Giving and Receiving

Shelley served up pie....charts

On Sunday the church began its 2022 stewardship campaign. After the service we were served a brunch of salad, lox and bagels. It was the first time in over eighteen (18) months that we had had so large a gathering. The two hours in the school courtyard went by quickly.

Alison and Shelley made a plea for pledges. Alison had organized the brunch, and Shelley showed up faithfully every Sunday for over a year as part of a small group who ran the church's streaming-only services. Of course, we listened politely out of respect for two volunteers who put our own efforts to shame.

The church has run a deficit this year and will do so the next, but reserves built up from bequests and the pre-COVID pre-school should see us through.

As we said our goodbyes one church member offered me a vegetable from his backyard garden in Redwood City. I did not know what it was.

Do you, dear reader?

Chayote is technically a fruit and is found in several varieties. The word is pronounced like “coyote,” except it begins with a “ch” sound (like in "change").

Friends suggested that any squash recipe would work on chayote.

First things first, I cut it open. The spines on the skin drew blood. Ouch! It had a very mild smell and taste, like raw zucchini.

The flesh was hard, probably because it was picked too soon. To be fair to my friend, he had brought a dozen fruit and mine was the last one in the basket. Carefully, I cut off the prickly skin and sliced the inside into cubes.

I boiled the chayote with sliced pork belly, ginger, salt, and pepper. After two hours the pieces were still firm. The whole thing tasted pretty good and made a satisfying meal while being very low-carb.

So I learned about chayote on Sunday. With all the gloom around us, it's easy to forget that life can throw us little experiences that are as pleasurable as they are unexpected.