Sausage-Apple-Butternut Squash Casserole

Inspired by "The Joy of Cooking" Sausage, Sweet Potato and Fruit Casserole (1975 printing)

Preheat oven to 350 deg F

Crumble and brown 1 lb breakfast sausage (I used Gimme Lean substitute, browned 2T canola oil). Stir in minced onion or shallot (1 small) until soft and fragrant. Take off heat and add diced tart apples (2 med). Add additional sage, thyme (dried is fine, about 1-2 t each), salt, pepper and about 2T of maple syrup.

Prepare 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray, oil or butter.

Halve, scoop out seeds, peel a butternut squash and cut portion above the seed cavity into thin slices. (Diced and reserve the rest of the squash for other use - I tossed with a little olive oil and roasted for 20-25 min at 425 after the casserole came out of the oven to puree for soup with cashew-cream. You can toss the seeds, washed and dried, with oil in a cake pan and toast at the same time, about 5-10 min).

Layer half the slices in the bottom of the dish. Spread the sausage mixture on top. Layer the remaining slices on top. Lightly coat with cooking spray, sprinkle with a little more fresh ground pepper and coarse salt, cover tightly with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and contuine baking for another 10 mins then turn oven to broil for the last 5 minutes to get a little brown and carmelized on top.

Served over collard greens (spinach or chard would also work well) chopped into thin ribbon and sauteéd with butter, minced shallot and dried thyme.

DIA - Its not what you're thinking

Bet you thought I am posting from the Denver airport, but instead I've had a great afternoon at the Detroit Institute of Art. A very diverse collection including the Diego Rivera murals in the Great Hall. One of the nicest amenities are the many padded benches with seat backs in many of the galleries. Those and engaging commentary invite one to be in front of a work long enough to see the subtleties of composition, color, light and often enough comedy. Well done DIA!

Received my Crown

Dr. Resnick, aka "Super Res", my childhood dentist dubbed me "Queen Jenéne." It gave me great delight that he deemed my sister Shelly a mere Princess. 8 weeks ago I made a trip to see Dr. Chang, for what was the first of a 4-visit root canal, and which I suspect was the trigger for the shingles. Today she crowned me with a new porcelain molar on a gold post. One more visit next week for final adjustments and a general cleaning and at least the dental phase of my unanticpated journey this summer will be over.

The shingles look to be a longer haul. I've been back at work, but balancing pain management with my ability to focus on the tasks at hand has been a challenge. In general the nerve pain has lessened, but is not gone. I know it won't last forever, but boy, for those of you eligible, get that vaccine!

This coming weekend I'm looking forward to a visit from Cincinnati friends Joan & Don. We have booked a lovely Gold Coast hotel and have plans for fine dining, a concert and sightseeing. A most welcome diversion. I'll be back on the road in earnest beginning August 15th with orientation visits to a few of the ministries I will be supporting in Detroit and Cleveland. After a very quick turn around in Chicago, I head for a weekend in Vail with my mom and dad, enroute to a national meeting of retreat house and spirituality program directors at Sacred Heart Jesuit Retreat House in Sedalia, southwest of Denver. A new smartphone is in the works and I hope to get back into a groove of posts from the road.

Can you say "shingles"?

Shingles (herpes zoster) is a viral infection of the nerve roots.

"The NERVE of that guy!" "Of all the NERVE!" "That really touched a NERVE" An outbreak of shingles has given me a new depth of meaning to those old saws.

It seems hard to believe that it has been over 3 months since my last posting. In brief, I started a new, and as it turned out evolving, role with the Chicago Province Jesuits. In addition to the responsibilities for the Piazza Project, effective July 1 I was named the "Provincial's Assistant for Pastoral Ministries." Translated from Jesuit-jargon, I am the Provincial/CEO's liaison and delegate, a Vice-President if you will, for the retreat houses, spirituality programs, parishes and the men in these and other pastoral ministries in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio. As you can imagine, I will be on the road a lot starting in earnest in August. So, if there was any good time for shingles to strike, this was it.

"On a scale of zero to ten, with zero being no pain at all, and ten being the worst pain you've ever experienced, how would you rate the pain you are experiencing right now?" My primary care doctor had recommended I head to the ER after not being able to keep the pain medication, or anything at all, down that day. I don't know whether it was the poet in me, or the engineer, but that question was like being asked to compare apples and oranges.

