This is The Friday Tasting Menu, where I provide you with a weekly spread of share-worthy things.
Hey everyone!
Having recently returned to work after being on leave, I’m not used to getting out content with having 40 hour work week + commutes back on my schedule. But I’m committing myself to figuring it out and getting it done for you all. Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe from this past Friday Tasting Menu is in the works and on its way. I put it on pause so I could make sure I got this out to you on time.
If you’re new to the community, I want to personally welcome you and thank you for your support. And if you’re not new, thank you for reading. It means the world to me to hear that people are actually enjoying what I write.
All I can say is Thank You. You are my day ones!
Enjoy your weekend! See you Monday! Happy Sandwiches 🥪
On Today’s Menu
📖a read: The Idolatry Of Work In Culture
📱a watch: Pasta Grannies & My Own Grannies
🎧a listen: The Kount & CARRTOONS-On My Way
🍴a bite: Not Your Average Chicken Salad
💭a thought: David Perell’s Perspective on Progress
🗯a quote: C.S Lewis on What’s Ahead
🍞a verse: Mark 8:36
📖 a read
This was a short essay written by Bold & Broken, a fellow cohort mate from the writing course I took in January describing the high emphasis of career/success in the Western world and even the indentity-ties that we form with our careers.
An idol is something that we give our devotion to instead of to God. Many things (even good ones) can become an idol or ‘god’ to us. We recieve our worth/identity/dignity/purpose from our Creator whose image we bear not our salary.
📱a watch
This video evokes so many feelings and memories. Betta reminds me of two special woman in my life.
My biological Grandma aka Mama Sofia
My best friend Nick’s Grandma aka Nonna Franka
Hospitality and service are in their veins. Food is their love language.
Ven a comer. (Spanish) I’d hear on the daily at home with her persistent voice. She’d bust open the door in the middle of me playing Call of Duty and repeat herself when I wouldn’t come after the first summoning. I’d say, “ya voy” (I’m going) and she’d say, “Ante que se ponga frio”(before it gets cold).
Vieni a mangiare. (Italian) I’d Franka calling Nick to come downstairs for Sunday dinner, in which I was blessed to be able to participate in. Franka made me love tomatoes and eggplants. I’d always wonder what the entoxicating smell was coming when I’d go downstairs with Nick. That’s when I first had basil.
I love the channel Pasta Grannies not because I’m Italian but because I have a deep appreciation for the women who fend for their families to the grave. Never asking anything in return but always making sure you have a little more food in your belly.
Thank God for Grandmas!
🎧a listen
The Kount & CARRTOONS-On My Way
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
I’m a sucker for an instrumental.
I stumbled upon this on Instagram right on time. Apparantly, the track caught such a wave from the people that the artists decided to release it officially last week. If I had a TV show this would be my theme song. I’m listening to it now as I write this and I’m bopping my head.
Give it a listen.
🍴a bite
The time has come!
A Sandwich from A Thought Full Sandwich! This is a Chicken Salad Melt. Interestingly enough, I didn’t grow up eating chicken salad at all and I’ve only had it a couple of times. However, a couple years ago I was introduced to a Chicken Salad Melt by my buddy Vinny from Cross Bay Diner in Howard Beach, Queens, NY, which blew my mind.
I made this using a left over chicken breast from my Roast Chicken recipe a couple weeks ago. Like I’ll mention in the upcoming Chicken Noodle Soup recipe, feel free to use a rotisserie chicken for this if you’re short on time. I’d definitely recommend that over canned chicken simply because you can get so much more use out it and also for the cost of 3 cans of canned chicken you can get a more fresh product that will create multiple dishes.
I knew I wanted to make Chicken Salad but the way it came together was quite spontaneous and I think it may be one of the best sandwiches I’ve made. Throwing this in between a grilled cheese though changes everything!
I hope you give it shot but if you don’t have all the ingredients just leave it out or sub in something else. Chicken Salad is a blank canvas to paitn whatever flavors you want.
Enjoy!
💭a thought
David Perrel is the creator of a writing course called Write of Passage. He shares tons of value on not only writing but also on productivity. David in his essay Hugging the X-Axis provides a deep insight into perceived vs actual progress.
If you’ve ever taken a look at a graph of a single stock from the Stock Market, you can toggle through different times in the history of that stock from Today, to Last Week, to Last Month, to Last Year, to the last 5 years, and beyond. If you were to compare the daily volatility of its many ups and downs to the overall growth over time you could clearly see that those little dips did not stop the overall long term upwards trajectory of the stock.
Quite the analogy for us in our lives, huh? The days in and out of moving towards something and experiencing setbacks, failures, mistakes, etc can feel quite discouraging and feel like we’ve stunted our progress. But if you were to look at the last decade (10 years): look how far God’s brought you.
🗯a quote
“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”
—C.S. Lewis
The past haunts so many. But to know there is the Way to be free from its hold on our hearts, minds, and lives through Christ, leaves it further and further behind. Then comes peace.
He will cast all our sins into a sea of forgetfulness. If He’s done so then world, nor the devil, not even ourselves can condemn us if God has left it behind.
Far better is ahead and above.
🍞a verse
Money isn’t king.
The sad loss of so many affluent celebrities to drugs, alcohol, suicide is one of many evidences that money and fame simply are not the solution to the dilemma of the soul: namely satisfaction.
This verse often reminds me that all of the money in my bank account will not leave with me when I depart this world. From dust I came from and to dust I shall return: with nothing. But what will last forever is my soul. That is where my priority lies.
The question we need to be asking is:What will be of our souls at the end of our lives?