To be religious means to be honest, kind, and thoughtful. Anyone who lacks these qualities is not religious, no matter how careful one is in ritual observance.”
— Rabbi Marc D. Angel, introducing chapter 6 of Pirkei Avot
Prosatio Silban and the Maker’s Mark
AS THE OLD SAYING GOES, “No one here gets out alive” – or unmarred.
“Where did you get that scar?” asked the woman with the flirtatious smile, indicating Prosatio Silban’s right hand.
The cook-errant raised one eyebrow and a mouth-corner. “D’you mean the calluses on my thumb and forefinger?” he asked. “That’s from holding a chop-knife all and every day for more than a quarter-century.”
Prosatio Silban and the Assembly Eclectic
AS THE WISE SAY: “Some aspirations should remain so.”
Prosatio Silban put the finishing touches on a plate of fidget-hen confit and pureed artichokes, and stood back to admire it. I don’t know how I do it, but I’m glad and grateful that I can, he thought in expectation of his longtime customer’s expression. Blessings to you, O Julchi, Goddess of Autodidactic Gastronomy!
With the steaming plate balanced on one raised hand, he descended his galleywagon’s three wooden steps, then sauntered over to a table-and-chairs where sat a pleasant-faced and stylish woman of his own middling years. He placed the dish before her with a flourish, and she sighed in anticipatory delight.
“I don’t know how you do it, Master Prosatio,” she said. “You never disappoint.”
Never allow what you cannot do to control what you can do.”
— Rabbi Avi Weiss
Word to Bring Back: “Prig”
– Definition: noun a self-righteously moralistic person who behaves as if superior to others.
– Used in a sentence: Scratch a prig, find a hypocrite.
– Why: To name a thing is to control it — either by voting it out of office, or changing the channel.
Camouflage (A Prosatio Silban Amuse-Bouche)
“WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF garnishes?” asked one of Prosatio Silban’s regular customers as he set down a healthy portion of sauced beef-loin with accordion potatoes.
“That is a complicated question, and one which inspires many different answers,” The Cook For Any Price replied with a thank-you-for-asking grin. “My own understanding is that they visually accent the dishes they accompany, making them appear more appetizing.”
“Then why do you not use them in your own cuisine?” came the riposte.
The cook-errant’s grin widened. “Because I believe that’s the plate’s function,” he said. “Anything else is mere indulgence.”
(If you’re new to these tales, here are the preface and introduction. And if you want more of them, in two easy-to-read packages, here are the first and second e-books!)
I believe life’s a mystery; a sacred one. As for faith, that’s a personal and private thing…”
– John Walton Sr.