What happens when you don’t follow your instincts: I had just completed my nightly call with my parents. During the call, my mom made a passing comment that she was in the mood for soup but didn’t have any in the house. That got me thinking. I hadn’t made soup in a long time and since I was bored (rightfully so because it was already 10 p.m.) and I wanted the challenge of making soup in my crockpot, I decided I would run “quickly” to Kroger and get all the ingredients for this turkey and wild rice soup recipe I found in one of my crockpot recipe books. I’ve made this soup before and it only turned out okay, but I wanted to try it again. My mom would say my stuff doesn’t always have the greatest taste because I tend to use no-fat, low salt ingredients. As I was perusing the aisles at Kroger at 10:30 p.m. that night, I decided I wouldn’t make any alterations to the recipe; I was going to use the ingredients as noted. In fact, I was so enthusiastic that I decided I would make two different dishes for my parents. One was the soup; the other was this chicken and sweet potato recipe I also liked and have made before. Once I got home, I got both of my crockpots out and went to town. My preferred crockpot has a temperature probe and is known for being pretty accurate with the various heat settings; low is really low. My other crockpot cooks hotter than normal, but I figured I was just making soup so this wasn’t going to be an issue. I started with the turkey and wild rice soup. I got all the ingredients lined up and prepared and put it all together. As I was mixing things in my crockpot and getting it ready for its 6-hour cooking cycle, I heard this little voice say, “Don’t do it, this crockpot is going to ruin your soup. Remember this one always cooks way too hot.” But this was soup! What could go wrong? I know, I know, a dumb question for a Clark Griswold impersonator. I then turned to the chicken and sweet potato dish and had that prepped and cooking within 20 minutes. I got the kitchen cleaned up and was quite content with my midnight “I’m bored” adventure. I took another look at my creations and then made the journey upstairs to my room. “Evening came, and morning followed -- the first day.”
About 2:30 in the morning, I woke up because … well, I’m over 55 and had to take an “old geezer” break. As I was walking to the bathroom, the aroma coming from downstairs was awesome. But then, a sound caught my ear. I couldn’t make it out at first but it was distinct. Something wasn’t right. After taking the “old geezer” break, I meandered downstairs. As I did so, the sound got louder and it was distinct enough for me to realize it was a familiar sound. It was the sound of a lid bouncing around on a pot when the contents inside were boiling. At this point, the recipe disaster alarms were sounding in my head. As I neared the crockpot with the soup, the lid was dancing around faster than popcorn cooking in a microwave. My heart sank. I started to think I probably just wasted all this time and energy only to mess up yet another simple recipe. This wasn’t fair. I opened the crockpot lid and looked inside with complete disbelief. There was no moisture left at all; it was a pile of mush. As I attempted to stir it, I realized the rice had completely dissolved into a starchy mess. This was worse than a disaster. Quite honestly, I’m glad I woke up when I did because God only knows what I would have found at 6:00 in the morning.
I tasted a spoonful or two of the mush and decided at 2:40 a.m. I was going to try to resuscitate this mess. I still had two containers of chicken stock, so I opened them and started pouring it in. I took the crock out of the pot, set it on the stove, and continued to look in disbelief. But I decided that my attempts to fix my mess may have worked. It slowly started to look like soup again, but I wasn’t sure what I was going to call it now since the rice had “disappeared.” As I shared my story the next morning before the 8:00 a.m. mass with someone … let’s just say her name was Maria … she started laughing, shook her head, and blurted out, “Your poor parents!” “WAIT A MINUTE … my poor parents? What about me? They’re still getting a meal out of this!” But had I listened to that little voice it may not have been so bad. In the end, my Mom and Dad liked it … I’m not entirely clear WHY they liked it, but obviously it was edible and they were kind enough to make me think it wasn’t really THAT bad! And to think, this time I used all the right ingredients and I still messed it up! Oh well, at least I got a bulletin article out of it!
Are you interested in being baptized or converting to Catholicism? Are you an adult who needs to be confirmed? If your answer is YES to either question, please leave a message at the Parish Center (586-777-3670 or by email at [email protected]) for information about our forthcoming RCIA classes. The RCIA stands for Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. While the title would imply it’s only for adults, a fair number of children go through the program too but on a different track explicitly designed for them. All of our classes meet on Sunday just after the 10 a.m. Mass.
One of the concerns people often raise is the time commitment. Don’t worry about the time commitment. While we have a formal schedule, we know that special arrangements have to be made from time to time because of work or home obligations. So, if you are interested in learning more, please talk to a pastoral staff member before or after mass or call the Parish Center for more information.
Do you like to wash and iron? If the answer is yes, do I have a special job for you! You know those nice white clothes we use with the chalices or the nice robes the altar servers wear? Well, all of these items need to be washed and cleaned. Right now, our team of volunteers for this ministry has dwindled to only a few people. I am hoping we can get four to eight people so the rotation would only be once a month. It’s not a hard task. We’ll teach you the tricks and tips of how to get it all done. If you are interested in helping, please contact the Parish Center (586.777.3670 / [email protected]).