Hush, Puppy

This week, for the most part, has not been worth a culinary moment of your time and, try as I do to amuse you, this past week was about as interesting and amusing as the Star 101.3 playlist I've heard a dozen times at work. How many times can one hear Madonna's "Live to Tell" and not want to go berserk? We've got to change that station, "til then, it will burn inside of me".

Yes, it's been pretty much feast or famine, hand to mouth, making ends meet, burning the candle at both ends, and other tired clichés, but I have a feeling things will begin to look up pretty soon. Bruce's niece just completed her final piano recital and she's almost complete with her college course work. Our friend Dax, who plays in the band Subtle, and who was in a terrible car crash, is beginning to make progress and can now talk on the phone. And yesterday, I saw two people in love, standing chest to chest, whispering sweet nothings into each other's ear before they had to be to work.

That kind of stuff is sweet. That's puppy dog love. You can tell puppy dog love when you see these intimate public displays of affection. And hey, I'm not dogging it, but sometimes I've been tempted to yell out "get a room!" Folks who've been together any significant period of time don't engage (at least very often) in these displays of affection. There's too much water under the bridge. They've seen each other's dirty laundry. They've heard the same stories repeated ad nauseum.

If you think of love in food terms, puppy dog love is like a quick, spicy stir fry. It's exciting, it could be new to you, it makes you sweat and your heart beat fast. It's a quick thrill that packs a punch, but lacks significant depth. Puppy dog love is like curry and beer. It's like a funnel cake and a Coke.

The other kind of love, I hesitate to call it "real" love, but the other kind of love is deep. Deep love is like a pot of stew that has simmered for a long time. One that has mellowed over time, but retains a rich character. It is concentrated down from the puppy dog love ingredients and has developed into a smooth, delicate stew that warms your bones and satisfies your soul. Deep love is slow cooked. Deep love is barbecued. Deep love marinates. Deep love ferments like sourdough bread, where two essential organisms come together and build a culture that, once started, becomes strong and resilient against outside bacteria and other pollutants.

Speaking of stir fry, my puppy dog love with DPD is still going strong even though they've raised (!) their prices since last week.

OK, who spilled the beans?


k.