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Every so often, usually when the dinner table is cleared and
the dishes piled in the sink, there is a knock on our front door. It’s dark outside and I am already in my bathrobe, settled in
front of the TV watching reruns of Criminal Minds while the rest of the family is
too preoccupied with whatever they are doing to even hear the knock-knocking.
Hey! I yell, Can somebody get that door – I am in the
bathrobe!
It’s me, Juergen, I
recognize our neighbor’s voice coming from the outside. My mind and heart at
rest that there is no serial killer or a door-to-door Kirby vacuum peddler, I
unleash the kids who swing the door wide open, all too eager to see what Juergen is
bringing to us this time.
See, he conditioned our kids perhaps too well. He never
comes to our door empty handed, and most of the time he apologizes for the late
arrival – the dinner took much longer to cook, or he was kept late at work so
he had to start late, as if an apology is needed when you are on the receiving
end of a gracious gift.
I hope you enjoy it –
it took ten hours in the smoker…
For the family accustomed to frozen pizza, 11-minutes Tyson chicken
nuggets and 3-minutes microwavable Maruchan ramen noodles bowls, ten-hour-smoked-pork-butt-roast represents a life in a galaxy far far away, even if it’s only two doors down.
Even though I already ate, I can’t resist. I don’t share my family’s enthusiasm for
convenience food and whenever the opportunity knocks to enjoy some real, home-made-from-scratch adult deliciousness, I take it.
Mmmmmmm… this is sooooo good!
My pleasure is contagious, at least
to the other adult in the household. We
don’t even bother with forks, scooping pieces of meat with the tips of our
fingers, holding off the licking part until we couldn't take another bite.
It’s a bit of a delayed reaction, but eventually it hits us both –
first me, than my husband.
This has a KICK to it!
Yea, it’s a
kick-pork-butt roast!
Everything that Juergen has brought to us over the years has
been delicious. One may even say, inspired. He is a hard working truck driver
with many overtime hours, but he loves to
cook. And his love shows in every meal he prepares. His cuisine generally hugs the mild and gentle side. Tasty and mild.
But this… this charted a whole new territory. It was still as inspired as ever but the added kick made it awesome.
Next time I saw him, it was pre-dawn morning a couple of days later. I
was going for my walk and he was heading for work. I waved his red truck, he
rolled down the window.
Juergen, that was awesome!
Thank you so much.
Oh, I thought it had too
much pepper, he said in his usual modest way, but that’s what the recipe called for...
It was PERFECT amount
of pepper, I assured him. EVERYONE in
our family LOVED it!
In that case, next
time I’ll make two batches…one mild, and the other...
No! Noooooo!!! That’s
not what I was trying to say….I am mortified. You…you are just making me...
…lazy!
But he laughs and waves…
…And inspired…
…puts his engine in
gear …
… to make some
sloooow-cooking,
smokey-hot,
kick-butt roasts of my own…
…as he rides off.
Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning
that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness,
how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end
up in the garbage. Matthew 5:13
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