lemon – Page 2 – Backdoor Hospitality

Twist on Tuna Fish Salad

During my dating years with Ben, I at a meager 19 years of age & at times a bit emotionally verbose. Well, that’s the nice way of putting it…I should say, more like you’re average, ‘head in the clouds, idealist romantic teenage girl, somewhat resembling Kelly Kapoor at my low points.’

Now, as I envisioned our relationship in my daydreamer television, a surprise homemade lunch would knock it out of the park. So, as I was working full time gaining Washington residence, while Ben went to school full time, I would typically visit him on a day off. And this day off entailed me making him a surprise lunch. I had just made homemade potato salad, which would accompany a tuna fish sandwich on an ethereal sunny Spring Bellingham day.

I was so proud of my domesticity and resourcefulness of using what was in my kitchen, and Ben was sure to LOVE it. It was an act of service & love…what was not to love about it. I caught the bus to campus and met him at the campus’ main bus shelter, where we walked to a little nook overlooking the bay. We sat down, me beaming to hear words of praise & exultation and begging for seconds.

As I pulled out the sandwiches & potato salad (I’m sure there was something else in there, but what ensued was a bit traumatic for me), I announced what lay wrapped in the wax paper & rubbermaid container to receive a reaction quite contrary to what I envisioned. Rather than being lifted upon his shoulders singing, “For she’s a jolly good lady…,” he gave a look. Yes, a look. The look an infatuated, emotionally volatile 19 year old NEVER wants to see from her boyfriend (God bless him for enduring). The kind of look that has detest written all over it…the crinkled nose, the squinched eyes & turned up brows & mouth, but with a hint of empathy mixed through it all. (I’m sure there was more empathy, but it got clouded)

Ben said, “Umm, I don’t like tuna fish.”

Me stunningly replied, “Oh. Well, I made homemade potato salad!” Hoping that that would cover a multitude, but he replied… with another look. “What!” I said. He simply had the look as if hoping I could read his mind, which I could, but at this point, I wanted him to tell me. Then, I called him on it (with a deep breath), “you don’t like potato salad either?!”

“No, not really,” he replied.

What ensued was not one of my proudest moments. Tears began to teeter, but eventually fell with force down my face and I believe I mumbled out something to the effect, “if you love me you would eat it!” Ben, in his righteousness, ate the sandwich that day, along with the potato salad. He did it without grumbling (for the most part) and satisfied my personal insecurity as a young lady.

I learned two things that day. Not any man would be willing to put up with such emotional displays, unless he himself was infatuated or if he could see something a diamond needing more polishing. And two, never, never will I insist that his love is dependent on what I make (well almost never:) ). But one things for sure, when tuna or albacore is bought in this household I know I could put our whole life savings on him not eating one bit. And in honor of love without reason comes a tuna fish salad for these dreary winter months when you need to be reminded of sunshine spilling on you.

Mise en Place

Albacore Salad (printable recipe)

I had a similar tuna fish salad sandwich while pregnant with my youngest and it forever changed my concept of how it’s made. This is very forgiving, so use more olives if you like, or less artichokes, or whatever. All of these naturally pair well together. And you can serve it on top of a bed of lettuce or as a sandwich.

Ingredients:

1-can water packed albacore, drained

zest of one lemon

juice of half lemon

1/4 of red onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons capers

1 tablespoon green olives, roughly chopped

4 artichoke whole canned artichoke hearts, sliced in quarters (I use water packed)

3 tablespoons mayo, I use light

1-2 teaspoons kosher salt

generous grinds of the pepper mill, or 1/2 teaspoon already ground pepper

Quarter your artichokes, dice your onion, chop your olives, zest lemon and set aside. Put drained tuna or albacore into a bowl. Add all of prepared ingredients, along with juice of half lemon, salt, pepper, & mayo. Mix together and serve it up, but not to someone who doesn’t like tuna fish from a can.

Some Redemptive Love & Sour Lemon Scones

While I was doing an internship with a college ministry called UCM a couple years back, I went with my fellow interns to the house of Dr. James Houston. He is the founder of Regent College and is from the UK. He is a wealth of knowledge, wisdom & insight. He is full of grace, hospitality and a breath of fresh air.

The UCM director would take the interns every year to Dr. Houston’s house to simply glean from his years of living with God. We were welcomed into his home with scones, breads, jam & tea. His wife Rita (who is Scottish, so don’t happen to ask her if she’s from England, because she’ll definitely put in her two cents on the subject) busily made the lunch while we were in the living room listening & asking questions.

Now, when one becomes an intern it isn’t uncommon to know of the specialness of visiting the Houston home. I can recall former interns stories of Dr. Houston speaking prophetic words into their lives and of Rita’s wit & hospitality. You expected that he would speak a special word to you personally and walk away holding a gem. You also knew that Rita would shower you with hospitality. Both of which made me very excited to be apart of this day. However, our intern day was a bit different. In fact, it was so different that he didn’t really speak a prophetic word to anyone, except me.

He spoke of a myriad of things from Romanticism to the Psalter to real spirituality. There was a key moment in the morning while he was talking about our ministries failing when we peg them as our own. And as he was talking I asked him a question. You know, I don’t remember what question I asked him or even remember completely what he was talking about. I do remember that I was genuinely seeking an answer to this question. I remember wrestling with the idea of ministry and church and how that all looked. Through my questions & his answers two things happened.

One was this deep penetration of his eyes locked on mine. It was probably one of the most powerful moments I’ve experienced. He knew I was struggling and wrestling, so as he answered me…it was as though everyone else in his living room disappeared and I was the only one he was tending. He was showing me hospitality at that moment. He was unveiling a glimpse of what it meant to be present to not only your guest, but the person made in Christ’s likeness sitting before him. I felt completely loved and cared for by his attentiveness to me and my earnest heart.

