its (nearly) christmas!

With Christmas only 2 days away, my mouth has already begun to water and my stomach preemptively feels full. Bring on the overindulgence. Bring on the concentrated family time. Bring on the warm moments. Bring it all on. 

Christmas fuels itself on our anticipation. This is both good and bad, sometimes too misdirected to make  Christmas feel anything but hyped up. But truly, think of the quality of anticipation we should be feeling: this season is pregnant with our very salvation!! Imagine how excited a new mother is just days before she gives birth, full of hope for her future most consuming little love. Sure, she is probably a bit anxious, but in the truest and most humbled way, with the very neural electricity of her desires coursing through her whole body, enough to make her just jittery at the very thought of the impending event. Right here, right now, we are on the brink of commemorating such a birth. I want my Christmas to buzz with that anticipation, of gratitude and joy over Christ's birthday. This is a big deal people. 

I feel excited. For the break most tangibly, but for the idea of Christmas too. I want to keep proper perspective of this gift of Christ, a baby, the insanity of God's love for us most poignantly on my mind over the next few days and see how that shapes my Christmas. I hope the food coma will not dampen this intentionality. We shall see....

Brussels Sprouts

1 ½ pounds Brussels sprouts

3 tablespoons good olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon kosher salt, + more to serve

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 pieces of bacon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Trim the Brussels sprouts: cut off the ends and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Toss them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. Transfer to a cookie sheet and roast for 30 to 40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly.

While those are roasting, fry the bacon in the biggest heavy skillet you own. Remove from grease and chop roughly. When Brussels sprouts are done roasting, reheat up your bacon grease til it popping hot, then dump in your sprouts and flash fry, adding back in your chopped bacon as well. Stir gently so that all of the sprouts will be evenly crisped (this flash fry should only take a few minutes since your grease should be very hot!). Sprinkle a bit of Kosher salt over your finished sprouts and serve warm.