool on wire rack 15 minutes, remove pies from pan, and continue to cool another 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.