Was this the WORST pain I've ever experienced? Was this worse that the most recent trauma which I suspect of activating herpes zostar? Three excruciating attempts to complete a root canal during the first three weeks of Juneended finally with a referral from my dentist to an endodontist with the mildly offensive comment that I "have a really low pain threshold". Really, as a former chemical engineer, better living through chemistry is my motto and the endodontist did a fine job.

Was this worse that the time I severely burned my hand on a skillet, forgetting my frittata had recently been under the broiler? Or was it worse that the virtual knife stabbed in my heart many years ago when the man I had marriend declared he didn't love me and wasn't sure he ever had? Or the headache signalling meningitis that landed me in the hospital for a month after the divorce was final? No, these shingles were not the worst pain I've ever experienced in my life, but the scale is not linear.

This outbreak of shingles appeared around my midriff on the right side. As a colleagues said, the pain is insidious, pinching and burning on the inside, itchy on the outside, but shift instantly to fiery if actually scratched. All I wanted was for the pain to stop. I'd had an adverse drug reaction to a vicodan based drug leaving me dehydrated, nauseous and in the Top-5 of painful experiences which was the best I could do to answer the rating question. I just wanted the pain to stop. After a liter of fluid, anti-nausea and pain medication, as the nurse commented, I looked and felt a lot more human.

I went home with a prescription for a medication specifically for nerve pain which has helped tremdously, and keeping me sleepy and quiet this week. Some, but not all of the welts have crusted over, a sign that the virus is running its course, but taking its time working its way through my system. But they are, and like others in my Top-5, this too shall pass. I hope/plan on being back to work on Monday.

Back in Chicago and back to work

After about 1400 miles, give or take, Wil and I arrived safely in Chicago the evening of March 26. Somehow my mobile posts from our road trip didn't show up in the blog. Anyone know where in the ether they might be floating? Anyway, we had a nice day Friday sightseeing and shopping on Michigan Ave and State Street, had a good belly-laugh at "Don't Dress for Dinner," a comedy at the Royal George Theater, on Saturday and then put him back on a plane Sunday for Colorado. Monday I met with Rick to iron out a few details and Tuesday, March 31, started my new job with the Chicago Province of the Jesuits.

There are still many details to define with this new gig. We haven't settled on a job-title yet, and the scope of the project will continue to be refined over the coming months. While it is about a month or two sooner than I anticipated, I feel ready and excited to get started. As I described a couple of months ago, this feels like what wants to happen next. In many ways, this new role will be a bit like my days in product development at Procter and Gamble, researching and networking with the many ministries in the Chicago area, Cincinnati and elsewhere, to explore synergies and opportunities for collaboration between organizations. The prospect of new construction in both Chicago and Cincinnati is acting as a catalyst for the project and being a part of the building committees with be one very tangible and practical aspect of the role.

I will also be able to bring and build on my young adult ministry experience. One of the key questions for the Jesuits, and the Church, is how to do spiritual formation in a way that not only enriches the lives of men and women of young adults, helping them become generous individuals, "men and women for others", but doing the formation in a way that keeps them connected to the community of faith, as practicing members of the Catholic Church. Developing options and working with and through the existing ministries, and experimenting with new responses will also be a part of the job.

So while I am home again, I am also beginning another journey. Jodie has graciously extended her hospitality for a couple more months until I will move back into my condo with Cathy staying on as my roommate. This means my commute is 1 city block for the next 8 weeks which cerainlly helps to ease my transitition back to a work routine. I also made it back up to St. Nick's this Sunday for the start of Holy Week and am looking forward to renewing my participation with the community there. I hope to continue to blog, even though I'm feeling miles closer to home.

On the road again

How can it be a month since my last post?  Time does fly!  Grateful to Michelle & Lucy for another couple of weeks in Erie, I headed back to Palisade to celebrate the Ides of March with my Mom and Dad.  The weather during this time has been a wonderful taste of spring, punctuated by the apricots in bloom, with the plums following closely.  We toasted the first day of spring on Friday with Hans and Delia, G&T's and assorted hors d'oeuvres.

Wil is on spring break this week and today we start our road trip back to Chicago.  The kitchen is coming alive with a hearty bacon, eggs and buckwheat pancake breakfast while Wil comes alive in the shower.  The weather seems to be cooperating, for which I am very grateful.  We plan to stop in Hays, KS tonight, Kansas City, MO on Wednesday and then shoot up to Springfield, IL on Thursday for a stop at the Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library before arriving after rush hour in Chicago.  Happy trails!

Passions

It seems that the days preceding and following Valentine's Day all have been pointing me toward passions and passionate people.

