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Cassis, and the Tale of the $10.95 Pants

July 25, 2018 Danielle Kartes
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In my dating days, my early twenties, I was a proud member of Match.com. I prided myself on how many dates I could go on. My girlfriends and I decided we’d go on every date for at least a month for the stories alone. I mean, they were pure gold!

One guy dressed in a wool three-piece suit when it was 95 degrees outside, and while sweating profusely asked how many children we’d like to have. Before I could even order an appetizer! Kids? Um, how ‘bout we start with egg rolls. Another guy told me he was 33, which was a stretch for my 23 year-old self, and he showed up and was like, “Welp, as you can tell I’m not 33. I’m 38...” Try 58, buddy. NEXT! This dude was in his mid-fifties. And so on and so on.

I’d laugh with my girlfriends, laugh about the adventure, and say yes to the next date. By the end I’d met a guy who was nice. No sparks but nice. He was awkward and kind and an attorney. Extra mom points for guys with great a great jobs, am I right? But this guy was a dud for me. No charisma and zero fun. He’d shoosh me if I laughed too loud at dinner and cut me off to talk about himself. I can remember prank calling him with my girlfriends and just laughing and laughing with our fake Russian accents, asking him if he’d checked in for his flight. Harmless fun, but he didn’t laugh, he was annoyed.

Since I was little my mom has asked if I’d like the $10.95 pants now or if I’d like to wait and save for the designer, well-made, incredible pants. This has been a metaphor I’ve since lived by for the last 20 years. In life and jobs and even my marriage. That nice attorney was the perfect example of what I wanted at the moment, but not the best thing for the long run. That guy was $10.95 pants (no offense to you, kind sir, wherever you may be).
 

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We all love the store Target. Great clothes, generally cheap, but 3-4 washes and the love affair is over. For some reason I can buy a pair of $10 tights ten times a year but struggle to purchase a $60 pair that fits incredible and will last me two years. And there it is, my mom’s voice in my head asking if I wanted to buy pants for $10.95 for my whole life or if I’d like to wait and save up for those $120 jeans that become like an old friend for years. I’d choose the latter now. I’d take those glorious jeans that cost a fortune because they’ll be better in the long run.

For the past 20 years, every so often when I want something to happen yesterday – a contract, a job, in my dating years a relationship, now to fix issues in my marriage, a big break, even a recipe to turn out while cutting 15 steps – I can hear my mom gently urging me to consider $10.95 pants or waiting on God’s best. You see, it’s tough to not want the crumbs now. The relationship, the quick fix, the all-fat diet to acquire that smoking body. But I want the long run, the better bet, the fight for the best. After the long haul and waiting out that dream to come to fruition I’ve never thought, well, sooner would have been better. The timing is always perfect even it was a slog to get there. Good often takes time but the best is absolutely a lengthy labor of love and hard work. It’s always worth those hours and weeks and years it takes to get to the glory. This is often how God works in our lives. He is absolutely a God of instant miracles in some cases, but often times he loves us enough teach us and point us to glory due us in the waiting.

A close friend asked me the other day if I get nervous with all the waiting. The nature of my job is 42 irons in the fire and waiting for certain ones to be just the right temperature. My mom happened to send me this devotional from Streams in the Dessert that morning. It was spot on:

Therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you . . . blessed are all they that wait for him. (Isaiah 30:18 KJV)
 

We should not only understand the importance of our waiting on God but also realize something even more wonderful – the Lord waits on us. And the very thought of His waiting on us will give us renewed motivation and inspiration to "wait for him." It will also provide inexpressible confidence that our waiting will never be in vain. Therefore, in the spirit of waiting on God, let us seek to discover exactly what it means right now.

The Lord has an inconceivably glorious purpose for each of His children. "If this is true," you ask, "why is it that He continues to wait longer and longer to offer His grace and to provide the help I seek, even after I have come and waited on Him?" He does so because He is a wise gardener who "waits for the land to yield its valuable crop" and is "patient . . . for the autumn and spring rains" (James 5:7). God knows He cannot gather the fruit until it is ripe, and He knows precisely when we are spiritually ready to receive blessings for our gain and His glory. And waiting in the sunshine of His love is what will ripen our soul for His blessings. Also, waiting under the clouds of trials is as important, for they will ultimately produce showers of blessings.

