I love basil

I love basil. (Though I refer to the herb, it's also true that I love Basil, thanks to last winter's Cappadocians and Friends class. And it was fun to see and spend time with Helen, our professor, at the Faith and Order conference!)

Last night, inspired by the film Ratatouille, I began cooking -- no recipe, only a rich blend of aromas and colors in my mind. Into the pan with olive oil and garlic the veggies went: red onion, baby portabellas, thin asparagus stalks and red bell pepper. While three handfuls of rigatoni boiled, I added fresh basil to the mix...at first a little, then more, and a bit more, because the scent of basil was intoxicating. The flavors blended excellently; I tossed in some crushed red pepper and crumbled feta cheese, garnished with a little more basil, and we feasted. Ah, basil!

Faith and Order

We're leaving in the morning for the Faith and Order Conference on the campus of Oberlin College, where we'll meet up with our former professor, Ellen, and former bishop, Chris. Five days of listening to papers sounds a bit long, but there's a "theological film festival" scheduled for the evenings which might be fun...although the movies start at 9:00 p.m. Yawn...