Gourmet Sunday

Comfort is a Western phenomenon, I think. There's no culture in history that has been so complacent with what they have or who they are as us.* Sometimes it takes jumping out of that comfort zone to appreciate how amazing that lazy boy actually is. Every so often over the last few years I've made the ridiculous decision to pack up and leave everything that is incredible around me: friends, family, city, bed, two-ply, whatever. I've had some amazing experiences on these adventures: Whether it is being blockaded by elderly Japanese women while jogging through residential streets in Nagoya or trying to prevent a screaming former Third World child soldier who saw his twin sibling gunned down in battle from ruining my lesson on King Henry VIII's legacy, each is a reminder of all the small and amazing things I take for granted on a daily basis.

Gourmet Sunday is sort of the same thing. It's not about preparing an amazing meal to show off to your friends how many episodes of Hell's Kitchen you've watched. It's about stepping out of your comfort zone. It's about taking risks and trying things you've never done before. Tonight's meal was no different. It didn't result in the best meal we've prepared for Gourmet Sunday, but it involved cooking dishes we had never cooked, or even tasted, before.

Hosts: Spark and Rob
Guests: Lil' Freshie, Meghan, Amy
Menu: Fresh garden salad with avocado and and a zesty citrus dressing; Lentil and vegetable stew; Vegetarian Paella.
Wine: 2005 Solaz Shiraz Tempranillo; 2007 Rene Barbier Penedes (white); 2007 Marques de Riscal Rueda (white).

As stated, Spark and I stepped out of our comfort zones and attempted something completely different. It wasn't our best work, but it was still good. More importantly, however, is that the meal exemplified the true spirit of what Gourmet Sunday is all about: Reward isn't always in the result of a completed of a task, but, too, can be found in its process.

*Opinion not fact.