Smorgasbord #34

Heart, Onions, and The Americano

Hello friends! This is Smorgasbord, a self-service buffet of ideas—the Lunchables of newsletters.

This week, I published It Could Always Be Worse, a piece about being in the thick of it as a parent and gaining some perspective. Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments.

VBS and swim lessons are in full swing, and of course, Diana feels like she’s getting a cold, which means I might also get a cold. I keep repeating: “I feel fine. I feel fine. I’m fine.” On top of Vitamin C, what is your tried and true, simple cold home remedy? Let me know in the comments.

Alright, let’s get on with it.

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Cor ad cor loquitur

June is dedicated to The Sacred Heart of Jesus. A while ago, I read "Heart of the Redeemer" by Timothy T. O'Donnell, S.T.D. The first chapter opens with the question, "What is meant by heart?”

Here are some ideas I found interesting:

• Karl Rahner, SJ, describes the heart as a primal word to designate the whole man.

• The human heart is a natural symbol of what is most intimate, most personal in man. Ladislaus Boros, SJ stresses the universality of the physical heart of man as a symbol of his intimate personality or center.

• The heart is the spiritual center of man's soul, the core of all volitional, emotional, and intellectual activity.

• In Hebrew, the word for heart (leb, lebab) signifies a person's interior life. Leb and lebab occur over 858 times in the Old Testament alone.

• According to Malatesta & Solano's "The Heart of Christ and The Heart of Man," there are about 16 Old Testament references to the heart of God.

• The word heart is used 113 times in the psalms.

• The General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours allows for an "accommodated application" of scripture to the Heart of Christ. It also states that the person who prays the psalms in the Liturgy of the Hours prays not so much in his own person as in the name of the Church and, in fact, in the person of Christ himself.

• On top of that, the Messianic Psalms explicitly refer to the heart of the Messiah, which we see ratified by Jesus himself and the apostles in the New Testament.

I’ll leave you with Pope Pius XII's definition of devotion to The Sacred Heart from his 1956 encyclical Haurietis Aquas (You will draw waters):

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by its very nature, is a worship of the love with which God, through Jesus, loves us, and at the same time, an exercise of our love by which we are related to God and to other men.

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Onions

This is an excerpt from a journal entry I wrote about two years ago.

The kids have been sick for more than a few days, so Diana and I thought chicken soup would be a good way to soothe their little bodies. We're also following in the footsteps of our Mexican ancestors, who made their kids eat hot soup during the summer months.

When I was helping with the prep work, I was cutting an onion, and its aroma reminded me of my paternal grandfather. This is odd because he hated onions with a passion. He was a great cook; everything he made was well-seasoned. However, he never used onion as an ingredient in his creations.

Growing up, my parents would take me and my sisters to my grandparent’s house, which had an outdoor kitchen where my grandpa would cook on an open fire. Once, two of my uncles were frying fish in a wok-like thing, and they decided to make onion rings. A pile of fried fish and rings sat on a table. I saw my grandpa reaching out for an onion ring, and as he was taking it to his mouth, I yelled, “Grandpa! That's an onion!” he dropped it as if I had told him there was a spider in his hand.

He was also notorious for saying that people would intentionally add onion to things because they knew he didn't like it. He would say this at weddings, blaming the catering company for that disrespect. People who most likely didn't know him and his aversion to onions. How dare they?

I wish my grandpa were still around so I could ask him why he didn't like them. I wonder if he had some traumatic event that revolved around onions that made him blacklist them. I think onions are great, and maybe I could've changed his mind.

When I presented the soup to my son, I told him about my fascination with onions, the existence of onion soup, and how amazing it is, especially the crouton with melted cheese on top. He seemed to enjoy the pieces of onion floating in the chicken soup and was intrigued by the soup with cheesy bread.

I don't know if Grandpa would be proud of his great-grandson being a fan of onions, but I think he would've loved to know that my boys will carry on the family name (had I not had my boys, I would've been the end of the Cantu family tree). Maybe he'll overlook the onion thing because of the family name thing. I hope.

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The Americano

Summer is in full swing here in the Southwest, and I’ve been looking for tall, fizzy, low-ABV drinks that I can imbibe during the day without worrying about my accent getting thicker. My buddy Gary reminded me of The Americano, and I made one immediately.

This drink dates back to 1860, and it was created in Milan, Italy, by Gaspare Campari, the creator of the Italian Aperitif with his name. The Americano is a twist on the Milano-Torino, equal parts Campari and Sweet Vermouth, with the addition of soda water. This drink was popular among American tourists during the prohibition era in the US.

Allegedly, The Americano is the precursor of the Negroni, invented in Florence by the Italian Count Camillo Negroni in the early 20th century when he asked the bartender for a stiffer version of The Americano. The bartender replaced the soda water with gin, and the rest is history.

The Americano is a light, slightly bitter, and sweet long drink that’s very easy to drink. If you haven't had Campari, this may be an excellent first introduction since the dilution and sweetness from the Vermouth help reduce the bite of the orange bitterness characteristic.

To make The Americano, you will need:

• 1.5 oz Campari

• 1.5 oz Sweet Vermouth (I like Cocchi Vermouth di Torino)

• 8 oz soda water (I like Topo Chico)

Pour the alcohol into a glass filled with ice, top it with soda water, and stir. Enjoy.

TO DO: Buy more Campari.

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Sobremesa

1. Anatomically correct heart or emoji heart?

2. What’s your favorite way of eating onions?

3. Should The Americano be the official drink of the 4th of July?

   Have a lovely weekend!

   -W