Rest assured that if God waits longer than we desire, it is simply to make the blessings doubly precious. Remember, He waited four thousand years, "but when the time had fully come, God sent his Son" (Gal 4:4). Our time is in His hands, and He will quickly avenge those He has chosen, swiftly coming to our support without ever delaying even one hour too long.
- Andrew Murray

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So, while researching cassis recipes I found dozens of methods. Some added wine and more sugar, curing in the dark. Some removed the stems and tails and mashed with no heat. Some recipes called for heating the mixture and allowing it to sit in the sun for up to four weeks, others preferred the temperature to be much cooler and recommended aging in the fridge only. There were several recipes that said to let it sit overnight and enjoy!

I wanted fast results, though; I had no time to wait. The other morning I was setting out to make the liqueur and I was determined to utilize the fastest method. When I started the mash and placed it in its jars I thought, this is so beautiful, quite expensive, and I would hate to miss out on something great because I chose to rush the process. I don’t want $10.95 pants – I’m worth designer jeans, folks. So, I opted to wait.

Now, as I write, I’m waiting for the perfect liqueur, bottled at the height of summer, perfectly preserved with time and patience and love. In a few weeks I’ll be enjoying a superior crème de cassis, impressing loved ones with unbelievably delicious cocktails, drizzling it over panna cotta, marveling at the wonderful agedness of it all. When that day comes in a few weeks I’ll write another post with a finished product and lovely champagne cocktail. Until then, let’s all find joy in the waiting.

Crème De Cassis 

4 pints red and black currants (about 5 cups) 
2 cups sugar
1 750 ml. bottle of vodka (we used Heritage Distilling) 


Method 

Mash the fruit, stems and all, with the sugar until it’s dissolved. Stir in the vodka and mix thoroughly. Pour the mash into jars fitted with lids and store in a cool, dark place for 2-3 weeks. 

After it’s rested for 2-3 weeks, strain through cheesecloth and bottle. The liqueur should last indefinitely. 

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In beverages, Danielle Kartes, food photography, recipe, Alcohol Tags danielle kartes, rustic joyful food, michael kartes photography, cassis, heritage distilling, liqueur, DIY liqueur
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All material © 2018 Rustic Joyful Food. All rights reserved.

My mother is a breast cancer survivor and she is rockin her radiation and port scars.  To watch her beat cancer was life changing for me.  She is a wildly incredible inspiration.  What scars do you have that the world needs to see?  Your story needs to be told.  Our lives our meant to share, we are built for community and laughter and tears.  I want to encourage you today to show your scars and be so very proud of everything you’ve come through because someone somewhere needs to see, they need to know about hope.  They need to know that God loves them, sees them and has never forgotten them.  So put them scars on front street 🙌🏻😍💥 #hope #beatcancer #ilovemymom
You guys!!! Set ya DVR’s!! I’m on @homeandfamilytv making my delicious Linzer Hearts tmr February 13th!! We always have the best time and @iamdebbiem and @cameronmathison ❤️❤️GET THE RECIPE tomorrow at Hallmark!  #rusticjoyfulfood
💥GIVEAWAY💥. With @lecreuset & @thefeedfeed 💥 I made crispy dumplings & sunny sesame & chili fried eggs in less than 10 minutes.  Who wants and NEEDS two gorgeous new pans from @lecreuset  You can enter to win these beauties perfect for sautéing everything by following the guidelines below Good Luck!  Get to tagging! 💥
💥

