Mediterranean Platter with Cooling Yogurt Dip
I
n my second post ever (where my loyal sister commented twice, bless her heart), I talked about how there's nothing like after-church hunger. It's still true. Occasionally, I sit through church passively, but normally, I work up an appetite. Today, I led prayers, cried through the sermon, kept track of the kids during lunchtime, and chatted wholeheartedly. By the time we got in the car, Loretta was a wreck (wailing "I'm tiode!" the whole way home--why don't kids just close their eyes and get it over with already?), and I hadn't eaten enough. Watch out for She Who Has not Eaten Enough.
Many Sunday mornings, Yancey and I are tempted to skip church, take advantage of our day together by lounging around with pancakes or taking the kids to the beach. I see why so many people choose that--church is a giant time commitment. I was reading here recently on this topic--"I hear complaints about fluffy songs, outdated hymns, exclusive language, narrow theology, judgmental messages, too much fashion consciousness, sheer boredom or simply being indoors on a free morning." In the Pacific Northwest, less than 2% of us are churchgoers. We're out in the real church of the mountains, woods, coffee shops, or brunching with friends...right?
I have ZERO need to convince anyone to go to church, and I understand all the above sentiments. Here's why I go, though:
- Sabbath. Taking a few hours (or a whole day!) off from being productive is good for my relationships, mental and emotional health, and general outlook on life.
- Challenge. It helps if you go to a church that doesn't let you get away with ambivalence about issues of justice and peace. A morning at Bethany UCC is likely to kick your ass where these things are concerned, and I need that at least weekly.
- Accountability. Especially where downward mobility is concerned. It's too easy, living in the world, to forget what really matters if you're not around people trying to live out their values in similar ways. And by "values," I don't mean the term "family values" that's been co-opted by the Religious Right. I mean values about living simply, giving generously, understanding privilege, being welcoming to all regardless of age, sex, sexual orientation, class, race, nationality, ability--all that stuff.
- Community. Friendships, of course, but more than that. Going to an intergenerational, multicultural church forces me to be in community with people that I might not choose otherwise. There are lots of folks I don't "click" with, but we are together. In a world where affinity seems to be what matters most ("What does the other person have in common with me?") I want the discipline of difference. And I want that for my children.
- Hospitality. As I've mentioned before, we eat lunch together every week. Sometimes the table is bending under the weight of baked-from-scratch cakes and fresh salads, other times it's Costco pizza. But we eat on porcelain dishes, compost the leftovers for the worms, and talk about all sorts of important things while we're doing dishes together. Today, the kids hosted the adults. They harvested veggies from the P-Patch that our church helps operate, and our family contributed a platter of quesadillas.
[Sarah--step down from the pulpit!] Okay. Here's how we satisfied our after-church hunger. And I can't help it--I'm a preacher's daughter.
I just did some major-gargantuan-fill-the-larder grocery shopping yesterday. Four stops, big list, took me most the day to unpack, clean out the fridge, trim veggies. I feel much better now. And had many, many options where lunch was concerned. So this wasn't really a Leftoverist lunch, but some of these things will appear again--don't worry.
After-Church Mediterranean Platter with Cooling Yogurt Dip
Serves 2. (Wyatt and Loretta had already filled up on plum cake and blueberries at church). There are so many other things you could use--olives, pepperoncini, grilled eggplant, roasted red peppers, any kind of fresh veggie, hummus, cured meats. We have been eating like this a lot lately, so I'm sure more versions will appear before the summer is over. I had some cold poached chicken breasts in the fridge (for a chicken salad recipe later) so threw that in my grill pan. That's above and beyond. Just veggies here would be more than enough.
For dip: Mix 1 c. plain yogurt with 1 small clove minced garlic, juice and zest of one small lemon, salt and pepper, and pinch of aleppo pepper or red chile flakes. Stir, add more of anything to taste. A little bit of tahini would also be delicious in this.
For platter: Slice a tomato or two. Peel and seed a large cucumber and cut it into sticks (like carrot sticks). Cube some feta cheese. Griddle a couple rounds of pita bread (or warm them in the oven) and cut them into wedges. Arrange on a platter. For grilled zucchini, heat a grill pan or grill to medium high. Cut a medium zucchini in half horizontally. Slice each half vertically into four 1/2" slices. Brush with olive oil and salt. Put on grill, turning after 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, and slice into sticks. Put on platter. Drizzle your best olive oil over the whole thing, and sprinkle with kosher salt and zaatar (or lemon zest or fresh herbs or toasted sesame seeds or so many other things!). Serve with dip.
July 26, 2009
Reader Comments (11)
This sounds wonderfully flavorful, refreshing and satisfying - the perfect meal on a summer day - and we're actually having a (rare) beautiful summer day on the northcoast of California - a glass of chilled white wine with that and 'life is good'!
Also want to tell you that I made your banana-oat bran pancakes this morning - topped with toasted coconut, pecans and maple syrup - scrump-didlyumptious! And I'm amazed and impressed that they don't have any oil or butter in them.
Love your blog, Sarah - thank you for your continued enthusiasm and creative recipes. ~ Laura (Tway's daughter)
Oh, this is right up my alley... I'm going to find some zaatar so I can do this ASAP.
Congrats on the mention in the new Sunset Magazine!
What's this about a mention in Sunset Magazine?!
I share your reasons for going to church... but I WAS at the beach today. It's an odd season of life, and I'm looking forward to being able to manage Sunday service more often.
I so love and appreciate you don't edit your life ,for the sake of approval or sustained readership. I think that is what your readers love about your site. We really get to know the REAL you..........and I just so happen to really like it!
Thanks for the post, and for giving us things to think about as well as cook with.
'
sarah, it's so good to be back in your cooking world. i love reading your defense of church. it makes me miss that kind of community. you are lucky in so many ways. we are lucky that you give us yummy recipes to try in our own kitchens. you deserve every mention you get. xoxo
Thanks for this, both the recipe and the discussion of church community in the middle.
Say, we go to a UCC church too. Yay for UCC and for post-church snacks! It must be a denominational thing. Thanks for the perfect after church meal idea! Sydney is usually full from church snacking too, so it's a great time to try out something she may not gobble up.
I made this the first hot night we had and it was great, because we just fired up the grill quickly for the chicken and squash and then did the rest inside, I couldn't have handled anything else, thanks for the inspiration! Since then, sadly, it has been much more eating out:) Too hot in my condo!
Hi Jen! So glad to be part of your inspiration. And thank God for air-conditioned restaurants. I sort of don't care WHAT they're serving.
I just stumbled on your site. I love the simple recipes, and thanks for reminding me there are really accepting, kind hearted, non-judgmental religious people out there because these days it's sometimes to easy to dismiss organized religion when that's not your thing and it's nice to be reminded how diverse it really is and to be more tolerant myself.