Spirit of Christmas

It's Christmas morning, and Chicago seems like a ghost town. Around 2pm I decided to venture into the streets to try and find an open restaurant. A long walk and some Starbucks later, I was back at the office. While walking towards the elevator I noticed there was a man waiting for it as well. I wondered why someone would be here on Christmas day. We exchanged a cordial "Happy Holidays" as we entered the elevator. "What are you doing here?" I said. "I'm here for the Soup Kitchen," he replied, "We're open every Monday, all year long." He smiled. He seemed so fulfilled. My thoughts kept returning to him for the rest of the day. How many people would dedicate themselves to the care of others? People depended on him for their meals, and he knew it.

At around 5pm I locked up my office and prepared to head home. As I walked out of my building, I found a man standing at the door. I knew that he couldn't get into the building unless someone let him in since the doors were locked from the outside. As soon as we made eye contact, he asked me a question. I didn't quite understand him at first. He was a middle aged white man, with blue eyes, average height. He had an old jacket and a back pack. "Are they open today?" His accent was thick, eastern European perhaps? "Yea I think so," I said.

"I don't want to wait here if they aren't open you know?" And I realized that it was only 5pm, they wouldn't be serving food until 7. This man was going to wait in the cold wind for two hours for a meal. "Do you want to check to make sure?" I asked as I turned back to the door to let us in. We walked in silence back to Leslie hall, where the soup kitchen served their meals. A few men were folding clothes that had been donated on tables. "Are you all open today?" I asked. "Yes, we're open every Monday all year long," said one of the men. I turned to see my new friend standing a few feet behind me. They're open I said, smiling. He didn't say anything, just nodded, turned and started walking towards the door. "Do you want to wait inside?" I asked, a little uncomfortable with the question myself. I mean, I didn't know who he was or where he came from or what his story was. "No I wait outside," he said. With that he walked out the door in front of us and stood in the cold waiting for the next two hours to pass so he could have a hot meal on Christmas. "Merry Christmas!" I said as I walked to my car. Who was I kidding, it's not a Merry Christmas when you're standing outside a building in 30 degree weather for one meal. I sat in my car for a moment and watched this man. He was blowing into his hands to keep them warm, and had pulled his hood over his head. He didn't ask me for any money. He didn't ask for any assistance. He didn't even ask if he could wait inside the building. Instead he stood in the cold and embraced his fate.

As I drove away I found myself stopping in front of the CVS Pharmacy. Inside I bought a pair of gloves, before walking over to the Dunkin Donuts to get a chai. When I drove back to my building, I saw him standing there still, for only 15 minutes had passed since my first departure. "I have some tea for you!" I announced trying to sound as cheerful as possible. I handed him the tea and the bag containing the gloves. For a moment he stared at me as if he didn't recognize me, and then "Ooooooh, Thank you! Thank you!" His blue eyes lit up as did his smile. "You're most welcome." As I walked away, I glanced in his direction again, and a sense of sadness came upon me. Standing next to my new friend were three men, blowing into their hands, trying to keep warm as they waited...

Recipes: Traditional Raisin Scones

I decided this past sunday was going to be the day that I attempted to make traditional raisin scones...and I was a bit nervous as it seemed to be a complicated task. Finally, after an extensive search for internet recipes, I found the one for me: Paula Deen's traditional raisin scones, courtesy of www.foodnetwork.com.

Now the only problem was that I did not have all the ingredients. Regardless, I was going to make these scones, so I began thinking about what I can substitute for the missing ingredients.

In the end, the scones turned out delicious! And I mean DELICIOUS, even if I may say so myself.

Here's the original recipe followed by my alterations:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

You will need:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 sticks of unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup raisins

In a bowl, sift the flour and baking powder. In a separate bowl, beat the butter until creamy. I mean beat it with a cake mixer, not a baseball bat or a ruler. Next add the sugar and beat it until the mixture becomes pale and fluffy. Then add in the eggs, one at a time. Gradually mix in the flour, followed by the buttermilk. Here's where it gets tricky. The mixture by now is extremely hard to beat, its thick and sticky, but it still needs to be all mixed. Finally add the raisins, and gently fold them into the batter using a spoon.

Using an ice cream scoop, place the mounds of batter on a cookie sheet. I like to line the cookie sheet with parchment paper or non-stick foil to ensure easy clean up.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes.

Now here's what i substituted with:

• 1/2 cup of whipping cream (instead of buttermilk)
• increase the sugar to 1/3 cup
• if you don't like raisins, go ahead and use chocolate chips or any dried fruit like cranberries.