A talk by Sr. Laurie Brink, OP, on "Paul and the Politics of Love" started my thoughts rolling. She spoke passionately about Paul's concern for the Corinthians and helped us see the parallel challenges from their times to our own. Paul urges the community to look beyond the divisions and what separates, to see with and through love unity in the Body of Christ.

The backstage tour of the Lyric was sponsored as a fundraiser by the Lyric's Opera Guild Board. These are people passionate about the opera. Volunteers told us about the history of the Lyric, the dedication of the founders. They spoke with great enthusiasm about the props, wigs, wardrobe and armory. A chorister, percussionist and lighting tech shared about make-up, music and effects that come together to create a lavish feast for the senses.

Charis Ministries gatherered a group of people passionate about those in their 20s and 30s from around the country. Everyone had been part of a grant that I had been working on with Fr. Michael prior to leaving Charis. From New York to San Francisco, Boston to Plainfield, Atlanta, Athens, St. Petersburg, Baton Rouge, Cincinnati, Versailles, Detroit, Joliet and Chicago. They represented national ministries, campus ministries, dioceses and parishes. Such great work is going on and such great need (cf. Mike's Googling God comments). This project was part of what was hard for me leaving Charis. I was grateful to participate and to realize that by recruiting other passionate people to take on parts of the project, the grant partners, their ministries and Charis were better served than if had I continued to juggle with other Charis responsibilities.

Charis also invited Mike to speak at their "Living Ignatian" series (see link in the sidebar). During his talk entitled "Finding God in the Crossroads" he shared a little of his journey to turn his passion for retreats into a great career and the Ignatian process of discernment. Where does "your deep gladness meet the worlds deep need?" he asked. And "if responsbilities take care of themselves and the choice was wide open, what would you do tomorrow?" "How to you want to BE, not what do you want to DO?" Timely questions as I continue to listen for my passion and desire to reemerge from hibernation. In the meantime, cooking for family and friends, a little light housekeeping and projects, walking, napping and being attentive to people and the world I encounter, each embodying God's love and grace are enough for me.

Congo/Women

Terrible beauty, terrible tragedy. This is how I'd describe the photos at the exhibit yesterday, some starkly black and white, others larger than life in full color. Paired with essays and statistics, the exhibit told stories of the effects of decades of violence on the women and children of the DRC. The co-directors of the exhibit at Columbia College hoped to inspire me and others to action. Unfortunately, as with other humanitarian tragedy, it was hard to look, to take it all in. I left feeling overwhelmed. I sent up a prayer for the courageous and suffering people. But it seemed so inadequate. What seemed missing was hope. Today I went to the website today to learn more and added my photo to the visual petition on the website, standing with the women and girls of the congo.

Perhaps I noticed this reaction more have recently finished a book by Gary Smith, SJ called "They Come Back Singing" about his experiences working with Sudanese refugees in Uganda. Smith paints a honest picture of his life as a priest and pastoral minister in the refugee camps. He didn't sugar coat the disease, poverty and death. He isn't sentimental or romantic about the suffering. I appreciated his ability to share his first hand experience and let it speak for itself. Through his story I felt the humanity and essential dignity of the refugees even in the midst of the horrific camp conditions. Because of his courage and honesty and theirs, I could stand with Smith and the family as he buried a child, or annointed a dying mother or grandmother. I could join my prayer to theirs as they celebrated the liturgy. I felt myself drawn in to share their plight instead of wanting to turn away. I'm grateful to Smith for allowing me to feel a part of the mission of the Jesuit Refugee Service: to accompany, to serve, to advocate.

DESSERT FOR DINNER? Fun times

DESSERT FOR DINNER? Fun times catching up with Mary & Jodie tonight at Ghirardelli across from the Water Tower over a Banana Hot Fudge Sundae-YUM

Meeting Birdman

He said 'they call me Birdman beacause my last name is Bird.'  Mr. Bird kept me company during my Indianapolis layover.  He was seeing off a friend headed for New Orleans. Mr. Bird shared that he was homeless so I asked him about the services to the homeless in Indianapolis. There is a shelter & drop-in center he could use, but he is pretty independent & prefers his tent under the higway. Apparently there is a couple who comes by his underpass on Wednesdays & takes he and his friends to there house for a shower and to do laundry.  They also came and got them on Sunday for the Superbowl but my bus was being called so I didn't get to find out who he was rooting for, but I'd like to think it was the Cardinals.

Wintry Walk with G

At four inches and stilling falling G and I put on our layers and headed up the hill into Alms Park.