To Enter: 
1. Follow @LeCreuset, @TheFeedFeed, and @rusticjoyfulfood 
2. Tag a friend in the comments below (Each tag counts as an entry, but one tag per comment please! Giveaway open to U.S. only. Giveaway will close 2/14 @ 11:59 PM EST. 
See full giveaway rules @ https://ff.recipes/LC-Nonstick-RusticJoyfulFood
Ok guys!  Make sure you are setting your DVR’s and your VCR’s or whatever device that STREAMS GREATNESS ON THE TV or IPad or kindle fire 😂😍🙌🏻. I’ll be on the @picklerandben show on February 14th making my classic New England Clam Chowder from my book #generations @kelliepickler & @benaarontv couldn’t be any kinder or hilarious!  Such a fun show, AND THE SET.  Copper & Marble DREAMS!  #rusticjoyfulfood #picklerandben #happyvalentinesday
Don’t mind me, forever sitting in the airport dreaming about cocktails 😍🙌🏻❤️. If I see one more post about how dumb Valentine’s Day is I’m gonna COMMENT ON IT 😂. I actually love holidays, like all of them.  ANY excuse to celebrate anyone I love and I’m all about treats and steak and cocktails and new undies!  Yup, growing up every Valentine’s Day my mom got each of us kids a new pair of underwear and some chocolate and it was always waiting on the concrete fireplace when we woke up.  So my sweet family nowadays really goes all out!  We make fun drinks and tasty dinner at home with heart shaped EVERYTHING!  Grab the recipe for these BSB @heritagedistilling cherry lemonade slushes on the blog!  THEY ARE SO GOOD!  Skip the Bourbon for the kiddos 😍🙌🏻 #heritagepartner #sponsored #valentinesday
I made Sour Cherry pancakes and they took WORK.  I knew the frozen cherries were loaded with water and my batter was light so this was going to be a problem but I persevered and the payoff was BIG!  Isn’t that life?  Man you know I LOOOVE to go deep and get emotional about EVERYTHING.  So many lessons, even in juicy cherries wanting to burn and stick and separate from the pancake and etc etc.... but the perfect heat, lots of butter and babysitting helped turn what wanted to be a massive failure into perfectly tart and caramelized fruit mingling with buttery salty perfectly light pancake.  I was listening to Hillsong’s Glimmer in the Dust while my pancake cooked and it WRECKED ME in the best way.  This song is so beautiful and so LIFE GIVING.  We can find Hope in a glimmer of dust-  Today be encouraged to find hope, to allow the process to take longer and to be kind on your heart.  You are doing the best you can, ok Danielle?  I mean you, YOU ARE TOO!  We are all doing the best we can and it’s not just going to be ok, it’s going to be brilliant. 🥰 Go look up that song and WEEP WITH RENEWED HOPE.  God is WITH US!  #ifoundheaveninpeices 
Here are the Lyrics.  No recipe for these pancakes, YET. 💥
💥
💥
@hillsongunited 
I was lost in a moment
A glimmer in time
Like a child chasing shadows
My back to the light
I was lost in a fog till You caught my eye
Through the smoke and the mirrors
A glimmer of life
I know there’s a place I belong
Where I’ll see the fullness of love
A child face to face with my God 
Lost in Your awesome wonder 
While I wait I will not be afraid
My faith will remain all the same
My hope in the things not yet seen
Found in the greatest of these
I found love in a moment
Exploding in light
At the cross where the curtains
Were ripped from my eyes
I found heaven in pieces
In glimmer and dust
Broken glass in reflection
Till we shine like the sun
I know there’s a place I belong
Where I’ll see the fullness of love
A child face to face with my God 
Lost in…
It’s Valentines Day pasta with @nuovopasta You guys know how much I love to use fresh ravioli for simple delicious dinner around here so I used their Pasta Hearts and made 
Amatriciana Hearts 💗❤️💞. Here is the Recipe! 💞❤️💗Guess what else?  I saw these hearts at Costco!!! Go grab em, delish! 💗
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Amatriciana Heart Pasta
1 package Nuovo Pasta cheese-filled ravioli hearts, cooked per the package instructions
5 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil 
1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced 
1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half 
2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley 
Salt and pepper to taste 
1/2 cup pasta cooking water
❤️
❤️ In a large skillet with high sides, sauté bacon and onions in olive oil over medium to medium-high heat. Once bacon is cooked and caramelized, add cherry tomatoes and garlic. Cook 3-4 minutes or until tomatoes just begin to fall apart. Gently add cooked Nuovo Pasta ravioli, pasta cooking water, and parsley. Toss the sauce with the pasta to combine, and season to taste! #nuovopasta
Dear @food52 please repost this picture of lemons.  It’s beautiful and happy and seasonal and fits into 2 of your repost requirements #f52lemon #f52farmstand Just calling a spade a spade 😂🤷🏼‍♀️🙌🏻🍋These purty girls came from @maxzoelaw TREE 😍🙌🏻🥰. But cmon, HOW PRETTYYYY 😍🙌🏻💅🏼
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