Smiles, Big and Small
When I started to write again it was with the intention of reminding myself, and others, to look for the things that make us happy. These days it’s easy to run across things that make us angry, sad, unhappy, or scared, but sometimes you have to look a little harder for the things that make us smile or bring joy to our hearts. I thought if I was having a hard time remembering to seek out the good instead of just allowing negativity to wash over me all the time, surely other people were feeling the same way. So allow me to share a few things that made me smile in the past week.
First up, no surprise, baking bread! We haven’t been eating as much bread lately as we used to, but I love to work with sourdough so every day I get to bake is a good day. Sourdough is special, like a beautiful cross between science, nature, and magic! Nothing but flour, water, and salt, but how it transforms through time, and with surprisingly little interaction, simply leaves me in awe. It’s so satisfying!
Four small loaves of sourdough bread dough in tiny bannetons
Sticking with the food theme, I’ve enjoyed trying new things this week. I made a batch of vegan sourdough “cheese” crackers, spiced up with a little bit of gochujang. Just a little kick of heat stirred into discarded sourdough starter that would otherwise have been thrown away. Food waste is such a problem in this country, and we are making deliberate moves this year to prevent waste in our own home if at all possible. We also like the idea of knowing what is in our snacks. No mystery ingredients, no preservatives, we can actually pronounce all the ingredients! And, for me, the satisfaction of making something fresh and healthy from scratch makes me happy.
I recently downloaded a recipe app that bundles 3 recipes into a “pack” so you can shop once and use every bit of all the ingredients leaving nothing to waste. I’ve had such fun planning the menus and trying ingredients we haven’t used before. Last night I made Honey Gochujang Garlic Steak and Cheesy Kimchi Rice. My wife spent a year in Korea when she was in the Air Force, and while she enjoyed much of the local cuisine kimchi was not her favorite, so I’ve never thought to use it before. I will say that the recipe was delicious!! Spicy but not too spicy, sweet, sticky, and so satisfying. We put just one foot out of our comfort zone and it was totally worth it!
Rounding out my food-themed week of happiness, Carli and I went to dinner on Valentine’s Day, as so many people do. We went to a local restaurant we’ve only been to a couple of times. To be honest, it wasn’t the food that drew us in, and they don’t have a great wine selection. The service was fine, and dinner was pretty standard American fare. What drew us there on Valentine’s Day was the entertainment. A wonderful young local musician was playing and singing romantic jazz. I run in some of the same work circles as Chase when he’s on his day job, and I knew he played trumpet, but I just hadn’t made it to any of his performances yet. When I learned about his gig so close to home, and on a night Carli and I would usually go out anyway, it just seemed like the perfect opportunity! (We really are home-bodies, we don’t get out much. We’re typically pretty happy just spending time together at home with the dogs.) Chase was just getting set up when we arrived and we sat front and center. When Chase started his set, from the first note, we were absolutely charmed. Carli and I swayed with the music, sang along quietly when we knew the words, and just let the sweet music wash away the stresses of life for a little awhile. Even better, Chase’s sweet little girl would pop in every so often with her cute curls and a dollar for the tip jar. Oh my heart! Two years ago we wouldn’t have considered this as a night out, it’s just not been something we would typically seek out, but because Chase and I have worked together in our respective professional roles I wanted to support his work as an independent artist as well. Meeting genuinely interesting, talented, empathetic people in our community, like Chase and many others, has been an unexpected perk of my job, and frankly something I didn’t know I was missing in my life. In short, Valentine’s Day 2025 was a winner thanks to my beautiful wife Carli and also in large part, to a multi-talented local guy with the pink blazer and a trumpet.
So tell me, what made you happy this week? What put a smile on your face, warmed your heart, or melted the cares of the world for awhile? Drop me a comment, I would love to hear how you cope in these crazy days!