Soul-nourishing in the Time of Coronavirus: From Scarcity to Abundance

April 30, 2020: This Sunday is that annual Sunday following Easter called “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Every year we have a bit of the gospel of John that helps us reflect on Jesus as the shepherd of the sheep. In this year’s passage, he is described as the gate, the gatekeeper, AND the shepherd! All those things! – much food for thought.

But it is the end of Sunday’s passage that always strikes me. Jesus talks about the pasture that is made available to his own sheep. He says: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Abundant life. What is that? This may not seem like a time of so much abundance. In some places, food is running short. This week there were news reports that there may be a shortage of meat in the US because so many of the workers who process the meat are not able to work. As we hunker down in our homes, sometimes with our whole families, space may not seem so abundant. For some of us, it seems the workload has been – at least – doubled, with all the video meetings, communications, and extra planning. Time may not seem so abundant either.

I often think of the Mennonite concept of “enough.” We don’t need more than – well, more than we need. We often think we need more. But if we reflect on what really IS “enough,” we might think about what we need and want in a new way. AND … I think this includes finding abundance in what seemed like scarcity.

So I have two recipes this week that I think reflect abundance. First, a recipe for a “mushroom side dish,” made from half a package of mushrooms that I was concerned were about to go slimy on me. (And what could be worse than a slimy package of mushrooms in a pandemic? But I caught them in time.) It could be used as a delicious little side dish, on rice, or even on crackers. And, second, a recipe for rum raisin ice cream. (I have actually been using appliances that were closeted for 20 years, moved in boxes from apartment to apartment to house – I dug them out, and now I am making bread, yogurt, and FABULOUS ice cream – in my Cuisinart ice cream maker.) So I thought, what delicious thing could I make out of what’s here? Perhaps that bit of dark rum and some raisins could be pressed into service. Amazingly, I had just enough, as well as a single vanilla bean, called for in a recipe I found (on recipegirl.com, with some adapations). I even made ice cream sandwiches with some slices of frozen leftover Depression Chocolate Cake! It it is absolutely the most fabulous rum raisin ice cream these taste buds have ever come across. (And if that isn’t the very definition of abundance, I don’t know what is.)

There are many angles on life lived abundantly!

Mushroom Side Dish
This is for 4 oz of any kind of mushrooms. (If you have a whole 8 oz package, double everything.)

4 oz mushrooms, sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ medium onion, diced
½ red pepper, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons vinegar (I used red wine vinegar, but any kind would be good)
¼ cup tender herbs (parsley, basil, dill, tarragon, cilantro, or a combination), chopped fine
Salt and pepper

Sauté shrooms in oil on medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Add onion and red pepper, and continue to cook for about 3 minutes, till pepper starts to look soft. Add garlic, cook for one minute. Add vinegar, stir, and cook 3 minutes more.
Off heat, mix in herbs, and taste for seasoning.

Good warm or cold! (as a side dish, over rice, or on crackers)

Rum Raisin Ice Cream
(You will need an ice cream maker.)

½ cup dark rum
⅔ cup raisins
3 strips orange peel
1 cup whole milk
½ vanilla bean, split
¾ cup sugar
Pinch salt
4 egg yolks
1½ cups heavy cream
2 oz cream cheese

1. Put raisins, rum, and orange peel in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat, cover, and set aside.
2. Combine milk, ½ cup sugar, salt, and vanilla bean in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat over medium heat until almost boiling, then remove from heat. Cover and steep for 30 minutes.
3. While milk steeps, combine remaining ¼ cup sugar with egg yolks in a bowl and whisk until pale.
4. Put the cream in a large bowl and set bowl in a larger bowl or pot of ice water.
5. After 30 minutes, remove the vanilla bean from milk, scrape seeds into the mixture, and discard the pod. Heat milk just to boiling, then remove from heat.
6. SLOWLY drizzle the egg mixture into the hot milk, whisking all the while, until combined. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and heat on medium, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, just until the mixture coats the back of the spoon. (Watch like a hawk, or you will have scrambled eggs.)
7. Remove from heat, then whisk in cream cheese. Pour the custard into the bowl of cream, and leave to cool for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate in a container overnight.
8. Drain the raisins, take out the peel, and add the liquid to the cooled custard. Churn in an ice cream maker. After churning, mix in the raisins, then freeze for several hours or overnight, until more or less solid.

Yummmmmm!!