Second, was what came from our question & answer. I believe he asked me what I did with UCM, which I replied that I oversaw Evangitality, which is the hospitality ministry and expanded a bit about what we did and my vision for the students (meaning opening up ourselves & our stuff to anyone we encounter, in order that they would know they are a valued person of the Most High; as well as, giving them a hope).

He then had this, “AHHH” sort of expression and said something to the effect, “Well, you must have come from a home that was immersed in love, parents married…” Of course, my answer was,”No, actually it wasn’t, my parents are divorced and it was hectic at times.” Then, he said, “Oh (pause), well then, (with a look of reassurance) it’s a re-DEM-ptive love, isn’t it! It’s like Samson reaching his hand into the carcass of the lion pulling out sweet honey.” With that he left his eyes locked on mine as to give me a sense of my worth and out of a horrible beast of a past, God can still redeem it for sweet, nourishing ending.

That day I walked away feeling nourished by his hospitality, because although his wife was busily making the meal and too many times in our world (Christian and non) we associate the food with hospitality. But the problem with that is I was not so much nourished by the food, grateful yes, but by the care, counsel and genuine love I was shown by Dr. Houston. I saw a glimpse of God that day, through his act of loving this downtrodden 26 year old. He spoke God’s words upon me, “You’re my redeemed!” What a beautiful, glorious jewel to behold. So as I try to intertwine food with lovingkindness, (which is hospitality to the nth power) here are some delicious scones to share with a friend or a stranger as you give them a glimpse of God’s heart for them.

Sour Lemon Scones (printable recipe)

Adapted from Baked. I have made some minor changes, as I’m always experimenting to see if I can add whole wheat flour. And I must say that everyone at playgroup said these were great. As my friend Biz said, “they were better than bakery-awesome!” The whole wheat pastry flour makes a softer crumb, so these scones are not as biscuity in texture, but still very good.

Ingredients:

4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup rapadura sugar

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, cubed & cold

1 large egg

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup grated lemon zest (from about 3 lemons)

1 teaspoon lemon extract (use the kind that is the real lemon essence, not artificial)

2 Tablespoons raw sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ginger. Whisk until combined. Add the butter. **The recipe says: “Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until the butter is pea-sized.” However, I use my kitchen aid and mix to the same consistency and see no problem.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, 3/4 cup of the buttermilk, and the lemon zest. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and then gently knead the dough with your hands until the dough starts to come together. Move the dough to a lightly floured surface. Use your hands to shape the dough into two discs (about 1 1/2 inches in height). Do not overwork the dough.

Put the discs on the parchment lined pan. Make a 1/8 inch indentation to make 6 wedges, but do not cut all the way through. Brush each scone with the remaining buttermilk and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake in the center of the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes (rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time) or until the scones are golden brown.

Transfer the scones to a cooling rack; they can be served slightly warm or completely cooled. Optional top with glaze below.

Scones can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Lemon Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

squeeze juice from half to 3/4 of a fresh lemon

Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. You should come out with a not too thick and not too thin glaze that will be great for putting on top of your cooled (or slightly warmed scones, if you’re like me and trying to hurry out the door to playgroup).

Barley-Kale Salad

I made this very yummy salad from this wonderful blog. Now if you were to tell me that I would like kale years ago I would think you were crazy. I remember tasting it many moons ago thinking, “This is rabbit food, except worst!” Well, I have changed my mind since and I plead with you to do the same if you are one who thinks eating rabbit food sounds pretty crummy.

I was originally going to serve this along side roasted chicken, but thought to myself, “there’s carbs and protein in it–why do I need to defrost chicken? Plus, it’s a wonderful sunny day and eating this salad just makes me feel healthy (we won’t talk about the two chocolate ganache cupcakes I ate though–will we).”

Plus, I’m always trying to find ways to incorporate the grain world with the vegetable world outside of a pasta salad. So if you’re simply wanting to make dinner, or make a side dish for guests coming over, or going to a celebration–this is a great summer salad (or not summer) to make.

**Plus the great thing about kale is it doesn’t wilt if you put dressing on it and store it in the fridge to eat the next day.

Birthday Barley Salad Recipe from www.inpraiseofleftovers.com

Salad Ingredients:
2 cups barley
1 head curly kale, washed, ribbed, and finely chopped
1 c. roasted pecans
1/2 c. dried cherries, roughly chopped
1/2 c. crumbled Danish blue cheese (or other firm blue cheese)
zest from one lemon

Dressing:
1 minced garlic clove
salt and pepper to taste (don’t be shy with your salt!)
1/2 ts. smoked paprika
4 Tb. apple cider vinegar
2 Tb. honey
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 red onion, cut into thin rings

For dressing: Mix the first five ingredients in a large measuring cup. Whisk in olive oil until emulsified. Season to taste. Drop in onions and let them marinate for at least 20 minutes.

For salad: Cook barley in lots of boiling water for about 45 minutes. There needs to be plenty of water so it won’t stick together–you want the grains to be separate. After it’s done (grains will be soft, but still a little chewy), drain it and run cold water over it. You can do this one day ahead if you want.

Toss barley with kale and most of the pecans, blue cheese, dried cherries, and dressing. I use my hands to do this. Scatter some of the remaining ingredients, the lemon zest, and a few marinated onions from the dressing over the top. I always like my audience to know exactly what’s in the salad just by looking at it. Grind a bit more pepper if you like.

Barley-Kale Salad