ALOHA, Friend!
Welcome to Wednesday in Waikiki
click on photos for increased delight
Welcome to Wednesday in Waikiki
click on photos for increased delight
Sometimes it is the "flaw" that brings beauty.“The absence of flaw in beauty is itself a flaw.”
Havelock Ellis
Sunning"Touch the sky, look the sun straight
in the eye and laugh."
Linda Ellerbee
Well hello there!"You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence."
Psalms 16: 11.
The taste of our food
is one of the basic joys of life.
But what is this "taste?"
The tongue can distinguish only:
Saltiness, Sweetness, Bitterness, Sourness, and
what the Japanese call: Umami
a word describing the Pungent, Savory, Tangy or Meaty.
Quite a crude palate from which to represent
that parade in our mouths called:
"A fine meal."
Most of us know that much of illusive flavor
comes from scents.
Magical scents!
Our sense of smell is a very poor cousin
to the highly developed olfactories of our animal friends
but without it, our lives would be much, much poorer.
Just like music, scents can transport us to other times and places;
Think of the smell of pumpkin pie - or the perfume worn
by a feared or beloved teacher decades ago.
Even here in perennially Summery Hawaii,
I can close my eyes
and smell the Fall leaves burning
with just a hint of frost in the air.
In fact I've smelled them while reading some of your blogs!
Scientists called Flavorists
can discern, and recreate the volatile chemical signatures of scent/flavors
from nature and also from the test tube.
The foods we eat are much more complex than most of us wish to know!
Sometimes the search for a crucial ingredient can discover the key molecule
present only levels of "parts/per/billion."
This got me thinking.
America is called a "Melting Pot,"
though many prefer to call it a Salad.
Nonetheless, it is the individual ingredients
that make up the very Flavor of a family, neighborhood, city, country-
our whole world.
Often we lament our very smallness;
What can I accomplish in this vast meal of life?
Perhaps you are not the main ingredient,
the lamb in the lamb stew,
or the business person in this money-driven banquet
of our post-modern world.
But just perhaps
you & I
are essential ingredients
in the aroma emanating from life's kitchen!
Without our parts-per-billion existence
something essential would be lacking;
The meal might be abundant,
yet lacking that magical Something
that makes of it
a Heavenly Banquet.
Thank YOU for joining our
Blog Salad today!
It wouldn't taste the same
without
Y O U!
is one of the basic joys of life.
But what is this "taste?"
The tongue can distinguish only:
Saltiness, Sweetness, Bitterness, Sourness, and
what the Japanese call: Umami
a word describing the Pungent, Savory, Tangy or Meaty.
Quite a crude palate from which to represent
that parade in our mouths called:
"A fine meal."
Most of us know that much of illusive flavor
comes from scents.
Magical scents!
Our sense of smell is a very poor cousin
to the highly developed olfactories of our animal friends
but without it, our lives would be much, much poorer.
Just like music, scents can transport us to other times and places;
Think of the smell of pumpkin pie - or the perfume worn
by a feared or beloved teacher decades ago.
Even here in perennially Summery Hawaii,
I can close my eyes
and smell the Fall leaves burning
with just a hint of frost in the air.
In fact I've smelled them while reading some of your blogs!
Scientists called Flavorists
can discern, and recreate the volatile chemical signatures of scent/flavors
from nature and also from the test tube.
The foods we eat are much more complex than most of us wish to know!
Sometimes the search for a crucial ingredient can discover the key molecule
present only levels of "parts/per/billion."
This got me thinking.
America is called a "Melting Pot,"
though many prefer to call it a Salad.
Nonetheless, it is the individual ingredients
that make up the very Flavor of a family, neighborhood, city, country-
our whole world.
Often we lament our very smallness;
What can I accomplish in this vast meal of life?
Perhaps you are not the main ingredient,
the lamb in the lamb stew,
or the business person in this money-driven banquet
of our post-modern world.
But just perhaps
you & I
are essential ingredients
in the aroma emanating from life's kitchen!
Without our parts-per-billion existence
something essential would be lacking;
The meal might be abundant,
yet lacking that magical Something
that makes of it
a Heavenly Banquet.
Thank YOU for joining our
Blog Salad today!
It wouldn't taste the same
without
Y O U!
I didn't notice the flaw until you pointed it out. :)
ReplyDeleteBeauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Aloha, Cloudia! I love the cat!
ReplyDeleteIf I be a subtle flavor I can accept that as readily as I can accept being the bowl that holds the food others eat. Being at the table is the thing, no?
ReplyDeleteI loved this lovely platter a lot..i smiled when i read the line where you say that 'may be we are not the lamb in lamb stew but may be we are an important or essential ingredient'.Aloha Cloudia!
ReplyDeleteI have a big pot simmering on the stove right now Cloudia. With the weather turning colder I found a recipe for a chicken noodle soup. I wish I could send you the aroma that is wafting through the house but I wish I could smell the scents of Hawaii too. Always love your posts my friend. Aloha!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHmm... I can't imagine me as a "subtle" anything. "Subtle" isn't my best thing ya know.
ReplyDeleteWhich is how come I come barging in here like the proverbial bull in the china shop (I am a Taurus after all) with an invitation to the party going on at Casa Mojo today.
I believe you know the guest of honor. Hope you can make it by for a bit. And bring friends!
Cloudia- I have a cat like that!
ReplyDelete<><
Nice post, and the flaw adds to the photo, for sure.
ReplyDeleteI love "flaws" - they add the character that makes someone/something unique and genuine
ReplyDeleteThe cat looks as though it's spotted that lizard! :)
ReplyDeleteSince I have no sense of smell I'm sure I am missing quite a bit of the eating experience. IT doesn't seem to slow me down, though.
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere that our sense of smell is one of our strongest "memory" senses. I have a good nose on me, many of my other senses have dulled, particularly the hearing in my left ear, (drat), but my sense of smell remains fully intact.
ReplyDeleteSide note, in response to your comment at my place. Of course your book is in the library! I tried to order your book on my Kindle but it isn't available yet. I might have to break down and buy the paper version, unless you notify me that it will soon be available on my e-reader. ;-]
I love the blog today, Cloudia, especially the picture of the cat and the discourse on the varieties of spice in our life!
ReplyDelete"There is a crack...a crack, in everything. That's how the light gets in."
ReplyDelete--Leonard Cohen
What lovely words, Cloudia! We are all important and essential.
ReplyDeleteI love the scents of the woods, and walking here on an early winters' day, my nostrils are constantly quivering, savouring each subtle aroma of moss, earth and woodiness.
You make me feel good about being a PPB! Such a great post.
ReplyDeleteThe absence of flaw in beauty is itself a flaw..i like this quote..life is indeed full of flaws..
ReplyDeleteThank you for the delightful read.
ReplyDeleteNavajo weavers believed that a piece was not perfect unless it had at least two flaws.
ReplyDeleteI can taste the salt spray.
What great comments,
ReplyDeletethank YOU!!
The Emperor of Scent (Chandler Burr).
ReplyDeleteA book you might be interested in regarding the art and science of scent, and one renegade man.
PS. That patch of grass looks bigger than the patch on the boat...
How is Miss Kitty doing? No turf envy?
So beautifully said.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you are not the main ingredient,
Love that.
I cannot smell Hawaiian Tropic suntan lotion without thinking of the islands. Coconut. Yum.
Miss Kitty is so glad that someone asked about her. Thanks for visiting you two.
ReplyDelete