Our other labor today involves the New York Times' Sunday Magazine crossword puzzle. Two heads are better than one!

a question of "next"

A program description in a retreat brochure at Leigh's house last week has stuck with me. The presenter begins with a quote from the Wendell Berry poem "We Clasp the Hands":
...[we pass] in and out of life ... moving in a dance / to a music so subtle and vast that no ear hears it/except in fragments
and poses the question:
What changes if we begin to listen for the subtle music of the dance? Or if we dare to ask ourselves, not what will I do next, but what wants to happen?

I am having a great time with family and friends, but I am also beginning to look forward into 2009 applying for positions, creating proposals, imagining where I might be next and what I might be doing professionally. The question of "what wants to happen?" and "listening for the subtle music" put me in mind of my retreat, the process of listening for, and occasionally hearing, fragments of music that spoke to me of love, the lover and loving. It has been so easy to slip into "what do I want to do" and hard to remain in "what wants to happen next?"

In the readings for today, the psalmist says "I waited and waited and waited for God" which is what I have been practicing, but also says "You've opened my ears so I can listen." In the silence and beauty of the Ignatius Jesuit Center in Guelph, the music was a lot louder. But it hasn't disappeared. And here is where I learn again that in addition to practicing waiting, I need to practice the Examen so I can start piecing the fragments together and hear what wants to happen next: the next moment, each next moment into the future with faith, hope and love.

Obama is Moving In

Jodie sent me this great Inaguration Day song from Weekend America's interview with the pop group the "Presidents of the United States of America." We really enjoyed the coverage this morning. An amazing event in history. Happy Moving Day!

A Skiing Birthday

What a glorious day! Skiing on the Grand Mesa with my Mom, Dad and Leigh who has been visiting from Chicago. Here's some snaps of the day...
This was a snow angel, not how I spent the day : )













Here are some more snaps from Leigh's fine photography:




It was also Leigh's first time on skis. She gets an A+ and my Dad says, "She's a natural athlete!"

Space

Yesterday I got to spend the afternoon and evening with Wil, discovering the joys of the carpool traffic. We stopped by Michelle's workplace at Ball Aeropspace to drop off some dinner for her to take to her Mom in Denver and ended up with an unofficial tour of some of the labs, including donning the "bunny suits".

Michelle's most recent spacecraft for the program Kepler, is already in Florida being placed atop a rocket for a March 5th launch. If you click on this link, enter Kepler in the search bar to see photos. Kepler's NASA mission is to search for Earth-type planets around other stars. We also got to see the new Worldview 2 satellite that will provide imaging to Google Earth, among other users, and glimpsed a mirror that will be on the James Webb Telescope, the Hubble replacement.

I'm always in awe when I see these spacecraft. I think about view of the universe they provide, our human desire to find others like us, somewhere out there, and the fragile nature of our own planet. A sign in Michelle's office also makes me smile: "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see there are many women rocket scientists."

Lucy

We had a long windy walk this afternoon. Lucy loves to dig for rodents.

get happy

Happy-Go-Lucky Widget

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January 2, 2009 - A Beautiful Day in Colorado

Here's a photo courtesy of Alessandro taken at Sacred Heart Jesuit Retreat House on Friday. It was unseasonably warm (around 60F/15 C) and only a light breeze. I have made two 8-day retreats at Sacred Heart in past years and it is beautiful in every season.

Alessandro & I met on my 40-day retreat. You might think that strange on a silent retreat, but we enjoyed listening to after-dinner music in the lounge while watching the sunsets. He is a Jesuit from Italy, taking a 9-month spiritual direction program offered by Loyola House. The Colorado Jesuits lent their mountain home to the Italians studying in the US and Canada and Alessandro was able to stay a couple of extra days to tour the Denver area with me.

I am staying with Michelle, a good friend from my college days at CU, and she graciously opened her home to Alessandro as well. After our hike we met at Michelle's brother's home for a shared a wonderful Sabbath dinner with her family. It is always a gift spending time with her family and my understanding of Jesus use of 'Abba' always deepens after I hear Michelle's nephews and niece running around the house calling to their dad. Please keep Michelle and Bob's abba, Jack, in your prayers. Out of ICU today and in much better spirits, he has been in the hospital since 12/22 following complications from hip surgery. Also for their mom, Margo, who is spending lots of time at the hospital.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Michelle & Me laughing at her dog, Lucy who jumped out of the picture. And With Alex, Carla and Lucy