“One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4
I am back from France. We returned last weekend, just in time to attend several revival services our church was holding. Revival meetings are rather an old time idea. I have not attended a revival in over 20 years, but we wanted to be supportive so, jet lagged as we were, we made it to Saturday evening, Sunday morning and Sunday evening services. Sunday morning went long, and about the time we were singing a song that was newer to me, I had to ask myself some tough questions.
The lyrics of the song repeat the phrase, “There’s no place I would rather be”, multiple times. In my jet lagged state, my soul could think of several places I would rather be, including my bed! I know you are not supposed to lie in church (or anywhere, really!) so I was grateful for the follow up line, “than here in your love”. Putting the two phrases together, “There’s no place I would rather be than here in your love”, gave me something to sing honestly. I do want to dwell in the love of God more than anything else, no matter how tired I am. Truly I want to be in God’s presence more than I want to be anywhere else in the world, even vacationing in France.
As we were leaving France our daughter who was traveling with us asked a simple question, “Do we have to go back?” Our daughter is an artist and our two weeks in France had been an artist’s dream come true as we visited with Monet’s paintings, Rodin’s sculptures and Da Vinci’s inventions and smiling lady. My daughter loves what she does, but two weeks in France not worrying about marketing, deadlines, and how to pay the rent prompted the idyllic question.
All of us have had similar longings, longings to be in an easy place; a place where days are filled with chocolate croissants, perfect weather and nothing but fun. “There’s no place we would rather be” than spending everyday just the way we want to, doing things we choose to do. No worries, no work, nothing to wear us down.
We did have to go home. But we did not have to go back. We did not have to go back to things just as they were; we would return home changed people. Different people. More knowledgeable about French history, about interacting with people from all around the world, open to life at a different pace. Funny how vacation can be a kind of revival; a time to renew and refresh, to try new things, examine the differences and choose how to proceed from there.
Both our vacation in France and our church revival worked to solidify and renew certain foundations in my life. There is truly no place I would rather be than living life as a child of God. I don’t want to go back to life before I knew Jesus, I want to walk closer to Jesus every day.
The slower pace of life in France meant waiting. It meant fresh food, which takes more time and tastes better than processed, fast food. It meant rest and deep thinking. It meant pondering things that will last, like hundreds of years old chateaus, paintings, churches, cathedrals. Places and items built to withstand time.
But it also meant work. We walked everywhere, miles everyday. We lugged large suitcases up spiral, stone staircases worn unevenly over centuries of use. The reopened Cathedral of Notre Dame is flanked by cranes and work zone/hardhat areas. What took hundreds of years to build continues to be restored and renewed. A good lesson in and of itself. I am not yet a hundred, but I need a lot of restoration and renewal!
One of our favorite restaurants in Paris, Le Souffle’, offers insight into this balance of resting and renewing. A souffle’ contains some of the most basic ingredients you can find, milk and eggs. Breakfast food in most countries. But the French have broken the egg down into two parts, using the yolks to bring flavor and substance to a dish that is light as air. Our daughter describes it as eating a cloud. It takes time and precision and must be eaten right away.
Our evening at Le Souffle’ included ham & cheese souffle’, tomato basil souffle’, beef bourguignon souffle’, salmon dill souffle’, chocolate souffle’ and white chocolate creme brulee’ souffle’! It was amazing. It lasted a long time. We waited and talked and ate and talked and experienced relationship in a very settled and satisfying way.
Lasting things take time and energy; work. But making something that lasts; something that is incredible, is worth the effort. Time spent well is worth the effort. How are you spending your life? Are you creating things that are worthwhile? Are you walking with Jesus each day, knowing that every step with Him is the best place to be?
This week’s recipe is a bit of a challenge. Number one it takes time and timing and planning. This recipe is actually easily accomplished, but you have to follow the instructions, be prepared, and have your family ready to eat as soon as the timer rings. Trust me it is worth it.
The recipe I have recorded calls for chicken and havarti dill cheese. I happened to have cooked chicken available, so that is what I used. You could substitute ham or salmon; and you can use your favorite type of cheese. The dill in the cheese I used added a lovely hint of flavor so feel free to add whatever herbs will enhance your meat.
Chicken & Havarti Dill Souffle
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 1/4 cup whole milk
- 4 oz grated havarti dill cheese, or your favorite kind of cheese
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 1/2 -3/4 cup finely diced, cooked chicken
Preheat oven to 375*. Butter 6 ramekins. Do not use cooking spray as it will cause the souffle’ to slide down the sides of the ramekins instead of puffing upward. Use butter and then dust with grated or powdered parmesan cheese. Place ramekins on a cooking sheet to easily slide in and out of the oven.
Shred cheese and set aside. Separate eggs, having a bowl of 4 beaten egg yolks and 4 egg whites.
Measure milk and other ingredients and have ready by your cooktop. Melt butter in a saute pan, add the diced onions and cook until soft. Add flour and whisk in until a smooth paste is created. Add salt, pepper, dijon mustard and cheese. Stir until cheese in melted. Add egg yolks and stir until completely incorporated. Finally, add finely diced chicken.
In a thoroughly clean and dry stand mixer, beat egg whites with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. This will take 4-8 minutes depending on the power of your mixer.
Combine the egg yolk mixture with the whipped egg whites using a spatula or metal spoon, careful not to knock the air out of the beaten egg whites. The goal is to form one fluffy mixture, then spoon batter into individual ramekins. Fill ramekins almost to the top. Carefully place in preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Finished souffles should be puffy and golden brown.
That food on that plate is the perfect match! It looks so delicious. I might have to make some.